FEATURES

2004 Satellite Business Review 

By Peter I. Galace

Fixed satellite service (FSS) operators earned consolidated revenue estimated at $6.7 billion in 2004 with the industry experiencing only a 1.5% increase in revenue caused by the continuous depreciation of the US$ with respect to their main trading partners. According to Euroconsult, at 2002 constant exchanges rates of the various national currencies, FSS industry revenues were stable in 2004 at about $6.2 billion but profitability of the industry was safeguarded, in line with the reduction in operational and capital expenditures. Full Story

The Changing Business of Teleports

By Virgil Labrador

It has been six years since I worked in a teleport in Singapore and the business has changed profoundly ever since. Teleports are the backbone of the satellite industry. They consist of ground facilities that provide a variety of services including satellite ground control, transmission, playout and now internet and other services via satellite, fiber, microwave and other networks. Full Story

Air Force Awards Boeing $172.3 Million for Two GPS Satellite Contract Options

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [BA: NYSE:] two GPS IIF contract options valued at $172.3 million.Boeing said the first award is a $143.9 million contract modification to the existing Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF contract that exercises the option to begin production of three satellites, Space Vehicles (SV) 07 through 09. These satellites will be completed by June 2008. Full Story

Alcatel Signs $150 Million Contract with Brazil’s Star One to Build C2 Satellite

Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) announced on Wednesday the signature of a new $150 million contract with the Brazilian satellite operator Star One, a satellite solutions company in Latin America, for the construction Star One C2 for South America. It is the second communications satellite that Alcatel will build for the Brazilian operator. Based on Alcatel Space Spacebus 3000B3 platform, Star One C2 satellite will be delivered in 24 months and positioned at 65° West. Full Story

AMC-12 Satellite Arrives in Kazakhstan for Feb. 3 Launch

The Americom-12 (AMC-12) satellite, formerly known as WorldSat-2, of SES Americom, an SES Global Co. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchanges: SESG), has been delivered to Baikonur, Kazakhstan to prepare the spacecraft for its scheduled Proton/Breeze M launch on February 3, SES Americom said Tuesday. The Spacebus 4000 spacecraft, the first of this generation platform, was built by Alcatel Space and is being launched by International Launch Services (ILS) for service at the 37.5 degrees West longitude orbital position. Full Story

Arianespace Conducts Launch Rehearsal for Ariane 5 ECA

The rehearsal for Arianespace's upcoming Flight 164 was completed on Wednesday and measurements collected during the countdown are now being analyzed. Arianespace said the validation of the final launch campaign procedures included fueling of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA and a countdown that - as planned - stopped short of actual engine ignition. The company said this provided a rehearsal for the entire launch countdown, including tests of all launcher equipment and ground facilities. Full Story

Arianespace’s XTAR-EUR Payload Fueled for Feb. 11 Flight

Preparations for the upcoming flight of Arianespace's heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA entered a new phase on Wednesday as the mission's primary spacecraft - the XTAR-EUR telecommunications satellite - was fueled at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
Arianespace said fueling was carried out in the S5B high-bay area of the Spaceport's large S5 satellite preparation facility. Full Story

Arianespace to Launch UK’s Skynet 5A and 5B Military Satcoms 

EADS Astrium Ltd. has chosen Arianespace to launch the British Ministry of Defense's next generation secure military telecommunications satellites, Skynet 5A and Skynet 5B.Colin Paynter, managing firector of EADS Astrium and Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace announced Tuesday the two launch contracts for the two satellites, which will be boosted into geostationary transfer orbit by Ariane 5 launchers from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Launches are scheduled for the second half of 2006 and the second half of 2007. Full Story

Ball Aerospace Completes Assembly and Integration on NPP

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., has completed assembly and integration of the spacecraft for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP). According to Ball Aerospace, spacecraft performance testing is completed, and environmental testing, including vibration and thermal vacuum, have begun. NPP, the mission precursor for NPOESS, has a twofold purpose: it will provide data continuity between the Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua missions and NPOESS, and provide technical risk reduction for NPOESS. Full Story

Boeing Awards GPS III System Study Contract to Alcatel

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems has awarded a study contract to Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) in the frame of the US Air Force's GPS III System Preliminary Definition phase. Alcatel said the contract firms up last year's discussions between Boeing and Alcatel Space to develop cooperation in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The contract is the first ever agreement between the European Union and the United States industry leaders in Satellite Navigation after a EU-US high level accord signed in June 2004. Full Story

Boeing Wins $172 Million Contracts from DoD for New GPS Satellites

The Department of Defense has awarded Boeing Co. a $143,903,755 contract modification for the U.S. Air Force’s Navstar Global Positioning System Block IIF to provide the next generation advanced GPS satellites with enhanced navigation support for both military and civilian users. According to a DoD statement, this modification consists of exercising the option to begin production of Satellites (Space Vehicles) 07 through 09 and initial funding in calendar year 2005. Full Story

