26 March 2000

Satcoms

Comsat Wins Federal Technology Service Contract
Comsat has received a General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Technology Service contract for a wide variety of Intelsat and Inmarsat satellite services that can be used by all government agencies and authorised government contractors.

This is a competitively awarded contract from GSA. As a result, government customers can now purchase services directly from Comsat, simplifying the procurement process of soliciting vendors and obtaining competitive pricing. The satellite services are available to all civilian or military federal agencies.

Other organisations have the potential to access the services through a sponsoring federal agency. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract is for one year with five additional one-year options and has a maximum value of US$ 60 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Comsat's commercial fixed and mobile satellite service offerings are available over both the Intelsat and Inmarsat satellite systems. The agreement also allows the listing of new offerings when they become available, such as Comsat Mobile ISDN and Comsat Mobile IP, which are 64 kb/s data and voice services for land mobile customers.

KVH Offers Iridium Phone Trade In
KVH Industries Inc is offering Iridium customers the opportunity to trade in their obsolete phones and receive a US$ 500 credit towards a new KVH Tracphone 25 or Tracphone 50 satellite phone.

Tracphone systems use the global mini-M satellite service from Inmarsat, the foremost provider of international mobile satellite communications, to deliver voice, fax and data. Inmarsat has been providing reliable satellite communications to merchant fleets and pleasure craft for more than 20 years, and its mini-M system is the most popular voice, fax and data service in the world. In 1999 alone, Inmarsat's mini-M customer base grew nearly 70 percent and users now total nearly 65,000. KVH's Tracphone systems use innovative stabilised antennas that maintain contact with the Inmarsat satellites, even when mounted on boats and other platforms subjected to heavy motion.

Tracphone 25 is one of the smallest, fully stabilised marine telephones available for mini-M service, weighting 5 kg and measuring 29.4 cm high and 25 cm in diameter. For boats as small as 10 m, Tracphone 25 is ideal.

Tracphone 50 is particularly suitable for commercial vessels, weighing 13.6 kg measuring 50 cm high by 49 cm in diameter.

Both systems feature a KVH three-axis antenna, digital gyro sensors that constantly measure and compensate for vessel motion, easy installation, and rates as low as US$ 2.15 per minute. Password-protected smart cards provide security and accountability for each system.

Orbcomm de Mexico Signs Agreement with Three Orbcomm Units
Orbcomm de Mexico has signed a global distribution agreement with Orbcomm Enterprises LP, an Orbcomm subsidiary, under which it will be authorised to resell the two-way monitoring, tracking and messaging products and services provided by three Orbcomm business units -- Vantage, Tracsat and Controlsat.

Vantage's services are targeted to the transportation industry; Tracsat serves the heavy equipment industry; and Controlsat serves the oil and gas and chemical industries.

Orbcomm de Mexico, which is owned by Proeza SA de CV, has been an Orbcomm service licensee since 1998 and was granted regulatory approval to deliver Orbcomm satellite services to Mexico from the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) earlier this month. Orbcomm de Mexico will support the distribution of Vantage, Tracsat and Controlsat products and services in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Belize.

Vantage is a business unit of Orbcomm, chartered to design and implement fleet management solutions for motor carriers to improve trailer and truck fleet productivity, decrease the cost of fleet operations and enhance the value of transportation services to customers. The Vantage tracking solution captures critical fleet data, communicates the data via Orbcomm's LEO satellite network and integrates the information into the customer's fleet management systems.

Tracsat is a business unit of Orbcomm, providing the construction industry with affordable Web-based equipment tracking and monitoring solutions. Using Orbcomm's low-Earth orbit satellite network, Tracsat helps customers monitor usage, location, unauthorised use, operating parameters, performance data and other critical information that was previously unavailable. Tracsat's solutions help its customers increase equipment utilisation and reduce maintenance costs and downtime.

