Worldwide Satellite Magazine December 2008 SatMagazine The Year In Review... 2 0 2008 insights + 2009 prognostications by 33 leading companies Subject-matter experts examine the past year... — Chris Forrester — Futron 0 — Near Earth LLC — Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP — Space Foundation — World Teleport Association 8 FOCUS features by Parallel + IDC SKYTERRA COMMUNICATIONS Taking Wireless to New Heights www.skyterra.com SATMAGAZINE DECEMBER 2008 CONTENTS YEAR IN REVIEW YIR: UPLINK YIR: COMPANY INSIGHTS Reflections + Projections 03 by Hartley Lesser Asia Broadcast Satellite ASC Signal Corporation The Year in Space... 04 by Eilliot Pulham, Space Foundation GATR Technologies Global Protocols YIR: COLUMNIST INSIGHTS Globecast Worldwide Hughes Network Systems A Blisteringly Good Year iDirect 10 For Europe by Chris Forrester Integral Systems, Inc. PREVIEW: 2009 Intelsat General Corp. 16 Peering Around The Curtain Iridium by Peggy Slye, Division Director Futron ISODE Newtec Annus Horribilis or MITEQ 20 Annus Mirabilis? by Hoyt Davidson, Founder ONDAS Media Nearth Earth LLC Operationally Responsive Space The Legal + Regulatory View Orbit Technology Group by J. Steven Rich, Attorney Paradise Datacom 27 Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP PBLSat Vol. 6 No. 8 The Age of Uncertainty PPM December by Robert Bell, Executive Director 2008 36 World Teleport Association Proactive Communications RRsat RUAG Aerospace SAT-GE FOCUS SkyTerra (formerly MSV) Space Florida The Maritime Market: 30 VSAT Rules Space Foundation by James Dell, Co-Founder, Parallel Spacenet Inc. New Era For Space Systems/Loral 57 SatRadio Distribution STM Group Inc. by Gary Carter, V.P., International Datacasting Corporation Thuraya UltiSat ViaSat Vizada SATMAGAZINE Reflections + Projections UPLINK December 2008 hile this past year generally was a pleasant experience for our EDITORIAL + PRODUCTION industry, next year may find the experience more challenging. In- Wsulation from the economic woes currently stressing governments Silvano Payne and citizens alike will be sought. Cocooning will occur, as less and less Publisher disposable income is available for extracurricular activities. People will Hartley Lesser want and demand more and more in the way of home-based entertainment Editorial Director Pattie Lesser — offerings highly reliant upon satellite delivery. IPTV, DTV, Mobile TV, Editor radio, web — all are big players with satellite connectivity needs. Mix in P.J. Waldt the variety of support companies involved, from teleports to DVB-S2 tech- Associate Editor nology suppliers to broadcasters to equipment manufacturers, and there Jill Durfee is good cause to remain optimistic about business prospects for 2009. Assistant Editor The global aspects of our environs are also something to be optimistic about, as leading technologies are implemented in regions of the world THIS ISSUE’S AUTHORS heretofore isolated from satellite connectivity. Growth in the African, Moe Abutaleb — Reham Barakat Robert Bell — David Bettinger Asian, Middle Eastern, Pan-Pacific and Latin American markets will con- Thomas Choi — Gary Carter tinue to forge forward — the need to know and to communicate is driving Paul Claydon — Jim Corry Erik Ceuppens firms to supply what the customer wants at affordable price points. Mark Dankberg — Hoyt Davidson Matt Desch — Chris Forrester This issue provides readers the expertise of those knowledgeable in specific Arnold Friedman — Chris Gates Alex Good — Glen Katz subject matters within a broad range of disciplines and companies. These Steve Kohler — Dave Krueger fine folk have succeeded in our business realms and they review what oc- Marc LeGare — Yossi Levy curred to their companies during 2008, what they believe will transpire in Jennifer Manner — Colin Morris John Nigginbotham — Howard Hausman 2009, and how their companies are fairing as we approach the New Year. Dean Hudson — Andrew Jordan Christian Pinon — Michael Pollack Elliot Pulham — Tony Radford I thank all for their time and efforts in producing their analysis, which, I hope, J. Steven Rich — David Rivel will realistically encourage readers. These “reports” are offered in alphabetical Peter Scherrer — Kay Sears order so as to not imply any favoritism. Each company has their own presenta- Will Sheppard — Dr. Aruna Slekys Peggy Slye — J. Steven Rich tion wherein they discuss their performance over the past year, what they feel Serge Van Herck — Dr. Peter Wegner should be noted for 2009, and their product plans. In fact, there are so many Emil Youssefzadeh — Nick Yuran companies and subject-matter experts involved, the individual commentaries would not all fit within the publication. We’ll offer the first portions of their of- SALES & MARKETING ferings, which you may then completely read at the SatMagazine website via Jill Durfee the include article link. If these fine folk sound enthusiastic, why shouldn’t Advertising Director they? They are proud of their company’s accomplishments and what is hoped [email protected] wil be gained in 2009. Extremely interesting reads, all! PUBLICATION DEVELOPMENT Also in UPLINK is an op-ed from