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Sat-ND, 5.9.97

Sat-ND, 5.9.97

Sat-ND, 5.9.1997 -- They are standing still



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Today's Headlines

SATELLITES
OrbView 2 ready
The flyable satellite
Satmex bids accepted
EU protests proposed U.S. satellite rules
CHANNELS
Howard Stern in Quebec
DIGITAL
Rubinstein still working on XM
RUPERTWATCH
Rupert buys a baseball team
With or without you
FEEDBACK
Sat-ND, 4.9.97



SATELLITES

OrbView 2 ready

OrbView-2 has successfully reached its final operational orbit and collected its first test images of the Earth.
The satellite is owned by Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE), the Earth imaging subsidiary of Orbital Sciences Corporation. The spacecraft satellite was successfully launched on August 1, 1997, aboard Orbital's Pegasus XL launch vehicle.
Initially, OrbView-2 was parked in a circular orbit of 310 kilometres above the Earth. Over the past month, ORBIMAGE has conducted an extensive series of spacecraft tests and determined that the satellite's operating systems are performing very well. During the same period, OrbView-2 was put in its final orbit at an altitude of 705 kilometres through a series of 32 separate firings of the satellite's onboard hydrazine thrusters.
Now, the SeaWiFS sensor aboard OrbView-2 was also activated, taking test images over the United States, Canada, and the Atlantic Ocean. With these important milestones now achieved, OrbView-2 is ready to commence its mission to provide multi-spectral (color) images of the Earth's oceans and land surfaces for use in scientific and commercial applications, the ORBIMAGE said in a statement.


The flyable satellite

The U.S. Air Force and Boeing have introduced a prototype of a the next generation reconnaissance vehicle – not exactly a satellite but a cigar-shaped device, some seven metres in length.
The crewless Space Maneuver Vehicle could carry a 1,200-pound payload, be launched from a space shuttle, stay in orbit for a year and finally land on its own – which even makes it reusable.
Initial flight tests with launches from a helicopter are scheduled to begin in November at Holliman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The craft will be dropped from a helicopter at 3.3 kilometres, perform gliding manoeuvres and land under its own power. Further phases of development yet remain unfunded.
You can have a look at the vehicle and read further details at http://www.msnbc.com/news/107500.asp


Satmex bids accepted

Mexico has accepted the bids of U.S satellite giants General Electric Co., Loral Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp. for Mexico's satellite system Satmex.
60 percent of the government-owned Satelites Mexicanos SA system are to be auctioned, plus an option for further 15 percent. Satmex owns two operating centres and the right to launch and operate a fourth satellite in addition to the existing Morelos 2 and Solidaridad 1 and 2.
The price for the 60-percent share was estimated at US$700 million to US$1 billion. Satmex generates an annual revenue of about US$110 million. GE, Loral and Hughes respectively had to co-operate with local companies because the owner of the 60-percent share must be majority Mexican capital.
Loral Space & Communications teamed up with Mexico's Telefonica Autrey while PanamSat partnered with Industrias Penoles. GE Americom has to name its Mexican partner until the end of September. The winner of the auction will be announced on November 7.


EU protests proposed U.S. satellite rules

Deregulation, free trade, unlimited satellite services all over the world? The European Commission has complained about U.S. rules that may exclude foreign competitors from access to American skies.
The Commission said that the draft rules on satellite communications, announced by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in July, risked violating international trade obligations: "The EU [European Union] ... reserves its right to challenge them under the WTO (World Trade Organisation.)"
The EU in particular refused a planned "reciprocity test" that is intended to make sure that foreign operators cannot offer satellite services in the United States unless its country offered U.S. companies "effective competitive opportunities" in those sectors. The problem seems to be that the U.S. would define and determine what "effective competitive opportunities" are.
There is another clause the EU has complained about: the U.S. rules call for "public interest" factors to be taken into account. For instance, licenses could be refused that would present a "very high risk to competition" -- again, it's obviously the U.S. that decide on what's a risk to competition.



