Ciel 2 Tracking

When did CIEL gain the ability to control satellites? I was under the impression that they contracted with others better equipped.

SES owns a good chunk of Ciel, just like they own a good chunk of Quetsat and many other satellite systems around the world. Not much bigger than that.

Ciel's new operations center in Saskatoon will be controlling a large (planned) fleet of satellites.
 
Satellite Space Operations Engineers:

chaingang.jpg
 
Reading this thread is like watching kids waiting for Santa. Except nobody has a calendar so they don't know when it's Christmas.:D
Oh yea... well... well.... I hope they don't get that darn new satellite running for weeks!

That'll fix ya's!

Wayne Sagar
AKA electron pusher
 
SES/Ciel has plenty of capability.

With 2 continental beams and 53 spot beams the time span for the Ciel 2 testing was probably justified.

My concern has been that the extended testing might interfere with the adoption of new HD in February. Maybe any delay will only be for 3 or 4 days.
Fitzie
 
No one works 7 days a week 24 hours a day.

During a big, big emergency I'd done that. Other than periodic "cat naps", breaks for meals, the occasional "shower break" and swap out for clean clothes, I'd continued to push right on through. My family missed me desparately and when possible, I'd call when my kids would be getting ready to tuck into bed to let them know how much I also missed them.

I'd then had the subsequent couple weeks off for full recovery not included in my normal vacation time schedule.

I also still tend to work the occasional 24 hour day, just in a row, since that time.
 
Not related

SES/Ciel has plenty of capability.
My concern has been that the extended testing might interfere with the adoption of new HD in February. Maybe any delay will only be for 3 or 4 days.
Fitzie

The digital conversion on FEb 17th is for OTA and has nothing to with Ciel testing. Also it isn't HD it is digital which will be SD as well as HD just no more analog.
 
While we don't know what hours the Ciel2 testers worked, it's probable there were multiple shifts. When anyone works more than 12 or 14 hours at a time, errors start to creep into their work. Anecdotally, I once stayed awake something over 48 hours (I think about 56 or 57 hours consecutively!) and when I went to sleep slept for 20 hours straight. (That was the last time I tried that.) Napoleon reportedly slept 4 hours or less per night.
 
The digital conversion on FEb 17th is for OTA and has nothing to with Ciel testing. Also it isn't HD it is digital which will be SD as well as HD just no more analog.

Whatchel1 noted "not related." Of course not. I was referencing the 14 reported HD channels Dish plans to begin carrying in the near future, hopefully in February. There's a thread which names them, including SpeedHD, CMT, etc. Charlie Ergen had commented in the Dec. Chat that new HD would be added only after the transfer of current carriage from E5. The transfer from E5 can't occur until Ciel-2 is handed over to Dish.
 
Next week at the earliest

Whatchel1 noted "not related." Of course not. I was referencing the 14 reported HD channels Dish plans to begin carrying in the near future, hopefully in February. There's a thread which names them, including SpeedHD, CMT, etc. Charlie Ergen had commented in the Dec. Chat that new HD would be added only after the transfer of current carriage from E5. The transfer from E5 can't occur until Ciel-2 is handed over to Dish.

The transfer will only start sometime next week at the earliest. It's just been in position a few days.
 
The transfer will only start sometime next week at the earliest. It's just been in position a few days.

Yeah, I know. Scott G. says the handover will happen on Feb. 3. That's Tuesday. I would expect transfer to begin not later than the next day, and perhaps even on the same day. I mean, why not? Dish has had over 40 days of testing to plan for it, and wants to get off of E5 as soon as humanly possible.

But as I indicated before, I don't care that much as long as SpeedHD is made available in time to get all the NASCAR racing in speed week at Daytona. And if that doesn't happen, I'll watch it in SD like I did last year.;) (And I do understand that some people would about as soon watch paint dry as watch NASCAR racing.:))
 
The digital conversion on FEb 17th is for OTA and has nothing to with Ciel testing. Also it isn't HD it is digital which will be SD as well as HD just no more analog.

FYI - the digital conversion is being postponed to mid-June, which would have been a more sensible date to begin with (instead of right in the middle of sweeps).