Orbital ATK could be a step closer to resuming cargo logistics missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in July, after a full-power "hot fire" test Tuesday of the upgraded first stage propulsion system of its Antares medium-class rocket, the company said in a news release. The rocket employs RD-181 main engines, and the company said early results from the testing indicate the upgraded propulsion system worked with the integrated first stage as planned. Orbital ATK said Tuesday it has done five cargo delivery missions to ISS and is under contract with NASA for 11 cargo missions through 2018.

ViaSat said it backs the FCC Connect America Fund Phase II auction framework "inviting new service providers" to bid on rural broadband subsidies (see 1605250046 and 1605260034). ViaSat lauded the FCC for listening to various parties "and taking an important first step toward expanding beyond legacy technologies and creating a technology neutral competition to provide the best available broadband access universally," said CEO Mark Dankberg, in a release emailed Wednesday and dated last Friday. "ViaSat stands ready to participate in the proceeding and auction by offering future-ready satellite internet solutions that will help fill the broadband gap in the United States with a high-quality, high-performance broadband and voice service to the target households."

Bayer plans to use Planetary Resources satellite imagery to create new agricultural products and improve its existing ones, the satellite company said in a news release Tuesday about a memorandum of understanding.

SES' Astra 3A satellite is relocating from 176.85 degrees west, and is expected to arrive at its new orbital spot at 86.85 degrees west on or about Aug. 15, SES said in a pair of FCC International Bureau filings Friday (see here and here). The move will save fuel for 3A and extend the satellite's lifespan, SES said. While not seeking U.S. market access for Astra 3A, SES said it sought an earth station license modification to let one of its earth stations provide tracking, telemetry and command services to support the relocation.

Inmarsat wants to add a new earth station terminal type, Atom 99, to its Global Xpress Ka-band land blanket earth station license, and to add the Inmarsat-5 F3 satellite as a point of communication to all the Global Xpress terminals covered by the license as well as to the Atom 99 terminal. The Atom 99, made by Skyware Technologies, will operate on the same frequencies as the currently licensed Global Xpress terminals -- 19.7-20.2 GHz for downlinks and 29.5-30.0 GHz for uplinks, Inmarsat said in an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. It said the modification to add Inmarsat-5 F3 would let the company expand its Ka-band land service to provide coverage in the U.S. and U.S. territories not covered by Inmarsat-5 F2.

ViaSat wants to add the 27.5-28.1 GHz and 17.7-18.3 GHz frequencies to the market authorization for its soon-to-be-launched ViaSat-2 geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite. In an FCC International Bureau filing Friday, ViaSat said ViaSat-2 is almost built, is scheduled to launch in Q1 2017 and the company is seeking to modify the satellite application before it files applications for the earth stations that will operate in ViaSat-2's band segments. The company said adding those frequencies will help give ViaSat-2 more than double the throughput of ViaSat-1, which went into operation in 2011, and speeds in excess of 100 Mbps. ViaSat-2 is authorized to use the 18.3-19.3 GHz and 19.7-20/2 GHz downlink band segments and the 28.1-29.1 GHz and 29.5-30.0 GHz uplink band segments, the company said, saying no other GSO satellite is authorized to operate within two degrees of 69.9 degrees west on the 27.5-28.1 GHz and 17.7-18.3 GHz frequencies.

Myanmar's Ministry of Transport and Communications signed a multiyear deal with Intelsat giving it multi-transponder capacity on two Intelsat satellites for deployment of the nation's wireless communications infrastructure and expansion of enterprise broadband access, Intelsat said in a news release Friday. It said the ministry will use C-band on Intelsat 902 and Ku-band on Intelsat 906 for a very small aperture terminal network and cellular backhaul services, and move by 2018 to high-power services on Intelsat 39.

OneBeacon Insurance's argument that a U.S. District Court jury was wrong in awarding exemplary damages and additional damages "is an odd argument considering it was OneBeacon that insisted on allowing the jury to award both ... rather than only one or the other," said Wade Welch and Wade Welch & Associates in a reply (in Pacer) Thursday in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. OneBeacon is appealing a 2014 jury verdict in favor of Welch, who was sued by OneBeacon after Dish Network separately received a $13 million judgment against the Welch firm for malpractice in its representation of Dish in a different civil claim altogether. OneBeacon's argument that its only mistake was in not accepting Dish's 2011 demand "oversimplifies the trial record and misstates its duty to its insured," said Welch the individual and the firm: The insurer's misconduct also includes its post-claim underwriting, "the deception it employed" in rejecting the Dish settlement "and its continued failure to effectuate a fair and reasonable settlement" after rejecting Dish's. The Welch entities said OneBeacon is offering a "frankly preposterous argument that a finding of 'gross negligence' under [Stowers Furniture Co. v. American Indemnity] is 'exactly the same' as a finding under [Texas Insurance Code] Section 541 that an insured acted 'knowing' the wrongfulness of its conduct." The Welch entities said that beyond rejecting the Dish settlement demand, OneBeacon "knowingly engaged in deceptive and unfair conduct to avoid effectuating a fair settlement of [the satellite company's] claim against Welch." Since the wrongful acts were separate, and subject to different standards of proof, "nothing prohibits two awards of punitive damages under these circumstances" and the court should restore the jury's $5 million award for gross negligence under the Stowers claim, the Welch entities said. OneBeacon didn't comment Friday. The insurance coverage dispute began with a 2003 Dish suit filed by Russian Media Group, which claimed Dish interfered with assets such as cable distribution contracts that RMG bought from SkyView World Media.

Luxembourg-based satellite provider SES launched a 24/7 Ultra HD test channel for transmitting HDR content, it said Thursday. It’s demonstrating the channel at its Industry Days event in Luxembourg this week. Attendees can view HDR implementations such as HDR 10, Dolby Vision, Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and the Technicolor/Philips solution on TVs from major manufacturers, said the company. Currently, SES carries Ultra HD content provided by LG using HLG and is demoing the HLG HDR content on LG’s E6 4K OLED TV, it said. HDR will be a “major improvement” for satellite TV on Ultra HD TVs, said SES’ Thomas Wrede, vice president-reception systems. SES has begun implementing “relevant HDR technology” at its Munich playout facility, he said.

Dish Network began shipping the $99 HopperGo, a personal mobile video drive it announced at CES (see 1601060011). The 64 GB device can store up to 100 hours of recorded video content from a Hopper 3 or Hopper 2 DVR for offline viewing, said Dish Thursday. HopperGo creates its own private wireless cloud that supports simultaneous viewing of different programs on up to five mobile devices via the Dish Anywhere app, said the company. It’s compatible with Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, plus Kindle Fire tablets, Dish said. The battery-powered device can stream for up to four hours on a charge, it said.