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Sat-Na June 30, 1997
Sat-na
June, 30
1997
ARIANESPACE Flight 96
Superbird-C Satellite Launch Planned For July 25
PanAmSat selects Arianespace for launch
Hong Kong handover coverage
EchoStarcloses offering
U.S. S.B. boxing line-up in July
DIRECTV Files Suit
MultiThematiques Launches Four Channels in Germany
ICO SATELLITES
Norsat Considers Options
CGV To Carry AB Sat Channels
General Instrument In The Philippines
ITC announces its decision to award Multiplex ...
Orion Network Systems Opens Latin America
Hughes signs contract and sues
Upcoming Launches
In Brief
ARIANESPACE Flight 96
Arianespace successfully launched Intelsat 802. Flight
96 was carried out by an Ariane 44P, version of the
European launcher equipped with 4 solid-propellant boosters.
The launch took place at the European Spaceport in
Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday, June 25 at: 07.44 p.m.
EDT
The estimated parameters at third stage injection into
geostationery orbit were:
Perigree: 200 km for a target of 199,8 (+3) km
Apogee: 35.974 km for a target of 35.960 (+150) km
Inclination: 7,00deg for a target of 6,99deg (+0,06)
deg
The INTELSAT 802 separated from the Arianespace 44P
launch vehicle approximately 21 minutes after lift-off. It
was acquired successfully by the tracking, telemetry,
command and monitoring (TTC&M) network in Perth, Australia,
approximately 48 minutes after lift-off. On June 26,
INTELSAT engineers in the Launch Control Centre commanded
the 802 satellite to fire its apogee motors and manoeuvre it
into geostationary orbit. INTELSAT engineers will deploy
802's solar arrays on July 2 and its C- and Ku-band
reflectors on July 2-3. The satellite is scheduled to begin
service at the end of August 1997 at 174 degrees East
longitude.
INTELSAT 802 is the second model in the eighth
generation of Intelsat satellites. Built by Lockheed Martin
Telecommunications, it will offer a number of technical
innovations, including 2 C-band spot beams, interconnection
between C- and K-bands, satellite newsgathering (SNG)
services, and compatibility with the INTELSAT VII and
INTELSAT VIIA satellites.
The next launch, Flight 98, is now scheduled for August
7. An Ariane 44P will be used to place into orbit the PAS-6
satellite.
Superbird-C Satellite Launch Planned For July 25
Space Communications Corporation reports its Superbird-
C satellite, which will be used as the platform for DirecTV
Japan, will be launched on July 25. DirecTV Japan is
expected to launch its service in November or December later
this year.
The satellite will be launched by an Atlas-IIAS rocket.
The launch window opens at 9:02pm EDT on July 25.
Hong Kong handover coverage
PanAmSat expects to transmit nearly 2000 hours of full
and part-time television coverage of Hong Kong's
reunification with China. More than a dozen broadcasters,
including CCTV, CNN, NBC and NHK have selected PanAmSat and
its global fleet of satellites for world-wide distribution
of live and taped news footage of the historical event.
As part of its service for the July 1 turnover,
PanAmSat's PAS-2 and PAS-4 satellites will transmit both C-
band and Ku-band signals received from fixed and
transportable earth stations in Hong Kong to sites around
the world. Customers, including Fuji TV, Hong Kong Telecom,
Australia's Seven Network, Tokyo Broadcast System and TVBI
will utilise PanAmSat capacity for full-time coverage of the
event. In addition, Beijing Wireless Communications,
British Telecommunications, Cosatech, TVBS, Wold
International and World-wide Television News will use
PanAmSat satellites for part-time transmissions from both
Hong Kong and related events in Beijing.
INTELSAT will be providing live coverage of the
handover of Hong Kong also. INTELSAT will use nineteen
channels on eight of INTELSAT's 24 satellites_four in the
Pacific Ocean Region and four in the Indian Ocean Region_to
provide direct, two-way coverage of the event.
Broadcasters using the INTELSAT satellites include CCTV
Beijing and TVB Hongkong, as well as the EBU; WTN, ARD
Frankfurt and RTP Lisbon in Europe; NBC, ABC, and CBC
Toronto in North America; and NHK Tokyo, NTV Tokyo, Fuji TV,
TV Tokyo and a news pool for Korean broadcasters in Asia.
Another location for Hong Kong celebrations is Intelsat 180
East.
" Analogue feed: Downlink frequency 3,724 MHz and A-
polarised.
" S/A PowerVu digital feed: FEC 3/4 6.112 Mps.
