From: Satjournal@aol.com
2
Satellite Journal International
                                                 Volume Five
                                                    June, 30
                                                        1997
     "Anyone who enjoys the privilege of publishing and
   broadcasting in open societies should demonstrate their
unshakeable belief in the universality of free speech should
 they ever seek to broadcast in societies that are closed."
                              
  ARIANESPACE Flight 96
  Superbird-C Satellite Launch Planned For July 25
  PanAmSat selects Arianespace for launch
  Hong Kong handover coverage
  EchoStarcloses offering
  U.S. S.B. boxing line-up in July
  DIRECTV Files Suit
  MultiThematiques Launches Four Channels in Germany
  ICO SATELLITES
  Norsat Considers Options
  CGV To Carry AB Sat Channels
  General Instrument In The Philippines
  ITC announces its decision to award Multiplex ...
  Orion Network Systems Opens Latin America
  Hughes signs contract and sues
  Upcoming Launches
  New files and documents at our WebStand
  In Brief
  YET ANOTHER NEW VERSION AVAILABLE
Satellite Journal is pleased to announce that SJI has opened
a "channel" on the Pointcast service. Currently in beta
testing, Pointcast 2.0 offers readers all the latest news,
weather, sports, Internet news and now Satellite Journal
Weekly. To receive this "channel" you need to install
Pointcast 2.0
To do this, go to our website at
http://members.aol.com/satjournal and click on the Pointcast
logo on our home page. Follow the instructions and you will
be up and running. Pointcast is a FREE service. (Ed note:
While this is beta software, I have had no problems with at
all.)
MINING COMPANY WEB SITE
     Thanks to those who are visiting
http://satellite.miningco.com The site also offers the
latest in news and information and in the near future will
have chat and message board areas. This site is advertiser
supported so please visit it often and send your comments to
satellite.guide@miningco.com.
                              
                    ARIANESPACE Flight 96
      Arianespace successfully launched Intelsat 802. Flight
96   was carried out by an Ariane 44P, version of the
European launcher equipped with 4 solid-propellant boosters.
     The launch took place at the European Spaceport in
Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday, June 25 at: 07.44 p.m.
EDT
     The estimated parameters at third stage injection into
geostationery orbit were:
     Perigree: 200 km for a target of 199,8 (+3) km
     Apogee: 35.974 km for a target of 35.960 (+150) km
     Inclination: 7,00deg for a target of 6,99deg (+0,06)
deg
     The INTELSAT 802 separated from the Arianespace 44P
launch vehicle approximately 21 minutes after lift-off.  It
was acquired successfully by the tracking, telemetry,
command and monitoring (TTC&M) network in Perth, Australia,
approximately 48 minutes after lift-off. On June 26,
INTELSAT engineers in the Launch Control Centre commanded
the 802 satellite to fire its apogee motors and manoeuvre it
into geostationary orbit.  INTELSAT engineers will deploy
802's solar arrays on July 2 and its C- and Ku-band
reflectors on July 2-3.  The satellite is scheduled to begin
service at the end of August 1997 at 174 degrees East
longitude.
     INTELSAT 802 is the second model in the eighth
generation of Intelsat satellites. Built by Lockheed Martin
Telecommunications, it will offer a number of technical
innovations, including 2 C-band spot beams, interconnection
between C- and K-bands, satellite newsgathering (SNG)
services, and compatibility with the INTELSAT VII and
INTELSAT VIIA satellites.
     The next launch, Flight 98, is now scheduled for August
7. An Ariane 44P will be used to place into orbit the PAS-6
satellite.
                              
      Superbird-C Satellite Launch Planned For July 25
     Space Communications Corporation reports  its Superbird-
C satellite, which will be used as the platform for DirecTV
Japan, will be launched on July 25. DirecTV Japan is
expected to launch its service in November or December later
this year.
     The satellite will be launched by an Atlas-IIAS rocket.
The launch window opens at 9:02pm EDT on July 25.
                              
