{"id":69356,"date":"2016-11-23T20:08:21","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T12:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/1986-2016-30-events-that-shaped-the-last-30-years-in-satellite-2\/"},"modified":"2016-11-23T20:08:21","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T12:08:21","slug":"1986-2016-30-events-that-shaped-the-last-30-years-in-satellite-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/1986-2016-30-events-that-shaped-the-last-30-years-in-satellite-2\/","title":{"rendered":"1986\u20132016: 30 Events that Shaped the  Last 30 Years in Satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Via Satellite turned 30 years old this year; to celebrate, we decided to give ourselves the task of listing what we think are the key 30 events to impact our industry over the last three decades. Obviously, it is not an easy process and there were many different events considered. But, having examined the archives, and done an extensive user survey, these are our final choices for the key 30 events between 1986 and 2016 in the satellite industry.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/WzmJzxVTKetScrGO5Vag_1986.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>THE CHALLENGER DISASTER<\/h2>\n<p>Thirty years ago, space was front-page news across the world and people in homes all over the globe would marvel at Space Shuttle launches \u2014 they were momentous news events. However, on January 28, 1986, tragedy struck when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight leading to the deaths of all members of the crew. The STS-51L crew of Challenger included the first Teacher-in-Space participant, Christa McAuliffe, a Concord, New Hampshire, high school instructor. Also on board were Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judy Resnik, Ellison Onizuka and Ron McNair, along with payload specialist Greg Jarvis, an engineer with the Hughes Aircraft Company.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/JIOL0JifTkuEIDs8553h_VS_30AE_Cover_DGTL-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/JIOL0JifTkuEIDs8553h_VS_30AE_Cover_DGTL-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/JIOL0JifTkuEIDs8553h_VS_30AE_Cover_DGTL-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/JIOL0JifTkuEIDs8553h_VS_30AE_Cover_DGTL-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/JIOL0JifTkuEIDs8553h_VS_30AE_Cover_DGTL.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the 30th Anniversary Edition Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/IdktT8SVOdrqYNWzsYGA_Challenger_flight_51-l_crew.jpg\"><figcaption>NASA Human Space FlightThe crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-51-L pose for their official portrait on November 15, 1985. In the back row from left to right: Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judy Resnik. In the front row from left to right: Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ron McNair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It was a tragedy that sent shockwaves not only across the space community, but also around the world. It showed that, while space is exciting and glamorous, there are risks involved. Even 30 years later, those who were around can remember where they were when they heard the news. This year, NASA held a ceremony on January 28, 30 years after the tragedy to commemorate those lives lost in space.<\/p>\n<h2>VIA SATELLITE\u2019S FIRST ISSUE<\/h2>\n<p>Via Satellite launched in 1986 and it has since seen and reported on many of the changes that have impacted the industry down the years. In terms of the how the magazine got its name, Bucky Marshall, the then publisher of Via Satellite, recalls an unlikely person to thank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe came up with the name Via Satellite because my brother-in-law would tease me by saying \u2018via satellite, via satellite\u2019 whenever a transmission came on the television with that icon in the corner of the screen. The actual title was a closely guarded secret when I was soliciting investors; we marketed the magazine under my company\u2019s name of Satellite Broadcasting. One of the more interesting moments in that process was when one of the potential investors, a cable television magazine publisher said out of the blue that he had always wanted to publish a magazine under the name Via Satellite. He declined to invest, but his suggestion confirmed that it was the best name,\u201d Marshall says.<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e088a;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e088a = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e088b').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e088b'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/vTbpARJXTLWnhHb4F0QZ_SROCKPTR-3816110811490.jpg\"><figcaption>Via Satellite\u2019s first issue in 1986<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It took two years of effort (1984-1986) to put the plan together and get the first issue published. \u201cWe were boosted by an arrangement with Channel Guide, a [Television Receive-Only] TVRO industry guide to the programming available on the multitude of C-band satellites at the time,\u201d says Marshall. \u201cLloyd Covens, Channel Guide\u2019s publisher, allowed us space in his offices and the use of his personnel to get the first issue published. Via Satellite would not have been born without Lloyd\u2019s tremendous support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was shortly after the first issue came out that Marshall was contacted by Phil Cook of Phillips Magazines, Inc., the fledgling magazine publishing branch of Phillips Publishing Inc. (PPI). \u201cShortly thereafter, we consummated an agreement and the second issue of the magazine was published through their offices in Mission Viejo, California. It was a perfect match as they allowed us access to all of the resources of their newsletter publishing business in Washington, D.C., including the editorial staff of Satellite News,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Marshall admits his most chilling memory of those early years was learning of the Challenger shuttle disaster the day they had signed the deal with PPI. \u201cOnce we were with PPI, we embarked on a bimonthly schedule and after a few issues we were able to publish monthly and the rest as they say is (30 years of) history,\u201d said Marshall.