" It will be a one-hour program: July 1, 6-7 a.m. PT
EchoStar closes offering
EchoStar has closed its $375.0 million offering of
Senior Secured Notes. The proceeds of the offering will be
used to fully fund the construction, launch and insurance of
EchoStar IV, to fund the first five semi-annual interest
payments on the Notes; to pay for the construction, launch
and insurance of EchoStar III, currently scheduled to be
launched in September 1997.
U.S.S.B. boxing line-up in July
PAY PER VIEW U.S. Satellite
Broadcasting July Boxing
July 10 11 Keith McKnight vs. Brian 900
p.m. EDT Scott
Sam Hampton vs. Michael
Rush
HBO Boxing 910
July 12 7 Lennox Lewis vs. Henry
p.m. EDT Akinwande
July 18 9 Danny Romero vs. Johnny 910
p.m. EDT Tapia Michael
Carbajal vs. Jake Matlala
Showtime Frankie Liles vs. Zaffarou 920
Boxing Ballogou
July 19 9 Mbulelo Botile vs. Tim
p.m. EDT Austin
DIRECTV Files Suit
DIRECTV, Inc. has filed civil suits against two sports
bars in Illinois and two sports bars in New York for
illegally displaying DIRECTV programming.
The complaints, filed in Federal District Court in
Illinois against The Saluki, in Chicago, and Cue Can Do
Billiards, Inc., in Schaumburg, and filed in Federal
District Court in New York against Outfield Inn, in Middle
Village, and R&R Bar and Grill (doing business as Alley
Way), in Massapequa, allege that the defendants publicly
displayed, without authorisation, DIRECTV programming that
they had obtained with a residential subscription.
MultiThematiques Launches Four Channels in Germany
MultiThematiques has launched four new television
channels in Germany:
PLANET airs over 800 documentary films per year, more
than 80% of which will be shown for the first time in
Germany;
SEASONS is dedicated to hunting and fishing
documentaries and magazines, targeting Germany's three
million such sportsmen;
CINE CLASSICS I and CINE CLASSICS II offers films by
famous directors and German premieres with in-house
productions and documentaries on the movie industry.
ICO SATELLITES
ICO Global Communications reports the successful
completion of its satellite system and communications
payload Critical Design Review (CDR). Hughes is building 12
satellites and will supply the launch services to ICO. The
two contracts are worth $ 1.3 billion and $ 900 million
respectively.
The first ICO spacecraft launch is on schedule for late
1998, followed by the launch of the complete constellation
by the year 2000. All satellites are based on the Hughes HS
601 satellite bus modified for the ICO orbit. Each
satellite is designed to support at least 4,500 telephone
channels using a combined FDMA/TDMA (Frequency/Time
Division Multiple Access). The ICO satellites are
designed for a life span 12 years in their MEO orbit.
Norsat Considers Options
NII Norsat International Inc. is considering
its options following a ruling last week by the Federal
Court of Canada that importation and sale of U.S.DBS systems
contravenes Canada's Radiocommunication Act. The ruling was
made by Mr. Justice Gibson in Toronto.
Norsat's President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce
Chapman said, "We were optimistic that the courts would
support freedom of choice television viewing in Canada and
strengthen competition in the domestic television
distribution industry, which up to now has been the captive
reserve of monopolistic interests. We are startled that a
judge would now find that it is an offence for Canadians to
watch U.S. television signals they have paid to receive.
That was not our understanding of Canadian law."
Mr. Chapman noted the ruling was preliminary only and
that the reasons for the ruling would not be available for
review until the end of July, at which time Norsat expects
to make a decision on an appeal.
Norsat expects that the ruling, if eventually upheld,
would have a negative impact on its projected annual sales
levels but does not anticipate that its projected earnings
would be materially affected.
CGV To Carry AB Sat Channels
Groupe AB, beginning July 1, 1997, will
supply nine of AB Sat's thematic channels to Compagnie
Ginirale de Vidiocommunication (CGV), France's second
largest cable operator, for distribution in its cable
package.
Under the agreement, AB Sat's family channel, AB1, will
be available in CGV's basic digital package. In addition,
Musique Classique (classical music) and Nostalgie la Tili
(popular music) will be packaged as Option Musique. The
remaining six thematic channels, AB Sports (sports), Escales
(travel), Animaux (animals), Chasse & Piche (hunting and
fishing), Automobile (automotive) and XXL (adult channel),
will be packaged as the AB Passions option.
General Instrument In The Philippines
General Instrument Corporation reports its
NextLevel Satellite Data Networks Group has entered into a
contract with Philippine-based uplink service provider
Transpacific Broadcast Group International, Inc. to provide
DigiCipherII/MPEG-2 equipment for the first launch of such
GI technology in the Philippines.
