Talking satellite
09 July 2021
Martin Jarrold, chief of international programme development, GVF
10,000 viewers & counting
Pandemic… It is with us still, affecting everyday activities, impacting everyday decisions, circumscribing the scope of our endeavours. It has changed us; what we choose to do, what we can do, and what we are permitted to do.
Like many people since March last year, I have been doing a lot of workrelated “Zooming”. Virtual space has replaced aerospace and I have come to appreciate that webinars do have certain advantages. Of course, whilst there is something of an urge to return to real events, and to having human interaction with satellite industry colleagues and partners again, this will not be a return to “normal”. We cannot yet grasp what the climb out of successive lockdowns might be like; the progress of global vaccines distribution and availability is far from equitable; and, the world won’t be “normal”.
Find out more Mauritius launches first satellite
02 July 2021
Mauritius became the latest African country to have a presence in space, following the successful launch of a CubeSat – MIR-SAT1 on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.
MIR SAT, which stands for Mauritius Imagery and Radiotelecommunication Satellite, is a nano satellite (a term reserved for any satellite with a mass from 1kg-10kg. Once it is deployed and begins orbiting Earth, the ground station at the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) in Ebene will be able to contact it a few times a day.
Data the MRIC receives will help the Indian Ocean nation with disaster management and prevention. The ground station will also allow the receipt of data and telemetry from other satellites.
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Intelsat partners with local DRC firm
02 July 2021
Intelsat has partnered with local business HCI to deploy its Intelsat CellBackhaul service from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Out of the more than 49 million people that live in remote or rural regions of DRC, more than 32 million live in an area without a minimum of 3G.
“With an increasing number of businesses and people relying on internet access to operate, communicate or access education or health services, connectivity is not just an option anymore -- it’s a necessity,” Nathan Dahan, country manager, DRC, Intelsat told Southern African Wireless Communications. “At Intelsat, we’re continuously working on developing and implementing new ways to address the need for broadband and mobile connectivity. With Intelsat CellBackhaul, Mobile Network Operators in the DRC overcome the technical and economic challenges often associated with traditional, terrestrial backhaul deployments for rural coverage. They can quickly and efficiently expand their coverage - even in the most remote areas.”
Find out more Ex-Russian gov minister Volin named as RSCC director-general
02 July 2021
Volin is RSCC's new DG
State-backed Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) has named Alexey Volin as its new director general.
He is expected to address at RSCC are strengthening and modernisation of the existing satellite constellation, maintaining the operator's market position in an increasingly competitive environment, providing communication services for remote regions of northern Russia and participating in international cooperation and in the work of the International Organization for Space Communications (IOSC) Intersputnik.
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