Singapore Cable Vision forges relationship with Lucent Technologies
Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) will shortly start using Lucent Technologies' Kenan Arbor/BP billing product and Arbor/O
Ariane-5 booster test fired at the Guiana Space Centre
An Ariane-5 solid rocket motor (MPS) was test fired on the booster teststand (BEAP) at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe‘s spaceport in Kourou, under the Ariane-5 Research and Technology Accompaniment programme, earlier this week.
ARTA-5 is a European Space Agency programme, the technical and financial management of which is delegated to CNES. Its objectives are to verify that Ariane-5 launcher qualification, reliability and performance levels are maintained and also to qualify modifications resulting from obsolescence or changes in technology. ARTA activities cover the solid rocket motors built by Europropulsion.
This motor test will serve to qualify Ariane-5 improvements designed to increase launcher lift-capability and get production costs down. Overall planning for the test is built around four main objectives: qualify new procurement sources for one constituent of the propellant, involve use of Amonium Perchlorate produced by the US company Wecco, evaluate the effect of ageing and analyse behaviour on an over 6-year-old rear booster‘s segment (S3).
Other objectives targeted under this test involve simplifying the boosters‘ electric ducts and reducing the number of high-pressure capacities needed for each booster‘s thrust vector control from two to one. Responsibility for conducting the test has been assigned to CNES, whose role covers stand deployment, supplying the test facilities and conducting operations with Arianespace‘s assistance.
The impending entry of Disney Channel in the country seems to have shaken the competition out of a stupor.
Jimmy Neutron:Boy Genius makes his debut on 22 December with a series of one minute animated segments to be followed by music videos from the movie, leading to its TV series premiere later next year. Neutron is Nickelodeon‘s first 3D, computer graphics imagery animated character, and the channel‘s first property to be developed as a simultaneous multi media franchise.
Cartoon Network got into preparation mode very early. It jettisoned its Turner Network Television movie block earlier this year to become a 24 hour cartoon channel. And it is planning to go one step further: it is talking about launching other regional language channel services, starting with Tamil in the not-so-distant future. The channel has also planned a toon party of sorts in Mumbai on 25 November to attract some more media attention to its toon stars. 
Disney is scheduled to launch all its famous cartoons in Hindi on the proposed 24 hour pay channel. It may use most of its estimated 400 odd hours of its dubbed library, accumulated over four years of airing translated and dubbed shows on DD, Zee and Sony.
Religious channels have been prospering on Indian television for the last couple of years. Aastha, Sanskar, etc Punjabi (with its Gurbani telecast), Maharishi Veda Vision and the MiracleNet are some of the channels which have made their debut. Now there‘s another waiting on the sidelines to make a foray: the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) Global Catholic Network. The channel‘s management has announced that it will launch a television service for India in the first quarter of 2002. As part of the launch, EWTN will also expand the reach of its television service currently available in Africa.