TBGI provides satellite uplink services for IBC-13 and
VTV Corporation. VTV Corporation has a working agreement
with VHF broadcaster IBC-13 to provide programming for its
primetime block which includes the highest rated program in
the Philippines, the coverage of the Philippine Basketball
Association (PBA) games. TBGI's agreement calls for GI to
provide some 500 Integrated Receiver Decoders (IRDs) for use
by IBC-13 and VTV Corporation's provincial and cable
affiliates.
ITC announces its decision to award Multiplex ...
The ITC has decided to award each of Multiplex Service
Licences B, C and D to British Digital Broadcasting PLC,
which, following the withdrawal of BSkyB, will be jointly
owned by Carlton Communications and Granada Group.
It has also been decided that the licence to provide
the service on the Channel 3/4 Multiplex should be awarded
to Digital 3 and 4 Limited.
The ITC would intend to grant these licences within 12
weeks. The ITC is still considering the application by S4C
Digital Networks Limited for Multiplex Service Licence A,
and hopes to be able to announce its decision on this by the
end of July.
Applications were invited last October for Multiplex
Licences A, B, C and D and in November for the Channel 3/4
Multiplex. By the closing date on 31 January 1997, four
applications had been received, as follows:
For Multiplexes B, C and D
" British Digital Broadcasting PLC (BDB)
" Digital Television Network Limited (DTN)
For the Channel 3/4 Multiplex
" Digital 3 and 4 Limited
For Multiplex A
" S4C Digital Networks Limited (SDN)
BDB informed the ITC that its shareholders had
reached a legally binding agreement that BSkyB will withdraw
as a shareholder in BDB and will continue to supply its
programming as envisaged in BDB's application. Carlton and
Granada have each agreed to acquire half of BSkyB's
shareholding in BDB and to assume BSkyB's funding
commitments. The ITC considered that it would be consistent
with its competition duties and would not be in breach of
European Community law to award these licences to BDB,
subject to these changes in BDB's shareholding structure and
the award of the licences is therefore conditional upon the
changes taking place before the licences are granted. BDB's
licences will contain a condition restricting Granada from
acquiring control of BDB in the light of Granada's
significant shareholding in BSkyB.
Orion Network Systems Opens Latin America
Orion Network Systems has established strategic
alliances in 14 Latin American countries and will begin
providing network communications services in Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru,
Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Paraguay. Orion is also
exploring similar agreements in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay,
Bolivia and other nations throughout the Caribbean, Central
and South America.
Orion's Latin American requirements for space segment
are being arranged with satellite systems including
Solidaridad, Intelsat and PanAmSat. It is anticipated that
these customers will be transitioned to the Orion 2
satellite which is currently under construction and
scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 1999. Orion 2
will be located at 12 degrees West Longitude and will
provide high-power Ku-band network systems in Latin America,
North America, Europe and the Middle East with both trans-
Atlantic and pan-Latin American, European, North American
and Middle Eastern beams.
Hughes signs contract and sues
Hughes Electronics Corp. agreed to buy at least five
launches on Long March rockets from China Great Wall
Industry Corp.
The first launch could be as early as late 1998, with
the others following about once a year. Hughes has an
undisclosed number of options for additional vehicles.
The contract includes one Long March 3 rocket, which
can accommodate Hughes' HS 376 small satellite model, and
four of the more powerful Long March 3B versions. The Long
March 3B can lift the larger HS 601 and new HS 702 models.
Hughes has also filed a lawsuit against Lockheed Martin
alleging that Lockheed reneged on launch-option agreements.
The lawsuit seeks more than $550 million in damages. The
breach-of-contract lawsuit was filed in California state
court.
Upcoming Launches
Next Ariane Launch Next Atlas/Delta Launch
PAS 6 --August 7, 1997 Iridium -- July 8, 1997
Flight 98
Satellite PAS -6
Manufacturer Space Systems
Loral
Type FS 1300
Stabilisation 3-axis
Payload 36 Ku Band
Coverage Argentina and
Brasil
Orbital 43 East
Position
Mission DBS Service
In Brief
" Orbcomm Japan will begin interactive data
communications services in Japan in spring 1998 using a low-
orbit satellite.
" Telesistemasis invested US$2.5mil to set up a
teleport (digital MPG-2 compressed signals), at Belgrano.
The teleport will broadcast the channels signal to the
Nahuel I satellite.
" China announced it will launch the Apstar 2R satellite
no earlier than the end of August
" Construction of an Australian low earth orbit satellite
is expected to start before the end of this year. The 400 kg
ARIES-1 is planned for launch in 2000 The satellite will
monitor the globe on a regular basis to assess the extent
and condition of crops and forests and to map land
degradation, such as overgrazing and salinity.
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(c) Sat-na 1997
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