SES Americom launches satellite wiki

SES AMERICOM has launched satellitewiki.com, a wiki devoted to the satellite industry. The timing of the debut coincides with the 50th anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite.

Using the same style and software used to power Wikipedia, satellitewiki.com lets visitors explore the history of man-made satellites, definitions of satellite terms and learn about how satellites impact a wide range of industries from oil and gas to television.

“Many people don’t realize the important role the satellites play in our everyday life,” said Jon Russo, SES’s senior vice president of marketing and product management. “People encounter satellite technology in places that are often unexpected. For instance, very often when a person pays for gas at the pump, that transaction is handled over a satellite network; and most TV viewers don’t realize that the programming they are watching via cable is first distributed via satellite.”

Want to know the difference between ‘carrier frequency’ and “geostationary transfer orbit”? Or when the best time to look up in the night sky to see a satellite passing over your neighborhood? Log on at http://satellitewiki.com.