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/1iyCJW20T9aHfktUIBg5_1988.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>LAUNCH OF ARIANE 4<\/h2>\n<p>Arianespace has been a European satellite success story for many decades. But, even in its illustrious history, the launch of the first Ariane 4 was a major event. Jean-Michel Desobeau, who at the time was the payload preparation facilities manager at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana for Arianespace, was there at the successful launch. Currently, Desobeau is the quality deputy vice president at Arianespace.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/hmFPQg1T3aSURW7BfNLz_First_Ariane_4_launch.jpg\"><figcaption>Launch of the first Ariane 4 rocket.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Desobeau highlights some of the significant elements of this initial Ariane 4 launch. \u201cFor the first Ariane 4 launch on 15 June 1988, this was the first launcher of a new family, and it contained many technical novelties. For example, it had digital avionics with dual inertial guidance units, use of carbon fiber for some structures, new fairing, new liquid strap-on boosters, etc., and upgrades [such as] enlarged first-stage tanks, more powerful solid propellant strap-on boosters, etc. This new Ariane 4 family could then allow a significantly larger and heavier pair of spacecraft being carried to orbit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Looking back at events in 1998, Desobeau says that, in order to prepare the first Ariane 4 launch and make it seem as a really good option to the space community, Arianespace prepared a very complex payload comprising of the European weather forecast satellite Meteosat-P2 for Eumetsat, PanAmSat 1, and the ham-radio AMSAT Phase 3-C (having become Oscar 13 on orbit) built by the German AMSAT-DL group.<\/p>\n<p>This 3,500 kg payload was one and half times heavier than anything Arianespace had flown on the previous Ariane 1, 2 and 3 versions and also the most complex with three independent spacecraft on board. It would prove to be a critical launch that would lead to a successful future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis new Ariane 4 family opened the door to launching more diverse, heavier spacecraft to be delivered on orbit with a much larger pairing flexibility. At the end of the Ariane 4 program, 116 vehicles flew in the six versions and delivered 187 spacecraft (including 27 auxiliary ones) to the benefit of more than 50 European and international space operators,\u201d adds Desobeau.<\/p>\n<h2>BIRTH OF PANAMSAT<\/h2>\n<p>Of course one of the satellites launched on the Ariane 4 was PanAmSat 1, which also stands alone as a significant event in the satellite industry. Fred Landman, former CEO and president of PanAmSat, admits looking back at events in the 1980s and saying that everyone at the time thought PanAmSat\u2019s chances of making it was \u201ca million to one shot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e0ce5;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e0ce5 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e0ce6').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e0ce6'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>PanAmSat spent the first few years trying to get a country to coordinate with it. \u201cYou could not go to the telecoms entities because they had signed an Intelsat resolution to boycott PanAmSat. So, you had to go to the government, and the governments generally were all part of this system. The Founder and Chairman of PanAmSat, Rene Anselmo, finally prevailed in Peru,\u201d says Landman. \u201cHe met the Peruvian president and finally convinced him that competition would be a good thing and would help Peru. That is how we started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PanAmSat ended up signing a launch deal for the \u201cbargain basement\u201d price of $8 million with Arianespace to launch its satellite. Even building the satellite created some unique challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe went to RCA which had never built a satellite for Intelsat and we were able to buy parts that were assembled for a spare satellite if there was a launch failure. We bought these spare parts from RCA; we made a series of payments worth around $60 million. We had this joke, the bagman from RCA would come around every few weeks asking for another $5 million in progress payments. It was very piecemeal,\u201d Landman says.