Controlsat is a business unit of Orbcomm, providing fixed-asset monitoring solutions that enable customers to increase supply chain management effectiveness in the chemical industry and improve well-head maintenance in the oil and gas industry. Controlsat's applications include tank telemetry, pipeline data transmission, equipment monitoring/control and oil and gas well- head monitoring. Using Orcomm's low-Earth orbit satellite network, Controlsat offers customers an efficient data communications link from the field to their home office, resulting in improved productivity, less equipment downtime, faster and more accurate data collection and reduced operating costs.

Sino Security Network Orders SpaceWeb VSAT Network From STM
STM Wireless Inc, an international provider of broadband VSAT network systems with installations in 90 countries, has been awarded an order for a SpaceWeb network from China Orient Telecom Satellite Company Ltd (China Orient), which is majority owned by the Ministry of Information Industry. SpaceWeb is part of STM's line of broadband VSAT products and provides IP based wide area networking capability for Intranet or Internet access.

China Orient, which is the owner and operator of the Chinasat-1 satellite built by Lockheed Martin, will use the SpaceWeb network for offering Intranet services to its client Sino Security Network Corporation which has launched the first network in China for electronic authentication of merchandise and other material. The order provides for immediate delivery of approximately US$ 650,000 in VSAT equipment and has provisions for future purchases of over US$ 2 million in additional VSATs.

STM's line of SpaceWeb VSATs provide connectivity for IP based Intranet and Internet connectivity with capability for an overlay broadband channel that provides downstream access at rates of up to 48 Mb/s. The SpaceWeb VSATs can be used for Internet access by ISPs and LAN users such as corporations or universities to receive rich Internet content via a broadband downstream channel.

Space Systems Loral to Build Japan's ATC Satellite
Space Systems/Loral , a Loral Space and Communications company, has won a contract to build MTSAT-1R, an advanced multi-functional satellite for air traffic control and weather observation, for Japan's Ministry of Transport (MOT).

When delivered in 2002, the MTSAT-1R satellite will provide communications and navigational services for aircraft, and will gather weather data for users throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region - as far south as Australia/New Zealand.

SS/L is a significant provider of both environmental and telecommunications satellites for the Japanese market. The company has built 14 satellites for Japan, including the first two Superbird telecommunications satellites and two N-STAR communications satellites for Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), one of the world's largest telephone companies.

All integration and ground testing of MTSAT-1R will be completed at SS/L's facilities in Palo Alto. The launch vehicle and the launch site have yet to be selected.

Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) will use MTSAT-1R to increase the efficiency of aircraft flight routes, provide flexible flight profile planning, enhance air travel safety, and improve the quality of aeronautical communications. To that end, it will be positioned at an orbital slot of 140° E. longitude, where it will provide high-quality digital voice and data communications in the L, Ku, and Ka bands.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) will use MTSAT-IR to deliver observed data to a processing station and provide cloud imagery and continuous weather data from around the region, such as cloud and vapour distributions, cloud-motion wind vector, sea surface temperature, and information on typhoon, low pressure, and frontal activity. MTSAT-IR, which will be the successor to the GMS 1-5 satellite series, will also collect data from data collection platforms.

MTSAT-1R will be a version of SS/L's three-axis, body-stabilised 1300 bus. The 1300's modular design is flight-proven and has an excellent record of reliable operation. SS/L's 1300 buses are designed to achieve highly reliable and long useful orbital life - through use of a bipropellant propulsion system and a momentum-bias system for excellent station-keeping and orbital stability. Solar arrays and nickel-hydrogen batteries provide uninterrupted electrical power.

MTSAT-1R will use many of the state-of-the-art technologies developed for the current five-satellite U.S. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite program, called GOES I-M, for which SS/L is the prime contractor. The new spacecraft will provide 10 years of service in its aeronautical mission and five years in its meteorological mission.

Science

Compton Mission To End
NASA has decided to terminate its highly successful Compton Gamma Ray Telescope mission following the failure of one of the satellite's three gyroscopes a few months ago.

NASA engineers have been investigating whether it would be possible to position the satellite for a controlled re-entry if a further gyro failed, using data from other on-board instruments, allowing the mission to continue. Although this seemed to be possible, NASA has decided on safety grounds to terminate the mission and to return the massive satellite to Earth.