Cablevision Sells Rainbow 1 Satellite to EchoStar for $200 Million

Eager to unload an unprofitable venture, Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE:CVC) announced on Thursday it has entered into a definitive agreement for its subsidiary Rainbow DBS Co. LLC to sell its direct broadcast satellite and certain other related assets to a subsidiary of EchoStar Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH) for $200 million in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, EchoStar will acquire the Rainbow 1 satellite, located at the 61.5 degree W.L. orbital position, as well as FCC licenses to construct, launch and operate DBS services over 11 frequency channels at the 61.5 degree W.L. Full Story

Delta IV Heavy Mission: Disturbance of Liquid Oxygen Flow Cited as Cause of Anomaly

The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) said on Monday Boeing Co. and the Air Force continue to make solid progress in their investigation into the premature Main Engine Cut-Off (MECO) on the Delta IV Heavy Lift Vehicle (HLV) demonstration mission that was launched Dec. 21, 2004.The SMC said a Fault Tree analysis, which is used to categorize the potential root causes to include propulsion, avionics, and flight environments has begun and forty of the forty-nine branches of the fault tree have been reviewed, ruled out as potential causes of the anomaly, and determined not to be a factor. Full Story

EchoStar to Invest $9.5 Million in Archos of France

EchoStar Communications Corp. (DISH) will invest $9.468 million (Euro 7 million), or 1.427 million ordinary shares, in Archos SA, an Igny-based manufacturer of  portable computer peripherals, including video and photo recorders, digital music players, and hard disks. In a statement, Archos said the cash injection will be made through the subscription of an Archos convertibles offering reserved to EchoStar shareholders. Full Story

ESA and Russia Forge Deal on Use of Launchers

uropean Space Agency (ESA) and Russia signed on Wednesday an agreement for long-term cooperation and partnership in the development, implementation and use of launchers.This agreement, according to ESA, will strengthen cooperation between ESA and Russia in the long-term cooperation on access to space. The agreement, signed by ESA Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain and the Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, falls within the general framework of an earlier agreement between ESA and the Russian Federation for Cooperation and Partnership in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. Full Story

Eurely Submits Final Proposal for Galileo Concession to EC

Eurely, the consortium formed by Alcatel, Finmeccanica, AENA and Hispasat, submitted on Tuesday its final proposal for the Galileo Concession to the European Commission (EC). The proposal contains details and binding commitments to manage the services of the new satellite-based European navigation system, in addition to the original proposal of September 2004. Full Story

Europe’s Huygens Lands on Titan

After its seven-year journey through the Solar System on board the Cassini spacecraft, ESA's Huygens probe has successfully descended through the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and safely landed on its surface on Friday, Jan. 14.The first scientific data arrived at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany on Friday afternoon at 17:19 CET, the European Space Agency (ESA) said. Full Story

Gilat to Operate Under Two Separate Business Units

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq:GILTF) will operate under two business units: Gilat Network Solutions (GNS) and Gilat Network Operations (GNO) beginning January 1, 2005. Gilat said the company's 2004 financial statements will reflect this change. Gilat said this division is part of the company’s new growth strategy aiming to increase sales for solution driven markets as well as the expansion of its operation business. Gilat also announced that a special general meeting of shareholders will be held on February 3, 2005. Full Story

Goodrich Settles with Northrop Grumman on TRW Aeronautical Systems Acquisition

Defense contractor Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR) said it has entered into a $99 million partial settlement with Northrop Grumman related to its acquisition of TRW's Aeronautical Systems businesses in October 2002. Goodrich said it received a deposit of $10 million from Northrop Grumman during the second quarter 2004 that will be applied to the settlement, and expects to receive the remaining $89 million before the end of 2004. Goodrich says it will use the settlement proceeds to repay debt and fund its pension plan. Full Story

Harris Wins $37 Million Antenna Contract for Mobile User Objective System Satellites

Harris Corp. (NYSE:HRS) has been selected by Lockheed Martin Space and Strategic Missiles of Sunnyvale, California, for a potential three-year, $37 million risk reduction design development (RRDD) program to provide unfurlable mesh reflectors for the Department of Defense (DoD) Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites. Including production options, the potential value of the contract, Harris said, could reach $90 million by 2013 if the DoD opts to produce all five satellites. Full Story

Intelsat’s Satellite Loss Isolates Pacific, Antarctic Areas

The loss of Intelsat’s IS-804 satellite has left the Pacific Island nations of Cook Islands, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Tonga and the US territory of American Samoa without communications links to other states, according to wire reports. Other countries, including New Caledonia, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, East Timor, Vietnam, Korea and Saipan were also affected but could plug into backup systems. Full Story

