Infrastructure
2007 – U.S. Launch, Human
NASA announced SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler as the winners of the COTS competition in August 2006. The goal of the competition is to develop commercial delivery services for the International Space Station (ISS), distributing research and development funds to be combined with private capital.
2005 – Hybrid solutions are combining satellite and terrestrial capabilities
Bundled offerings and partnerships with terrestrial companies are expanding.New spectrum allocations support this growth, includingMSS with Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC).Advanced mobile phone services with data and video are leveraging satellite backhaul capabilities.[efn_note… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, Packed with Over a Decade of Data, Resources, and Information. VIEW…
2005 – Whither The Remote Sensing Market Place — Dr. Ray Williamson
From Sidebar — “Satellite imagery sales were helped along by increasing tensions in Afghanistan and then Iraq. In time, foreign purchases and major contracts for data (ClearView and NextView) from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) brought growth and a measure of stability to the data market. The acquisition of Space Imaging by ORBIMAGE [now known as GeoEye] has also further stabilized the industry.”
2005 – Broadband-to-Home
Sidebar — Consumer broadband services offered by WildBlue Communications, Inc. and Telesat Canada in North America attracted thousands of customers by the end of 2005, and hundreds of thousands are expected to sign up by the end of 2006. “This rate of growth would not be po… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global…
2005 – Bob Evans VSAT Network
From a sidebar — The geographical reach of VSAT technology was a prime reason why Bob Evans Farms deployed a 481-site network. The national restaurant chain teamed with Spacenet to link its retail stores and corporate headquarters to an always-on IP VSAT service. And the network was up and running in five weeks. The company looked into frame relay, DSL and ISDN service options, but chose a VSAT network because it was the only technology that could reach all locations and was the most cost-effective.
2005 – Low-Cost Launch Vehicles
“Despite the strong barriers to entry that prevail in the industry, some daring entrepreneurs are nevertheless attempting to challenge incumbents. The entry of low-cost launchers such as the Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX) Falcon-1 and Falcon-5, offered at USD 6 million and USD 12 million respectively, may…”
2005 – Mobile Satellite Service Satellite Design
Satellites are used to send television news feeds from news vans directly to broadcast distributors. News vans transmit in the C- and Ku-bands to distributors via GEO satellites.Mobile Television: Satellites are used to transmit television programming to cell phone-sized mobile handsets. Curren… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space…
2005 – Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) Satellite Design Activities
Direct-to-home (DTH) television is the transmission of television programming directly to end-user equipment. Other terms are direct broadcast and satellite television. The term broadcast service satellite (BSS) is often used to describe satellites offering these services. BSS satellites operat… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, Packed with…
2005 – Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) Space Activities
Satellites also provide mobile telephony services. Satellite mobile telephony enables regional to near-global coverage depending on the satellite or constellation, using handsets that communicate directly with a satellite. Mobile satellite telephone service is provided by satellite constellations in LEO, such as Iridium and Globalstar, and by satellites in GEO, such as Inmarsat, Thuraya, and ACeS. These services are provided by satellites primarily using the L-band. Satellites providing mobile phone and data services often are referred to as mobile satellite service (MSS) satellites.
2005 – Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) Space Activities
Satellites have provided trunking for long-distance telephone service for decades. Most long-distance traffic is now routed over cable, avoiding the lag and other reductions in quality (such as echo) associated with satellite telephone calls. Areas or countries lacking terrestrial backbone still rely on satellite connectivity to the publicly-switched telephone network. Telephone companies or nations lease C-band or Ku-band transponders on GEO satellites. Telephony, along with broadcast television, discussed above, and data services are common FSS applications.