NASA plans to safely direct the satellite back into Earth's atmosphere no earlier than June 1 with the remaining two gyroscopes, which are used to steer the craft. As an extra precaution, Compton engineers are also developing a method to control the satellite without any gyroscopes, for use as backup during the re-entry manoeuvres in case an anomaly is encountered with the gyroscopes. Compton's four instruments are still in working order.

NASA decided before Compton was launched that, due to its size, it would be returned to Earth by controlled re-entry when the mission was over. The propulsion system on Compton lacks sufficient fuel to boost the spacecraft to a higher, longer-lived orbit. Left alone, Compton will eventually fall from orbit due to a minute drag from the Earth's tenuous atmosphere at Compton's orbital height. Unlike most other satellites, Compton is too large to burn up entirely in the atmosphere during re-entry. An uncontrolled re-entry would expose some area under its orbital path (28.5 degrees north and south latitude) to the risk of falling debris.

The decision to re-enter Compton before a second gyroscope fails, even though the satellite is functioning normally, was made at NASA Headquarters on March 23, 2000, after extensive study to consider all options. Research showed it was significantly safer to perform a controlled re-entry than any other method of dealing with the satellite.

Debris from the re-entry will be scattered over an area estimated to be 26 km wide and 1550 km long. The centre of the re-entry area is on the equator approximately 4,000 km southeast of Hawaii (about 120° W longitude). A large portion of the satellite will vaporise as it transits the atmosphere, and most of the pieces that survive will be tiny, about the size of a pea or a grain of sand. However, Compton contains structures made of titanium, which are expected to fall as larger pieces.

Compton flight controllers, stationed at Goddard, will fire Compton's propulsion system thrusters in the direction opposite to its orbital motion, which will slow the spacecraft down and cause its orbital height to decrease so that it re-enters the atmosphere. There will be four separate firings of the propulsion system thrusters, each about a day apart. After each firing, Compton's new orbit will be determined precisely, and the performance of the thrusters will be evaluated. The thruster performance varies according to the pressure of the propellant, so the thrusters will not perform the same way because each firing consumes propellant, which decreases its pressure.

HESSI Spacecraft Damaged During Testing
NASA's High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) spacecraft - an international mission to explore the basic physics of particle acceleration and energy release in solar flares - has sustained substantial damage during vibration testing. Repairs to the spacecraft will probably delay its launch to no earlier than January 2001.

The damage was caused when a test device that simulates vibrations the spacecraft can expect during launch delivered approximately 20G's, ten times the appropriate levels for the test. As a result, the spacecraft's structure was damaged and two of the four solar arrays were cracked. The status of the HESSI instrument is not currently known.

Engineers are optimistic that the structure, instrument boxes and detectors were not harmed, but further analysis will be required to determine the full extent of the damage. Both damaged solar arrays need to be replaced.

The incident occurred on March 21 while the spacecraft was undergoing vibration testing in facilities at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

The spacecraft and vibration facility are impounded pending an independent failure review board. This board commence its investigation in the next few days, and is expected to report in six to eight weeks.

Following its release from the vibration facility, the HESSI team will disassemble the spacecraft, re-inspect it, and perform needed repairs. It is expected replacement of the solar arrays will take four to six months.

HESSI was scheduled to be launched on a Pegaus rocket in July 2000. While a new launch date is not known, current estimates, depending on the amount of work that will have to be done, put a launch no earlier than January 2001. The cost to repair the satellite, which will determine how long the mission will be delayed, has not yet been determined. NASA's cost for the HESSI spacecraft was budgeted at US$ 40 million. Development, launch vehicle and mission operations costs bring the total mission value to US$ 75 million.

NASA Knew Mars Polar Lander Would Fail
James Oberg, space reporter for UPI, has claimed that NASA's Mars Polar Lander had fatal design flaws which NASA was aware of before the craft's fatal encounter with the Red Planet on December 3 as it tried to soft land close to the south pole. A pair of Deep Space 2 microprobes, which were intended to separate from the Lander, were also never heard from again.

