Satellite Industry News Bits December 24, 2009

Orbital Sciences Corporation and Thales Alenia Space share prime contractor status on contract for new geosynchronous satellite with regenerative system for broadband serving mobile terminals, to be built for OverHorizon, with offices in the U.S., Sweden, and Cyprus.
[Space Ref - 12/23/2009]

International Launch Services prepares DIRECTV 12 for launch on December 29.
[SatNews - 12/23/2009]

GOES-R gets thumbs up for go-ahead under Lockheed Martin's contract with NASA.
[SatNews - 12/23/2009]

Space debris cause a lot of problems in launching new satellites.
[Space Mart - 12/23/2009]
Related - NASA and DARPA sponsor first ever international conference on orbital debris removal, seen as a new business area - the big question, who will pay?
[Space Mart - 12/14/2009]

Avanti Communications Group of London orders up HYLAS-2 satellite from Orbital Sciences, to be based on Orbital's STAR 2.4 satellite platform.
[SatNews - 12/23/2009]

HYLAS 2 satellite to be launched by Arianespace in 2012.
[Space Travel - 12/22/2009]

Arinc and Vizada rollout voice services over Inmarsat I-4 network.
[Satellite Today - 12/22/2009]

Chrisar Software Technoligies contracts with Applied Satellite Engineering to develop satellite data solution for whale watchers using Iridium satellites.
[Satellite Today - 12/22/2009]

The European Space Agency awards a contract to Ariane 5 rocket manufacturer for early development of new upper stage to increase the launcher's capacity.
[Spaceflight Now - 12/21/2009]

China to launch civil HD survey satellite in 2011.
[Space Daily - 12/21/2009]

KVH's mini-VSAT broadband service is granted permanent "Earth Station onboard - Vessel" or ESV license authority after operating since September 2007 under an FCC Special Temporary Authority (STA).
[PR Newswire - 12/21/2009

GOES-P satellite arrives at Kennedy Space Center for prelaunch testing.
[Space Mart - 12/21/2009]

Lockheed Martin completes site acceptance testing over the Inmarsat-4 satellite network and delivers the Global Satellite Phone Service gateway in Subic Bay to Inmarsat.
[SatNews - 12/20/2009]

Russia plans research into nuclear engines for spaceships beginning in 2010.
[SatNews - 12/20/2009]

Russian, U.S., and Japanese astronauts blast off for Christmas stay on board the International Space Station.
[SatNews - 12/20/2009]

North America DBS subscriber disconnects investigated by NSR - steady stream of subscribers switch from one to the other provider as "free" period expires - cumulative subscriber disconnects increased by 9% over past three years.
[NSR Report - December 2009]

Helios 2B finally makes it into orbit on December 18, aboard the seventh Ariane 5 launch of 2009.
[Space War - 12/19/2009]