Japan’s JCSAT-1B Satellite Also in Trouble

Japan’s JSAT Corp. said on Tuesday its JCSAT-1B communications satellite experienced an anomaly on January 17 at 21:26 JST, leading to difficulties with services provided by the satellite.JSAT President and CEO Kiyoshi Isozaki reported that all channels provided by the satellite are currently unavailable. He said JSAT has determined that JCSAT-1B experienced an anomaly in one of its thrusters and preparations are currently being made to operate the satellite using its remaining functional thrusters. Full Story

Loral Misses $188 Million Satmex Payment

Loral Space & Communications Ltd. and its Mexican partners missed a $188-million debt payment to the Mexican government Thursday on their purchase of 75% of Satelites Mexicanos (Satmex). It was Loral’s third major debt default this year, according to a Dow Jones report. Failure to make the payment may trigger foreclosure unless Loral and its partners submit a debt restructuring plan in the coming weeks, Dow Jones said, quoting Rodolfo Salgado, a ministry of communications official who oversees state asset sales. Full Story

MDA Awarded Contract For Canadian Space Surveillance System

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA) said on Tuesday it has been awarded a contract for $0.82 million ($1 million CDN) from Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) for the design of a Canadian Space Surveillance System in support of DND's Surveillance of Space Mission. The Canadian Space Surveillance System known as SAPPHIRE will feature a space-based sensor that will provide observations of man-made objects and space debris in medium to high earth orbits (6,000-40,000 km). Full Story

MDA Signs $154 Million Contract To Provide Hubble Rescue Solution

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. has signed a contract worth approximately $154 million to provide a potential information and robotic servicing solution to NASA to rescue the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble mission will follow on the heels of two U.S. military satellite missions that will utilize MDA's solutions to perform similar tasks, MDA said in a statement."We are building robotic space solutions that perform critical tasks to meet the requirements of ongoing and future international space missions," said Dan Friedmann, President and CEO of MDA. Full Story

NASA’s Deep Impact Spacecraft Launched

A Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II rocket launched on Wednesday a NASA spacecraft that will collide with a comet, causing a crater that will enable scientists to learn more about comets and their role in the formation of the Universe. The Deep Impact spacecraft was launched by a Delta II 7925-9.5 launch vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 1:47:08 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 17B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., said Boeing. Full Story

Nordic Satellite Taps Lockheed Martin to Build’s Sirius 4 Spacecraft

Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to design and manufacture Sirius 4 satellite. NSAB is 75%-owned by SES Astra, an SES Global company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange:SESG) and 25%-owned by SSC (Swedish Space Corporation). Terms of the contract were not disclosed. NSAB said Sirius 4 will be a multi-mission Ku/Ka-band satellite to be built on Lockheed Martin's A2100AX platform with a minimum service life of 15 years. Full Story

Not True, Sirius CEO Says of Merger Talks with XM

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. CEO Mel Karmazin denied on Wednesday meeting with top executives of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings to discuss a merger between the two satellite radio broadcasters.During the company's quarterly earnings conference call, Karmazin dismissed a New York Post report that said Sirius and XM are contemplating a merger."I have not met with the chairman or CEO, so I have no idea where any of this came from," Karmazin said. He added he does not have an idea where the story is coming from. Full Story

Orbital Completes Indonesia’s Telkom-2 Communications Satellite

Orbital Sciences Corp. (NYSE:ORB) announced on Wednesday it has completed the design, manufacturing and testing process for the Telkom-2 C-band satellite that the company is supplying to Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (PT Telkom). Telkom-2 satellite is based on Orbital's Star-2 satellite platform, generating approximately three kilowatts of electrical power and carrying 24 C-band transponders. Full Story

PanAmSat Asia Acquires Some Assets of TARB; Launches PanGlobal TV in Australia 

PanAmSat Corp. announced on Wednesday its subsidiary, PanAmSat Asia Pty. Ltd., had acquired certain business assets from the receivers of TARBS World TV Australia Pty. Ltd. (TARBS).  PanAmSat said among those acquired assets were the subscriber list, intellectual property, and subscriber-installed equipment of TARBS, an Australian pay TV provider. PanAmSat also announced that PanGlobal TV had opened for business as Australia’s new multi-ethnic Direct-To-Home (DTH) platform. Full Story

Russia Adds Three More Satellites to GLONASS, Civilians Assured of Greater Access to Navigation Data

A Proton-K rocket with three GLONASS navigation satellites onboard was launched from Baikonur at 4:54 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday, according to Itar-Tass. According to RSC Energia, the Glonass navigation system satellites were delivered to near-earth orbit by the DM-type Space Upper Stage. The Upper Stage with satellites was launched from low neat-earth orbit where they were injected by the Proton-K launch vehicle the launch of which was performed from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 16:53, Moscow time. Full Story