<\/p>\n<p>Even getting to French Guiana for the launch back in those days was no easy feat. \u201cWe had to stop six times including in Trinidad and Port of Prince, but eventually we got there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>The real beauty of the story of PanAmSat is that one failed launch would have ended it before it began. \u201cEverything was riding on this launch for us. Because of the Space Shuttle blowing up and this being an experimental launch, insurance premiums went through the roof,\u201d Landman adds. \u201cI remember sitting down before the launch with Anselmo and our insurance broker. We figured if we got $25 million in insurance, at least we would have something. He called it \u2018peanut butter\u2019 money as he would have enough money to get by if the launch failed. If the launch had been a failure, we would have closed up shop and gone home. We couldn\u2019t get any financing from banks; this was done out of Rene\u2019s personal checkbook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Landman is proud of what PanAmSat was able to achieve. \u201cIt took someone with a really long view and absolute determination to do this. There were so many barriers. People thought we were crazy and thought we would never succeed. It was $100 million to get something off the ground. In those days, it was a huge amount of money and a big risk. Most people were not willing to take that risk, given the international climate for competition in satellite communications,\u201d he says. \u201cThe biggest mistake Intelsat made was they said PanAmSat would never succeed, but we did. That was all that Rene needed. There was no giving up then [once Intelsat had said that],\u201d recalls Landman.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/HvvIwa5BS3T9LKqQV8H8_1989.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL<\/h2>\n<p>One of the biggest news stories of the 1980s was the fall of the Berlin Wall, which signified the start of a new Germany, a new Europe, and also a new era for satellite communications. PanAmSat was at the sharp end of covering the momentous historical events and providing video coverage of this event. Mike Antonovich, who was Director, Broadcast Services at PanAmSat at the time, recalls some of the events of the day.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/XppQpt1AT4Ceei1zbYo6_BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg\"><figcaption>Wikimedia CommonsPeople atop the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate on 9 November 1989<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSo Rene Anselmo, PanAmSat\u2019s founder and still my personal hero, is up in Boston on a panel discussing satellite market deregulation with, among others, Peter Bross, was head of Germany\u2019s Posts and Telecommunications department at the time. We were banging our heads against brick walls all over Europe trying to get market access for video services, with little success. We had transmit\/receive rights in the UK, and downlink rights to France, but were otherwise shut out. But news comes trickling in that sections of the Berlin Wall had been breached. So Rene reaches over the Dr. Bross and says something like \u201cYou have to let the world SEE this!\u201d So, within hours, we have flyaway satellite antennas (for US broadcast network CBS and NHK and Fuji TV of Japan) heading on the first planes out. By the following day, we are doing live shots from flyaways sitting on scaffolding as the real action of taking down the Wall begins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs exciting as being part of one of the 21st Century\u2019s biggest stories, for PanAmSat and the whole private satellite industry, this was a much bigger deal. Flyaway accessing PanAmSat followed the news into Czechoslovakia, Poland and across Eastern Europe. Not only did the Berlin Wall come down, but regulatory barriers all over Europe come down with it,\u201d said Antonovich.<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e10b5;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e10b5 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e10b6').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e10b6'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The barriers to broadcast major news stories across Europe via satellite all came tumbling down one after the other after Berlin Wall, according to Antonovich. \u201cThe power of satellite communications to instantly transmit breaking news for broadcasters became very clear and relevant to communications authorities. A lot of the gate-keeping regulatory authorities who had made our lives very difficult folded their cards at that point, as it was clear they could not hold us back. It was an incredibly important time in breaking down the barriers that had made private satellite systems difficult or impossible to do business with,\u201d he adds. In Prague, Antonovich says CBS, which had been covering events via satellite, was wheeling their flyaway onto the balcony for live shots then rolling it back in, suddenly got a knock on the door at the hotel where they were staying. \u201cIt was the Communications Ministry in Czecoslovakia who marched them down the street and bought them into an office and everyone thinks they are going to go to jail. Turns out they are told to fill in a form for a license which up until then had been impossible to get. It was the start of liberalizing free and easy telecommunications across Europe. And the rest of the World followed.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/rdzbXvyLTMKZnDdXtO1f_1993.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>ADVENT OF HD<\/h2>\n<p>There is little doubt one of the great innovations of television over the last decade has been the move from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD). In fact, it was one of the biggest changes we have seen in terms of improving overall picture quality. While the roots of HD can be traced even further back than 1993, this was a key year for HD in the United States. According to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) archives, in February 1993, an advisory committee set up a few years earlier reported that a digital HDTV system was achievable, but that all four competing digital systems then under consideration would benefit significantly from further development and none would be recommended over the others at that time. In May that year, seven companies and nine institutions that had been proponents of the four tested digital Advanced Television (ATV) systems joined together in a \u201cgrand alliance\u201d to develop a final digital ATV system for the standard. Over the next two and a half years, that system was developed, extensively tested, and is documented in the Advanced Television Systems Committee Digital Television (ATSC DTV) standard. This, in essence, was the precursor to HD in the United States, a major event for the satellite industry.