Page 49 - SAMENA Trends - Gitex Special 2023

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

role will allow the company to gain and Jordan, Morocco and Pakistan, as well will also be used to support a variety
provide insights into the initiatives the as the broader digital world to accelerate of applications, such as telemedicine,
DCO is undertaking across member the growth of the digital economy across education and agriculture.
nations, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, DCO member populations. The network

Ofcom Measures to Encourage Satellite Connectivity for Maritime Services

and Protect Other Services

Ofcom has today made changes to its Earth Station Networks li-
cense to confirm that NGSO satellites can deliver the latest space-
based broadband services to ships and boats. At the same time,
the new measures are designed to help us protect other services,
such as radio astronomy, from harmful interference. Every satel-
lite operator providing broadband services in the UK must hold an
Earth Station Network license. These licenses authorize access
to spectrum so that ground-based terminals can communicate
with satellites. To ensure all providers of UK satellite services can
access the spectrum in a similar way, we have made the following
changes to the current Earth Station Network license:
• Explicit authorization for earth stations on boats, ships and
offshore installations that connect to non-geostationary orbit
(NGSO) satellites. This clarifies that these services are permitted from harmful interference caused by NGSO systems.
in the territorial seas of the UK, Isle of Man and Channel Islands, • A new definition of the geographic boundaries of the license.
and ensures that all NGSO services – whether on land, sea or The new/updated license will be issued to all new applicants
air – all operate under the same license conditions. granted an Earth Station Network license in future. The updated
• New license conditions to support the protection of geostationary terms will be issued to all existing license holders in the form of a
orbit (GSO) satellite services, radio astronomy and fixed links variation to their current licenses.

SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites on Record-Breaking 62nd Mission of

the Year

SpaceX just set a new launch record. The company sent 21 of from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:47 p.m. EDT
its Starlink internet satellites to orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket (0247 GMT on Sept. 4). It was SpaceX's 62nd orbital mission of
2023, setting a new record for most flights in a year, according
to company founder and CEO Elon Musk. The old mark was set
in 2022. The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as plane.
It touched down about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the drone ship
Just Read the Instructions, which was stationed in the Atlantic
Ocean. It was the 10th launch and landing for this particular
booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. The Falcon
9's upper stage, meanwhile, kept on flying. It's scheduled to
deploy the 21 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) about
65 minutes after liftoff. The launch was part of a big day for
SpaceX. The company is also bringing home the four astronauts
of its Crew-6 mission, who had been at the International Space
Station (ISS) since March. Crew-6's Crew Dragon capsule, named
Endeavour, departed the ISS a little after 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT)
today. It will splash down in the ocean off the Florida coast at
around 12:17 a.m. EDT (0417 GMT).

49 GITEX SPECIAL 2023