SatNews

Satellite Industry Intelligence Since 1983

ORBITS: News Briefs…

  • BERLIN, GERMANY: August 16, 2007—Satnews Daily—The gentleman credited with saving the pay-TV service in Germany, Mr. Georg Kofler, is leaving Premiere AG. He directed a request for an early release from his contract to the supervisory board of the company. He became the CEO in 2002 and he will leave the firm at the close of this month. Michael Boernicke, the company’s finance executive, will now head Premiere.


  • Endeavour's Heat Shield Damage
    A view of the damage to the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s heat shield. (photo: NASA TV)     NASA: August 16, 2007—Satnews Daily—Good news for STS-118… the damage inflicted to a small section of the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s heat shield does not pose a threat to the safety of the crew or mission operations. During the climb to orbit on August 8th was when the business card sized damage occurred. After examining a thermal analysis of the inch-deep thermal tile damage, the conclusion is the Endeavour would be able to return safely without repairs. Mission managers are discussing various repair options in order to make the Endeavour’s next space flight more smoothly.







  • NASA's Phoenix lander
    Concept drawing of NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander as it hurtles through space. (courtesy NASA)     NASA: August 16, 2007—Satnews Daily—In additional NASA news, the Mars-bound Phoenix lander just completed its first, and biggest, course correction. The next adjustment, the second of five, is scheduled for mid-October. Lest we forget, the Phoenix rocketed skyward on August 4th aboard a Delta 2 rocket. The lander is currently traveling through space at 74,2000 mph. To cover the 422 million miles between Earth and the Red Planet by May 25, 2008, this speed is absolutely critical to success. Once the lander has dropped onto Mars, the Phoenix will test the Martian soil for microbial life using a digging, robotic arm.




  • BEIJING, CHINA: August 16, 2007—Satnews Daily—In a just released interview with the Chinese newspaper Xinhua, there was quite a dangerous period of time for the spacecraft Shenzhou V and Yang Liewei, China’s first astronaut. Dong Deyi, who is the head of the Xi’an Satellite Monitor and Control Center, said all contact with both the mission control headquarters and ground command was lost when the spacecraft entered the Earth’s atmosphere due to plasma obstructs. The use of photographic instruments (cinetheodolites) on the ground enabled spacecraft positioning and movement analysis by ground engineers. This facilitated the control of the Shenzhou V’s braking parachute for proper deployment for a soft landing in Inner Mongolia, although the landing area was approximately 9 kilometers east of the planned landing location. Yang spent a total of 21 hours in space, orbiting the Earth 14 times, from October 15th through the 16th, in the year 2003.


  • HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA: August 16, 2007—Satnews Daily—And speaking of China… Although unable to offer specifics, Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell, head of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, stated two days ago in Alabama at a conference that China could be merely three years away from obtaining the capability to disrupt U.S. military satellites during a regional conflict. China’s success on January 11th in shooting down one of their own ballistic missiles is cited as evidence of their technical capability to challenge the U.S. at a near peer level in a region. Campbell spoke before an audience of defense contractors and added, “It starts to add up that they’ll have multidimensional capabilities to attack various systems that are in orbit today.” The indications are China has a comprehensive approach to deny U.S. military access to space during a conflict as the country has also managed advances in computer network attacks and jamming capabilities.


  • RESTON, VIRGINIA: August 16, 2008—Satnews Daily—TerreStar Global Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of TerreStar Corporation, formerly known as Motient Corporation, has announced their intention to offer securities in a private offering. Neither the terms of the securities, nor the amount of the proposed financing, has been determined as of this writing. The anticipation is for the ultimate effect of the financing will be to dilute the company’s interest in TerreStar Global to below 50 percent. The net proceeds are for the construction of the TerreStar-EUR satellite, to secure European 2Ghz MSS S-band spectrum through participation in the European milestone review process, and for general, corporate purposes. There can be no assurance the financing will be completed.