Mitsubishi Electric Corp wins Qatar contract: Qatar satellite company, Es'hailSat, announced on 8 September that it has selected Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) to build its second satellite, Es'hail 2. The satellite will be positioned at 26° East longitude and will provide DTH broadcasting services across the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to building Es'hail 2, MELCO will also provide ground systems and training services for the satellite, delivering a full turnkey solution.
Loral/Viasat settlement in patent dispute: Loral Space and Communications and former Loral subsidiary, Space Systems/Loral LLC (SSL), have reached a settlement with Viasat Inc in litigation brought by Viasat for claims of breach of contract and patent infringement. Under the settlement, Viasat will receive a total of US$100m, US$40m of which is a current payment, with the balance to be paid over two-and-a-half years with interest. Loral and SSL have yet to decide how that settlement sum will be apportioned between them. This will be determined through arbitration, expected to take place in October 2014.
Space Situational Awareness data sharing: On 22 September 2014, the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA signed a memorandum of understanding on combined space operations. The MoU will facilitate joint space operations as well as the sharing of space-related information and resources.
Calls for clarity on space data sharing: Experts attending the 2014 Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference called for more clarity on policies and regulation around the sharing of space situational awareness data, both between countries and between businesses.
Blue Origin LLC strikes deal with ULA: Blue Origin, LLC - owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos - has entered into a deal with US space launch company, United Launch Alliance. The companies are to jointly fund the development of Blue Origin's BE-4 rocket engine. Full scale testing is planned for 2016 and the first flight is expected to take place in 2019. The BE-4 will be available for use by ULA and Blue Origin for both companies' next generation launch systems.
Bulgaria Sat: Space Systems/Loral is to provide a communications satellite for Bulgaria Sat, an affiliate of Bulsatcom, the largest provider of Pay-TV services in Bulgaria, it was announced on 8 September 2014. BulgariaSat-1 will be equipped with 2 Ku-band FSS transponders and 30 Ku-band BSS transponders and will provide DTH services and fixed satellite services in the Balkans and other European regions. The satellite is planned for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2016.
Challenge to Blue Origin Patent: SpaceX has filed a petition with the US patent office challenging the validity of a patent granted to Blue Origin in March 2014 for landing the booster stage of a reusable space launch vehicle on a platform at sea. SpaceX is challenging the patent on the grounds that the patent claims are not novel in the light of "prior art".
Impact of US Sanctions: US sanctions against the import of dual use products to Russia are reported to be impacting the manufacture of the Yamal-601 satellite for Gazprom Space Systems. Yamal-601 is being manufactured by Thales Alenia Space, who won the contract in January 2014. Replacement components have to be found for those that would have been sourced from the US.
Rescuing satellites from the wrong orbit: Effective Space Solutions, an Israeli-based start-up, is developing a solution whose uses include towing satellites to their correct location after launch into an incorrect orbit. The rescue solution, which uses a microsatellite to act as a "tug", is due to become operational in early 2016.
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