Archive for October, 2009
Oct 31, 2009, post by Satellite News
The Ariane 5 for Arianespace’s October 29 mission is now complete following the installation of its second payload — the NSS-12 satellite for telecommunications operator SES WORLD SKIES. Encapsulated in an ogive-shaped protective fairing, NSS-12 was mated atop Ariane 5, positioning it as the launch vehicle’s upper passenger. Located below it in the launcher payload “stack” is the mission’s lower passenger, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting’s THOR 6 relay platform.
This integration activity took place in the Final Assembly Building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, enabling a final series of preparation milestones to begin — including the launch readiness review on October 27, followed by Ariane 5’s rollout to the ELA-3 launch zone on the next day and the countdown to an October 29 evening liftoff during a 40-minute launch window that opens at 5:00 p.m. local time in French Guiana. Ariane 5 is to provide a payload lift performance of 9,515 kg. during the upcoming mission, which includes a combined total of 8,700 kg. for the NSS-12 and THOR 6 satellites, plus the launch vehicle’s dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.
NSS-12 was produced in the United States by Space Systems/Loral based on its SS/L 1300 platform, and weighs approximately 5,700 kg. for liftoff. The powerful spacecraft is outfitted with 48 active Ku-band transponders and 40 C-band transponders, and will be operated by SES WORLD SKIES from a geostationary orbit of 57 degrees East to provide DTH TV broadcast services for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.
THOR 6 will be the first satellite launched by Arianespace for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS, a subsidiary of the Norwegian operator Telenor. This 3,000-kg. payload was built in Europe by Thales Alenia Space using a Spacebus 4000B2 platform, and carries 36 Ku-band transponders. It will be positioned at 1 degree West, and is to distribute DTH services to the Nordic region and throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
Oct 31, 2009, post by Satellite News
Broadcast Professionals in India will get first-hand demonstrations of Telos, Omnia, Axia, and Linear Acoustic equipment at Broadcast India 2009 at booth H-803.
Among the Telos offerings to be exhibited, will be Zephyr/IP, an advanced IP audio codec that produces high-quality, low-delay audio over typical public Internet connections. Accompanying the Zephyr/IP will be the Zephyr iPort, which houses eight stereo MPEG codecs in a single 2RU box, capable of either 8 bi-directional or 16 encode-only channels.
The Omnia ONE will be among the family of Omnia processors displayed, along with Omnia’s top-ofthe-line 6EXi and 8x processors.
Axia will be showing PowerStation, which combines six separate IP-audio devices into a single integrated console engine. Axia has more than 140 Axia Element consoles on-air in India — more than 1,500 worldwide.
Linear Acoustic, an authority in multi-channel loudness control, upmixing, and distribution solutions forDTV, will feature LAMBDA-II, an audio and metadata monitor. This unit offers robust options such as displaying up to 16 channels at once, Dolby Decode in AC3 or Dolby E, and a dual power supply. The company will also be displaying its kitchen sink processor, the AERO.air (5.1). This unit offers 10 channels of audio processing, Dolby Encode or Decode in AC3 or Dolby E, hot swappable power supplies, HD SDI I/O, and lastly, Crowd Control. Crowd Control offers dialog protection for any sports casting. Dolby Pulse will be available in this unit by end of year.
Oct 31, 2009, post by Satellite News
Leaders of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will launch the bloc’s first satellite TV channel.
The Thai government and the Mass Communication Authority of Thailand (MCOT) would operate the TV channel, which aims to present news, information, culture, tourism and sports of the region, informed Thai Prime Minister’s Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey.
One hundred and twenty million baht (about US$3.6 million) is being spent on the launch of the channel to cover the ASEAN Summit and promote cultural exchanges between member nations. The programs will be in the native language of each country with English subtitles. Funding for the 24-hour channel, which will continue after the summit, would be divided between Thai government and the state-run MCOT. “This ASEAN channel will be an important tool in strengthening relations and exchanging culture among the ten ASEAN countries and to link their people together,” stated Sathit.