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/5l2OgxReTyeDXfYZpbfU_Definitions_of_TV_standards.jpg\"><\/figure>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/ZHGNlatRpi8CY6rY3OMQ_1996.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>INTELSAT 708 LAUNCH FAILURE<\/h2>\n<p>The satellite industry is littered with failed launches; unfortunately, it comes with the territory. However, one launch that would have a lasting impact would be the launch failure involving the Intelsat 708 satellite in February 1996. The satellite would be launched via a Chinese Long March rocket and would crash shortly after takeoff into a nearby village killing a number of people, although the true figure is widely believed to be still not known.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/KgW1jvIQSxzIIVN1h6De_Intelsat708.jpg\"><figcaption>Wikimedia CommonsImage of the failure of the Long March rocket carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite on February 15, 1996<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The failed launch also had far reaching effects politically, as the whole issue of protecting sophisticated U.S. technology became a huge issue and ultimately, as a result, satellite and launch vehicle technology became the subject of much stricter regulations ever since.<\/p>\n<h2>FIRST PROTON COMMERCIAL LAUNCH<\/h2>\n<p>Back in the 1980s, it might have seemed inconceivable that a Western European satellite could be launched on a Russian rocket. But, in April 1996, a Proton rocket launched an SES satellite into space, heralding not only a new era in the launch market, but also a new era for satellite communications as a truly global industry. Theo Pirard, founder of the Space Information Center Belgium, called the launch of a private satellite for a Western enterprise from a former communist country and by using a \u201csecret\u201d rocket a \u201chistorical event\u201d in space transportation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo attend it on the mythic cosmodrome of Baikonur, also named \u2018the road to the stars,\u2019 was an exciting moment. Just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the joint Russian-American enterprise International Launch Services (ILS) was a really original venture to market the Proton launch vehicle of the 1960s. It found as first customer Luxembourg-based SES, that was not yet a global operator,\u201d says Pirard. \u201cAt this time, SES purchased all satellites from the United States \u2014 mostly from Hughes and Boeing \u2014 and contracted Arianespace for their [Geostationary Transfer Orbit] GTO launches. As a pan-European player for TV broadcasts, it had the bold stroke of opening the business of space access to a potential rival of Ariane.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/WjHgJriETa2yq5s4pOhE_Astra1F.jpg\"><figcaption>ILSFirst commercial launch of a Proton launch vehicle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Recalling the actual launch, Pirard said he had to spend the \u201clongest night without sleeping\u201d prior to the launch. Pirard and others were flown to Baikonur for the nighttime launch of Proton with Astra 1F, the sixth satellite of a European constellation for TV broadcasts. \u201cWe landed on the Yubelneyi airstrip \u2014 designed in the 1980s for the Soviet Buran shuttle \u2014 then transported by four buses to a viewing site 5 km away from the Proton launch complex, in the Northern part of Baikonur. I was particularly impressed by the quick lift-off of the Proton launcher. We departed from the launch site just after the injection on first orbit was confirmed,\u201d remembers Pirard.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/IgtgubxvSXum7kPYePOQ_1999.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>IRIDIUM: THE FALL BEFORE THE RISE<\/h2>\n<p>Like any vertical, the satellite sector is filled with success stories and inevitable failures. Some companies can fall into both categories. No company typifies this more than Iridium, which was one of the most high profile satellite companies to ever enter into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in 1999. Bob Kinzie, who now works for his own family generators business and says he \u201cwent from space to dirt,\u201d was Iridium\u2019s chairman at the time in 1999 when the company went through bankruptcy. Kinzie said the technology, promise, and usefulness of the Iridium system is brilliant. However, he admits the original business plan to monetize that brilliant system was flawed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe possibilities of that technically advanced system led to plans that could not survive in the real world. The system was not capable of handset-to-handset communications. It proved to be a one-way system: the customer could call on the Iridium handset but a customer could not receive unless they had an external antenna,\u201d he says. \u201cThus, the consumer and business traveler customers did not materialize as envisaged in the business plan; they were enveloped in the explosion of cellular. In the brutal language of Wall Street, the dogs would not eat the dog food. The revenues could not be seen to grow into sustaining the capital structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e14d0;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a684892e14d0 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e14d1').