Saudi Arabia's Islamic TV channels

Saudi Arabia has launched two satellite TV channels to spread the messages of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah (life and teachings) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) throughout the world. Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said that the two channels could be viewed by people in Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, North Americas and Hawaii. The channels were officially launched Dec 18 covering the Arab region while their programs were telecast on most international satellites on Dec 24. Khoja said the two channels were established by the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, adding that they were a gift from the king to the Islamic world. "King Abdullah wanted the two channels to reach all Muslims in the world," he added. Prince Turki bin Sultan, assistant minister of culture and information, said the launch of the two channels reflected the Kingdom's efforts in the service of Islam and Muslims. The ministry will also launch five FM radio stations shortly. It has already short-listed 15 companies to operate the stations.

Russia launches Proton rocket with U.S. telecoms satellite

Russia has made this year's last launch from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan, launching a Proton-M carrier rocket with the US telecommunications satellite DirecTV-12, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos has said. The DirecTV satellite operator had a contract with Russian-US joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) to launch the DirecTV-12 on board a Proton-M carrier rocket to expand its existing satellite grouping. The Boeing-made DirecTV-12 satellite, weighing around 6 metric tons, will become part of DirecTV satellite grouping and provide high-definition TV, Internet and communications services to subscribers in the United States. All Proton rockets are made by Russia's Khrunichev Space and Research Centre.

South Korean prepares its own satellite launch

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) is preparing to launch a meteorological satellite to improve its capacity to gather weather information. The KMA, which has often been criticized for the haphazardness of its forecasts, said the stationary Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) will be carried into orbit by an Ariane V Rocket from the European space center in French Guiana in November. If the satellite is successfully launched, Korea will be the seventh country in the world that possesses a stationary meteorological satellite. "Using our own meteorological satellite, we'll be able to carry out monitor specific regions precisely during specific timeframes," a KMA official said. "We can save human lives and reduce property damage in the amount of more than W40 billion (US$1=W1,380) per year in weather-related disasters thanks to the improved capacity to monitor typhoons and torrential downpours." Korea relies on Japanese US and Chinese satellites for 11 kinds of weather information. In the future, the KMA says it will improve the accuracy of forecasts because it can monitor the Korean Peninsula at eight-minute intervals.

Launch of space mapping satellite delayed

NASA has delayed the launch of a space mapping satellite because of problems discovered in a rocket booster steering engine, the US space agency has said. "The first launch attempt scheduled for December 11 was delayed due to an anomaly in the motion of a booster steering engine," Nasa said in a statement. Nasa engineers plan to remove and replace a suspect component in time for the launch when weather forecasts say there is an 80 percent chance of acceptable launch conditions, it said. The WISE satellite is supposed to orbit the Earth at the poles and scan the entire sky one and a half times in nine months. "The mission will uncover hidden cosmic objects, including the coolest stars, dark asteroids and the most luminous galaxies," Nasa said.

Russia to launch Global Satellite Emergency Response System

The Accident Response System (ERA GLONASS) will become operational nationwide in 2013, Russian news agency Itar-Tass has reported. The creation of the system began in 2009, and it should become partly operational in 2012 and start working at full capacity in 2013. The system will be able to monitor the situation on the roads and quickly respond to road accidents. It may even detect the smell of alcohol in an automobile. A total of 180 million roubles (US$6.02 million) will be provided from the budget for the system in 2010. The overall cost is about two billion roubles (US$66,985), of which 511 million roubles (US$17.11 million) have been disbursed from the federal budget and 1.380 billion (US$46.22 million) roubles from off-budget funds.” This project, titled Accident Response System (ERA GLONASS), has big social importance and aims to reduce the death rate during road accidents," Roskosmos chief Anatoly Perminov said earlier. According to Perminov, 56 percent of people injured in road accidents die because of untimely response of emergency services.

Australia set to launch new satellite

Satellite provider NewSat has welcomed a $160 million federal cash injection to supply remote areas with digital television and highlighted its plans to launch Australia’s first locally-owned satellite as a possible solution. The project, dubbed Jabiru, has been in development since 2007 and is spearheading the company’s move to cash-in on the government initiative. Company CEO Adrian Ballintine said the satellite will be able to serve the 247,000 homes identified by the government as located in digital TV blackspots. “The satellite designed to provide 'Ka band' coverage across Australia will have a payload that accommodates the distribution of live broadcasting to the [blackspots],” Ballintine said in a written statement.

New Iran satellite to be launched

Iran plans to launch of a second satellite into orbit next month as announced by the Iranian Communication and Information Technology Minister Reza Taqipour. The new satellite has been designed and assembled by Iranian technologists and it will be launched during the Ten-Day-Dawn events from central Iranian desert. The annual Ten-Day-Dawn celebrations are held to commemorate the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. More information about the new satellite will be made public in the coming days. Based on reports the satellite AUT SAT was built at Amir-Kabir University of Technology by the resident scientists and researchers at AUT labs. It weighs 70 to 80 kilograms and its primary tasks are to monitor damages caused by earthquakes, other natural disasters and environmental research. Last year, Iran successfully launched its first homemade satellite called Omid from Semnan Province in central Iran. Experts around the world observed the flawless launching of the Omid satellite and hailed it as an outstanding achievement for Iranian scientists and engineers.

Global destiny migrates to digital

The country’s second largest cable firm Global Destiny Cable Inc., will migrate from analog to digital network infrastructure in the second quarter this year to post revenue growth and help government reduce illegal cable subscribers. Philip J. Chien, Destiny Cable Inc president and CEO, said in an interview that the company has earmarked P700 million to shift to digital, but the investment is expected to increase the company revenue by 20 percent this year. In addition, the company move to digital would also help the cable industry reduce the huge revenue losses yearly pegged at about P5 billion to P6 billion due to the rampant growth of illegal subscribers estimated at 1.5 million. According to Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) report in December last year, the country’s legitimate cable users have surpassed the number of illegitimate cable users in 2009 due to investment in digital technology of a cable company. In 2009, the cable association report said that cable piracy cost has been reduced to $83 million from more than $90 million last year.

India mulls launching Cartosat-2B satellite

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)Tuesday said that it mulls launching of its " Cartosat-2B" remote sensing satellite in space by March this year. "India is one among the six nations that have developed indigenous space technology and also a model to the whole world on how space technology can be used for the development of a nation. We plan to launch Cartosat-2B in March. The testing of Cryogenic engine system for GSLV will also be held soon," ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan told the media in the southern Indian state of Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram. Claiming that India is capable of sending a man to space and bringing him back with the GSLV technology, he said: "India's mission of sending a man to space is the first step to be with other nations in space technology." The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, usually known by its abbreviation GSLV, is an expendable launch system operated by the ISRO. It was developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites into geostationary orbit and to make India less dependent on foreign rockets.

Vietnam plans $290-350 mil for second satellite

Vietnam Prime Minister has agreed approved a budget of US$290-350 million to build the country’s second satellite, scheduled for completion by 2012. Vinasat-2 will be positioned at 107 degrees east when it goes into orbit. It is one of three satellite orbits that the Radio Frequency Directorate of the Ministry of Information and Communications registered with the International Telecommunication Union in 2008. Under the agreement, if Vietnam fails to launch a satellite by 2012, it will lose all the registered orbits to other countries. According to the approved plan, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunication Group will be the project investor in charge of assigning suppliers. Vietnam’s first satellite, VINASAT-1, was launched in April 2008 to improve telecommunication services, internet connection and TV reception in the country’s most remote areas. The $200 million satellite’s footprint extends over Southeast and East Asia, India and Hawaii. Its capacity is expected to run out this year.