                 Hong Kong handover coverage
     PanAmSat expects to transmit nearly 2000 hours of full
and part-time television coverage of Hong Kong's
reunification with China.  More than a dozen broadcasters,
including CCTV, CNN, NBC and NHK have selected PanAmSat and
its global fleet of satellites for world-wide distribution
of live and taped news footage of the historical event.
     As part of its service for the July 1 turnover,
PanAmSat's PAS-2 and PAS-4 satellites will transmit both C-
band and Ku-band signals received from fixed and
transportable earth stations in Hong Kong to sites around
the world.  Customers, including Fuji TV, Hong Kong Telecom,
Australia's Seven Network, Tokyo Broadcast System and TVBI
will utilise PanAmSat capacity for full-time coverage of the
event.  In addition, Beijing Wireless Communications,
British Telecommunications, Cosatech, TVBS, Wold
International and World-wide Television News will use
PanAmSat satellites for part-time transmissions from both
Hong Kong and related events in Beijing.
     INTELSAT will be providing live coverage of the
handover of Hong Kong also. INTELSAT will use nineteen
channels on eight of INTELSAT's 24 satellites_four in the
Pacific Ocean Region and four in the Indian Ocean Region_to
provide direct, two-way coverage of the event.
     Broadcasters using the INTELSAT satellites include CCTV
Beijing and TVB Hongkong, as well as the EBU; WTN, ARD
Frankfurt and RTP Lisbon in Europe; NBC, ABC, and CBC
Toronto in North America; and NHK Tokyo, NTV Tokyo, Fuji TV,
TV Tokyo and a news pool for Korean broadcasters in Asia.
Another location for Hong Kong celebrations is Intelsat 180
East.
"    Analogue feed: Downlink frequency 3,724 MHz and A-
 polarised.
"    S/A PowerVu digital feed: FEC 3/4  6.112 Mps.
"    It will be a one-hour program:  July 1, 6-7 a.m. PT
     
                              
                   EchoStar closes offering
     EchoStar has closed its $375.0 million offering of
Senior Secured Notes. The proceeds of the offering will be
used to fully fund the construction, launch and insurance of
EchoStar IV, to fund the first five semi-annual interest
payments on the Notes; to pay for the construction, launch
and insurance of EchoStar III, currently scheduled to be
launched in September 1997.
                              
               U.S.S.B. boxing line-up in July
     
PAY PER VIEW  U.S. Satellite              
              Broadcasting July Boxing
July 10 11    Keith McKnight vs. Brian    900
p.m. EDT      Scott
              Sam Hampton vs. Michael
              Rush
 HBO Boxing                               910
July 12  7    Lennox Lewis vs. Henry
p.m. EDT      Akinwande
July 18 9     Danny Romero vs. Johnny     910
p.m. EDT      Tapia Michael
              Carbajal vs. Jake Matlala
Showtime      Frankie Liles vs. Zaffarou  920
Boxing        Ballogou
July 19 9     Mbulelo Botile vs. Tim
p.m. EDT      Austin
                              
                     DIRECTV Files Suit
     DIRECTV, Inc. has filed civil suits against two sports
bars in Illinois and two sports bars in New York for
illegally displaying DIRECTV programming.
     The complaints, filed in Federal District Court in
Illinois against The Saluki, in Chicago, and Cue Can Do
Billiards, Inc., in Schaumburg, and filed in Federal
District Court in New York against Outfield Inn, in Middle
Village, and R&R Bar and Grill (doing business as Alley
Way), in Massapequa, allege that the defendants publicly
displayed, without authorisation, DIRECTV programming that
they had obtained with a residential subscription.
                              
     MultiThematiques Launches Four Channels in Germany
     MultiThematiques has launched four new television
channels in Germany:
     PLANET airs over 800 documentary films per year, more
than 80% of which will be shown for the first time in
Germany;
     SEASONS is dedicated to hunting and fishing
documentaries and magazines, targeting Germany's three
million such sportsmen;
     CINE CLASSICS I and CINE CLASSICS II offers films by
famous directors and German premieres with in-house
productions and documentaries on the movie industry.
                              