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a684892e14d1'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>He admits that, while the system is invaluable to many users and uses where communication is not readily available, the income level to sustain the original capital structure was not there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe business plan needed revision; the implementation plan needed to be revamped, investment recast and restructured. There was no runway foreseen for the income to grow into the capital structure. Time was needed to restructure and revamp the plan; but there was no time granted,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was not known that the system would last 10-plus years; lifetime had not been correctly analyzed; fuel life, battery life, and the ability of the grid configuration with inter-satellite links to work around a sick bird gave it a lifetime that could have provided time for testing and correction of defects. Pricing could have been radically different. The Darwinian forces of business solved the problem: bankruptcy, and then restructuring led to new owners picking up the pieces with a capital structure that a realistic customer base could sustain.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Placeholder alt text\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea\/B1YSnNBzQkG47JKJY5Pg_2001.png\"><\/figure>\n<h2>PRIVATIZATION OF MAJOR INDUSTRY PLAYERS<\/h2>\n<p>At the start of the last millennium, a number of major satellite players such as Eutelsat, Inmarsat and Intelsat embarked on privatization. Giuliano Berretta, the ex-CEO of Eutelsat, admitted that privatization \u201cwas his first priority\u201d when elected to lead the company. \u201cThe need generate cash after the burst of the bubble accelerated the approval of the privatization process, which happened in Cardiff, Wales in May 1999 with the objective to complete the process by July 2001.<\/p>\n<p>The European Commission gave its clearance to this transformation in November 2000, with the commitment by Eutelsat to conduct an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of at least 30 percent of shares by July 2003. Eutelsat became a private company on July 2, 2001, adopting the typically German model of a directorate and a supervisory board.<\/p>\n<p>Berretta admits telecoms operators\u2019 attitudes toward Eutelsat changed in the wake of the telecoms bubble bursting. \u201cAfter the internet bubble burst, telecom companies owning shares in Eutelsat rapidly sold their stock. Indeed, Lehman Brothers visited me straight away and said they were going to buy the shares of Telecom Italia. Lehman would prove to be a good shareholder. The worst came when our three major telecom shareholders (France Telecom, British Telecom, and Deutsche Telekom) advised me of their intention to sell Eutelsat to our direct competitor, Intelsat,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>It was clearly an interesting time to be leading Eutelsat during this period. \u201cThe payment of Intelsat was proposed to be partially with shares of Intelsat itself, therefore I asked and obtained a \u2018due diligence\u2019 of Intelsat, that revealed that Intelsat was much less efficient than Eutelsat. This discovery dampened board member spirits on selling Eutelsat. The separate sales of shares from Deutsche Telekom \u2014 approved on December 2002 \u2014 gave the coup de grace to this idea. In this way the party supporting the sales of Eutelsat lost the absolute majority and the board decided not to sell the company anymore. It was a wise decision!\u201d Berretta remembers.<\/p>\n<h2>LAUNCH OF SATELLITE RADIO<\/h2>\n<p>The satellite industry is always looking to reinvent itself and find new markets. At the start of the last millennium, the hot new market for satellite was satellite radio, and players such as XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio (which have since merged) created quite a stir. Hugh Panero, the ex-CEO of XM Radio admitted that the timing of satellite radio going to market was just right, and may not have succeeded if the two companies had gone to market at a different time. Reflecting on it, Panero believes that if either of the satellite radio companies had started six months earlier or six months later, they both probably would not have got off the ground.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLuckily, we both began raising money at a time when there were very large satellite projects out there like Globalstar and Iridium and investors understood the capital needed for these kinds of large satellite projects. If those companies had failed earlier (which they eventually did), the market may well have been less optimistic about investing in satellite radio,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>After getting General Motors on board, XM Radio also got Honda and Toyota as investors. Sirius got Chrysler and Ford. \u201cThis all happened before a big downturn in the auto industry \u2014 so we timed it right. Also, when we began developing XM, there was no such thing as an iPod, a device that people initially thought would be a niche product developed by a company called Apple. No one had a clue it would become one of the game changing consumer devices of the century. It grew up alongside satellite radio. If it had come out before XM in a bigger way, there might not have been a satellite radio industry. From concept to reality, there were lots of huge hurdles. If you look back on it, we were really the first of the successful music audio service, which spawned a multitude of internet audio providers like Spotify and others based on our subscription model,\u201d added Panero.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Via Satellite turned 30 years old this year; to celebrate, we decided to give ourselves the task of listing what we think are the key 30 events to impact our industry over the last three decades. Obviously, it is not an easy process and there were many different events considered. But, having examined the archives, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}