Satellite Industry Pitches in Tsunami Relief Efforts

Support is pouring in from various quarters of the satellite industry for the relief efforts of the Tsunami disaster in South Asia which has claimed over 150,000 lives. Various satellite companies have been donating services and equipment to areas struck by the disaster as well as participated in relief efforts.The devasting tsunami last December 26, 2004 has also highlighted the need for an early warning system that could have prevented the disaster. Full Story

SES Astra Completes Acquisition Of DPC Digital Playout Center GmbH

SES Astra, an SES Global company (EURONEXT:SESG)(LuxX:SESG), said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of 100% of DPC Digital Playout Center GmbH from German Pay-TV operator Premiere on December 31, 2004, following regulatory approval from the German Bundeskartellamt. The transaction, initially announced last June 28 last year for a consideration of $54.63 million (EUR 41.2 million) and a 75% stake, was adapted following a requirement by the Bundeskartellamt to give SES Astra sole ownership for a total consideration of $72.93 million (EUR 55 million). Full Story

SES Astra Partners with Vodatel for Broadband Internet and Video on-Demand Services in Croatia

SES Astra, an SES Global company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), and Vodatel d.o.o., a company based in Zagreb, Croatia, have signed an agreement to offer satellite Internet services via Astra 23.5 degrees East and new interactive entertainment services for Croatian households under the brand name eTV. eTV provides a variety of multimedia services comprising video on-demand (VOD) with a choice of one hundred movies every month. Full Story

Sirius Ends Year With More Than 1.1 Million Users, Expects to Double Number of Subscribers in 2005

Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) said Monday it ended 2004 with 1,143,258 million subscribers, exceeding its end-of-year target of 1 million subscribers. The company attributed its strong full-year results to robust retail sales, growing awareness of the benefits of satellite radio, and greater recognition by consumers of the company's premium quality programming. "While we were looking to finish the year with 1 million subscribers, we are very pleased to have significantly exceeded that number," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius. Full Story

Sirius, XM Satellite Radio Surpass Year-End Subscriber Targets

Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) today announced that it has surpassed its year-end target of one million-subscribers while XM Satellite Radio, its bigger competitor, also announced that it recently surpassed 3.1 million subscribers, the company's year-end goal for 2004.Washington, D.C.-based XM started the year with only 1.3 million. Sirius, based in New York, said it had achieved its year-end target of 1 million subscribers, up from about 260,000 at the beginning of the 2004. Full Story

SingTel Expands Capacity Leases on Loral Skynet’s Asian Satellites

Loral Skynet said Thursday it has renewed an agreement with Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) to distribute video, data, telecommunications and VSAT services on Loral's Telstar 10 satellite. In addition, SingTel has agreed to lease a full C-band transponder on Loral's new Telstar 18 Asian satellite.Patrick Brant, president of Loral Skynet said Loral Skynet's satellite coverage will give SingTel the tools it needs to expand its reach across Asia where demand for satellite communications to and from the US and other regions remains strong. Full Story

Telesat Acquires SPACECONNECTION, Provider of Satellite Services to Major US TV Networks

Canada’s satellite operator Telesat has acquired California-based SPACECONNECTION, Inc., a leading provider of programming-related satellite transmission services to all the major U.S. television networks and cable programmers. Telesat said Robert M. Patterson will remain president and CEO of the company he founded in 1987. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Full Story

Thailand’s iPSTAR Satellite Passes Final Test

Thailand's Shin Satellite PCL has announced its new broadband iPSTAR-1 satellite is on schedule for launch in March after completing a final test on its antennae system. Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the U.S. manufacturer of the iPSTAR-1, informed Shin Satellite PCL last week that the spacecraft has now successfully concluded its antenna patterns and end-to-end payload tests in compact antenna test range (CATR), the last of a series of tests to complete qualification of the satellite. Full Story

ViaSat Awarded $60 Million Defense Modification Contract

ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has received a contract worth about $60 million from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), San Diego, to modify a system that gathers data and provides digital views of battlefields. ViaSat said the Engineering Change Proposal modification and corresponding delivery order is for the development of a Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) compliant version of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) terminal. Full Story

XM Surpasses 3.2 Million Subscribers, Adds More Than 1.8 Million Users in 2004

XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) said Wednesday it has signed up more than 3.2 million subscribers, representing more than 1.8 million net additional subscribers in the year 2004. “During the fourth quarter of 2004, XM added more than 700,000 customers -- our best quarter ever. More than 50,000 subscribers signed up for XM on Christmas Day, the biggest single day of activations in the history of the company,” said Hugh Panero, XM CEO and president. Full Story