Space Foundation’s President and Chief Simon Payne Executive Officer, Elliot Pulham. The op-ed is entitled “The Top 10 Reasons Creative Managers 2008 Was Great In Space”, a highly interesting read. Enjoy the magazine, Published monthly by relish the expertise, and for a complete rundown on satcom and milsatcom Satnews Publishers news every day, I recommend you access SatNews. If you have company 800 Siesta Way, news or new product info, be certain to send that material directly to me for Sonoma, CA 95476 USA Phone (707) 939-9306 immediate attention. Fax (707) 939-9235 E-mail: [email protected] As far as 2009 is concerned, worry does little more than adversely affect Website: www.satmagazine.com your health and shorten your life span.. Look for the positive, drink in the © 2008 Satnews Publishers sunshine, and don’t forget what little known lithographer Herm Albright once Author content does not necessarily said in the early 1900’s — “A positive attitude may not solve all your prob- reflect the views or opinions of lems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” SatNews Publishers. Hartley Lesser, Editorial Director, SatNews Publishers SatMagazine — December 2008 3 UPLINK Top 10 Reasons 2008 Was Great In Space by Elliot Pulham, CEO, Space Foundation Number 9 Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo and f you’re like most Ameri- begins test program cans, you’re very happy to Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic team se- Isee 2008 come to an end. lected New York’s Hayden Planetarium last January to Pockmarked by the scars of unveil the design for SpaceShipTwo, the successor to a long presidential campaign and a global economic Virgin’s X-Prize-win- meltdown, 2008 will be remembered as a long sea- ning SpaceShipOne. son of unwelcome news, punctuated by a historic mo- SpaceShipTwo is an ment of hope as Americans elected Senator Barack operational version Obama to be president of the United States. None- of the two-stage-to- theless, a series of dramatic events in space were space system that playing out in the background, assuring that 2008 will carry thousands will be remembered as a great year in space. of ordinary citizens from all walks of Top 10 Reasons 2008 was a great year ... life into space in the years ahead. With the Number 10 Virgin Galactic team Space economy rockets past $250 billion already putting future suborbital passengers through According to The Space Report 2008: The Authorita- centrifuge training and the first SpaceShipTwo carrier tive Guide to Global Space Activity, the global space aircraft rolling out for tests in August, the age of space economy zoomed past the $250 billion mark in 2007. travel for everyone moved significantly closer to reality. No longer dominated by government spend- Number 8 ing, the space economy Japan’s success with extra-terrestrial is now driven by con- exploration sumer applications of 2008 marked the first time that the Space Founda- technologies using the tion’s John L. “Jack” Swigert, Jr., Award for Space U.S. global positioning Exploration was presented to a non-U.S. organization. system (GPS) satellite JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, was constellation, direct- recognized for successful operation of an impressive to-consumer satellite fleet of robotic exploration spacecraft. The spacecraft television and radio – Suzaku, Akari, Hinode, Hayabusa and Kaguya — broadcasting, and com- have done everything from landing on and drilling into mercialized space imag- an asteroid to providing the historic first HDTV images ing satellites that fuel of Earth’s moon as seen from lunar orbit. The impres- such consumer applica- sive Japanese solar system exploration program is on tions as Google Earth. the leading edge of a growing trend of space firsts by Available online at www.TheSpaceReport.org, the nations other than the traditional space superpowers, Space Foundation’s annual report on the industry also signaling a new era in international space exploration. revealed that, despite the global economic slowdown, the space economy grew 11 percent in 2007 — largely Number 7 owing to a mature and growing commercial space SpaceX achieves economy. While government space spending remains successful orbital launch relatively flat, commercial space revenues now account Undaunted by earlier launch failures, the commercial for 71 percent of global space activity, with sectors space transportation company founded by dot-com like GPS equipment manufacturing up 20 percent and millionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk succeeded in direct-to-home broadcasting up 19 percent. successfully placing a demonstration spacecraft into 6 SatMagazine — December 2008 UPLINK a precise Earth orbit in Sep- program is facing a potential hiatus from manned tember. Space Exploration space flight as the venerable space shuttles are retired, Technologies, or SpaceX, was China’s manned space program is clearly on the rise. founded and funded entirely with private capital with the Number 5 expressed intent of dramati- U.S. Air Force EELV program completes cally reducing the cost of putting payloads into orbit.