CHANNELS

Howard Stern in Quebec

U.S. radio shock jock Howard Stern paid a visit to the Canadian French-speaking province of Quebec earlier this week and appeared on a radio show. Meanwhile, the first complaints have arrived at Canada's media authority CRTC.
On the English-language station CHOM-FM, he called French-speaking people "scumbags" -- and that reportedly was about the nicest thing he had to say about them. Besides, he expected that Quebec's English-speaking minority, most of which live in the Montreal area, would appreciate his anti-French stance.
The French-speaking majority, obviously not used to U.S. shock jocks, was not amused. The CRTC said it had received several telephone calls and at least two written complaints about Stern's broadcast. Quebec's Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jacques Brassard called Stern a "racist" and "narrow-minded sewer rat" -- in French. English-rights activists have dismissed Stern's comments as "absolutely reprehensible."



DIGITAL

Rubinstein still working on XM

Shortly after pay-radio DMX Europe broke down last July, its founder Jerry Rubinstein issued a press release saying that a new company by the name of Xtra Music (XM) had "acquired the rights to the programming of DMX Inc. for several territories" and "will be offering the service in 2 to 6 weeks."
Former DMX Europe customers are still waiting, now that the six weeks are more than over. However, Mr Rubinstein said meanwhile that the service should be re-established by the end of September, offering initially 40 channels on the Astra satellite system. He did not give any reasons for the delay, nor did he elaborate on details of the demise of DMX Europe. He also said he was owning 90 percent of XM while financing the venture own his own. (The remaining 10 percent, according to Rubinstein, are held by DMX Inc. of the U.S.)
The service, he said, will be launched in Germany first because DMX Europe had most subscribers there. By the end of the year, Rubinstein hopes to have doubled the number of channels, offering a Europe-wide service.
Now I won't say this guy isn't really trying hard to get the service up and running again. I hope he succeeds because, in effect, he owes me some money – I happened to be a subscriber to DMX Europe, and anyway: I share Rubinstein's belief that this is a truly great service, although only for a minority. However, his July statement turned out to be simply false, so why believe his new promises?



RUPERTWATCH

by Dr Sarmaz


Rupert buys a baseball team

Rupert Murdoch's Fox Group will finally buy the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
The deal that had been expected for some months is still subject to approval by Major League Baseball's eight-member ownership committee. The sale must in turn be approved by three-fourths of the National League club owners and a majority of American League owners.
The deal, worth an estimated US$350 million, was finalised over the past few days. It had been expected since last May when the Dodgers sought permission to begin discussions with Fox.
Mr Murdoch's network already airs about 40 Dodgers games per year. The purchase will provide him with broadcast rights not only for his Fox Sports operations, but also for his television ventures in Asia where baseball seems to be popular too [at least in Japan.]


With or without you

A statement recently made by TCI chairman John Malone has raised some doubts about the involvement of Mr Murdoch's News Corp in PrimeStar, a DBS service run by U.S. cable companies.
Malone gave the PrimeStar roll-up a 90 percent chance of completion which he expects to happen within the next three to six months. (Last June, PrimeStar Partners, the nation's second largest provider of direct broadcast satellite [DBS] video services, announced the reorganisation of its ownership structure from a partnership into a new corporation called PrimeStar Inc. The service also plans to offer high-power satellite services.)
However, Malone gave News Corp.'s effort to join the home satellite provider only a 65 percent chance. Under the proposed deal, News Corp would sell its prime orbital slot, two high-power satellites and related DBS assets to Primestar for US$1.1 billion in nonvoting securities.
Malone said that PrimeStar may not be able to go to high-power until next summer. Observers noted that that may allow the already existing DBS services to hold and extend their lead over PrimeStar that currently utilises only medium-power satellite capacity.



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Sat-ND, 4.9.97



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