Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
Ondas Media, which proposes to build a European mobile digital audio radio system (DARS), says the Spanish government has filed a new application with the International Telecommunications Union on its behalf. Teamed with Club DAB Italia, a consortium of media companies, Ondas is one of several ventures vying to start European mobile satellite radio/TV service. The company said the filing reflects the transitioning of the system, expected to start operations in late 2009, to a more advanced phase.
International Launch Services (ILS) has scheduled its next Proton M launch--the second since the booster returned to service and the first since the withdrawal of Lockheed Martin from ILS--for Nov. 9. The payload will be Badr-4 (Arabsat 4B), the first of two fourth-generation satellites to be put in operation by Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat). The 32-transponder K u-band spacecraft was built by Astrium with the payload supplied by Alcatel Alenia Space.
The Optus D1 and DirecTV 9S communications satellites were successfully dual-launched by an Ariane 5 rocket on Oct. 13 at approximately 4:56 p.m. EDT, the fourth launch this year for the Ariane 5 from Arianespace's facility in Kourou, French Guiana. Built by Orbital Sciences Corp. for Optus Networks Pty. Ltd. of Australia, Optus D1 will operate in the K u-band frequencies from its orbital location at 160 deg. E. Long., providing fixed satellite services and direct-to-home television broadcasting to Australia and New Zealand.