                       ICO SATELLITES
     ICO Global Communications reports the successful
completion of its satellite system and communications
payload Critical Design Review (CDR). Hughes is building 12
satellites and will  supply the launch services to ICO. The
two contracts are worth $ 1.3 billion and $ 900 million
respectively.
     The first ICO spacecraft launch is on schedule for late
1998, followed by the launch of the complete constellation
by the year 2000. All satellites are based on the Hughes HS
601  satellite bus modified for the ICO orbit. Each
satellite is designed to support at least 4,500 telephone
channels using a combined FDMA/TDMA  (Frequency/Time
Division Multiple Access).  The  ICO satellites  are
designed for a life span 12 years in their MEO orbit.
                              
                  Norsat Considers Options
             NII Norsat International Inc. is considering
its options following a ruling last week by the Federal
Court of Canada that importation and sale of U.S.DBS systems
contravenes Canada's Radiocommunication Act.  The ruling was
made  by Mr. Justice Gibson in Toronto.
     Norsat's President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce
Chapman said, "We were optimistic that the courts would
support freedom of choice television viewing in Canada and
strengthen competition in the domestic television
distribution industry, which up to now has been the captive
reserve of monopolistic interests.  We are startled that a
judge would now find that it is an offence for Canadians to
watch U.S. television signals they have paid to receive.
That was not our understanding of Canadian law."
     Mr. Chapman noted the ruling was preliminary only and
that the reasons for the ruling would not be available for
review until the end of July, at which time Norsat expects
to make a decision on an appeal.
     Norsat expects that the ruling, if eventually upheld,
would have a negative impact on its projected annual sales
levels but does not anticipate that its projected earnings
would be materially affected.
                              
                CGV To Carry AB Sat Channels
                 Groupe AB, beginning July 1, 1997, will
supply nine of AB Sat's thematic channels to Compagnie
Ginirale de Vidiocommunication (CGV), France's second
largest cable operator, for distribution in its cable
package.
     Under the agreement, AB Sat's family channel, AB1, will
be available in CGV's basic digital package.  In addition,
Musique Classique (classical music) and Nostalgie la Tili
(popular music) will be packaged as Option Musique.  The
remaining six thematic channels, AB Sports (sports), Escales
(travel), Animaux (animals), Chasse & Piche (hunting and
fishing), Automobile (automotive) and XXL (adult channel),
will be packaged as the AB Passions option.
                              
            General Instrument In The Philippines
         General Instrument Corporation reports its
NextLevel Satellite Data Networks Group has entered into a
contract with Philippine-based uplink service provider
Transpacific Broadcast Group International, Inc. to provide
DigiCipherII/MPEG-2 equipment for the first launch of such
GI technology in the Philippines.
     TBGI provides satellite uplink services for IBC-13 and
VTV Corporation. VTV Corporation has a working agreement
with VHF broadcaster IBC-13 to provide programming for its
primetime block which includes the highest rated program in
the Philippines, the coverage of the Philippine Basketball
Association (PBA) games.  TBGI's agreement calls for GI to
provide some 500 Integrated Receiver Decoders (IRDs) for use
by IBC-13 and VTV Corporation's provincial and cable
affiliates.
                              
      ITC announces its decision to award Multiplex ...
     The ITC has decided to award each of Multiplex Service
Licences B, C and D to British Digital Broadcasting PLC,
which, following the withdrawal of BSkyB, will be jointly
owned by Carlton Communications and Granada Group.
     It has also been decided that the licence to provide
the service on the Channel 3/4 Multiplex should be awarded
to Digital 3 and 4 Limited.
     The ITC would intend to grant these licences within 12
weeks. The ITC is still considering the application by S4C
Digital Networks Limited for Multiplex Service Licence A,
and hopes to be able to announce its decision on this by the
end of July.
     Applications were invited last October for Multiplex
Licences A, B, C and D and in November for the Channel 3/4
--- Msged/386 4.00
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