Orion Data Broadcasting System

During 1997 and 1998 I pressed Orion, later Loral Orion, to build a DVB based service for the Orion-1, and planned Orion-2 and Orion-3 satellites

I was convinced that:

“Use of the new [DVB] technology will lower costs, increase data security, improve space segment utilization, enable Loral Orion to combine data and video services on the same carrier, and use sub-meter satellite dishes in most locations. With these benefits Loral Orion can improve margins, augment its WorldCast Internet service with value-added products, provide faster installs, enable our customers to lower their licensing costs, and extend our customer base to organizations that require secure transmissions.”

In 1999 I gave a talk at ISP Con reviewing some of my reasons for promoting DVB for Internet services.

Satellites, DVB and the Internet

The system I designed was eventually deployed on several satellites, with uplinks in Virginia, Hawaii, and Germany.

Here I am at Orion’s Mt. Jackson, VA TT&C uplink facility discussing the system design with several colleagues.