Oberg claims that a NASA review board convened after the loss of the previous Mars mission due to a simple navigational error had identified two major design flaws, either of which would have caused the loss of the mission:

Firstly, the Lander's braking thrusters had failed acceptance testing during manufacture. To prevent the delays and expense of redesign and testing, the pass conditions for the test were changed to make the thrusters acceptable. Apparently, at the low temperatures expected during flight, the hydrazine thrusters did not function reliably, so they were tested at a higher, unrepresentative, temperature. This is reported to have been known to NASA a few days before the lander was lost.

Secondly, the three legs on the lander contained microswitches which were intended to be activated on touchdown, commanding the probe's engines to turn off. However, during the final descent the legs are unfolded by springs which are so strong that the deploying legs bounce, triggering the microswitches and consequently prematurely turning the descent engine off, allowing the probe to free fall and crash into the surface at high velocity. This was not detected during pre-flight testing because leg deployment was tested separately to microswitch activation and there was no integrated testing because of financial and time constraints.

NASA has been very quick refute Oberg's claim that it did not make these, and other, problems public at the time of the loss of the lander. It may well be true that NASA documents describing these potential failures were available and in the public domain at the beginning of December however, the overwhelming feeling that NASA conveyed after the lander failed to respond in the days following its rendezvous with Mars was one of surprise at the loss. No one at NASA stood up and said to the media circus "we had serious problems that could have caused the loss of this mission" even though, by NASA's own admission they were well aware of the possibility. It now seems that certain people at NASA would have been highly surprised (and relieved) if the Mars Polar Lander had landed safely and had carried out its mission.

TRW Selected to Develop NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder
A team led by TRW has been selected by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for an 18-month study contract to develop architectural concepts and technology requirements for NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission.

TPF, one of several linked space science missions in NASA's Origins program, will use a suite of precision optical and spectroscopy instruments to search out, detect and characterise "Earth-like" planetary systems around the brightest 1,000 stars in our solar "neighbourhood."

It will help scientists look for "signposts" of life such as water, carbon dioxide, ozone and methane, that might be expected in atmospheres of planets. And it will investigate how planets form from disks of gas and dust around their parent stars. Launch is planned for no earlier than 2012.

TRW's TPF team includes more than a dozen scientists representing 10 U.S. and European universities. These scientists will provide leadership in defining and developing the optimum approaches for carrying out the TPF astronomy mission. They will also work hand in hand with TRW's TPF engineering team, which includes ITT Industries, Eastman Kodak and Space Dynamics Lab.

During the first eight months of the contract, the team will identify and analyse a variety of TPF mission approaches for their relative cost, schedule and science benefits.

In conjunction with JPL, the team will then select the most promising concepts for more in-depth study. During the remaining months of the contract, the team will refine the preferred concepts and define a "roadmap" of technologies required to implement each one successfully.

Technology

Spectrolab Targets European Market
Spectrolab Inc, the world's leading manufacturer of spacecraft solar cells, has received US government approval to provide state-of-the art solar cells, panels, and arrays to major European spacecraft manufacturers.

Solar generators on spacecraft built by Dornier Satellitensystem GmbH (a DaimlerChrysler Company), Alcatel Space Industries, Alenia Aerospazio, and Matra Marconi Systems may now carry Spectrolab's high-power solar cell products.

Spectrolab's existing domestic customers include Space Systems Loral, TRW, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Group, Lockheed Martin, Spectrum Astro, Boeing, and Hughes Space and Communications Company.

For the European market, the availability of Spectrolab's state-of-the-art solar cells is an enabling factor in the race to higher revenue-generating spacecraft. Flight-proven, multi-junction gallium arsenide solar cells boost on-orbit power capacities to meet increasing market demands.

In 1999, Spectrolab delivered the industry's first flight program solar cells with an average conversion efficiency of 24.5%. Next-generation cells reaching 27% efficiencies are now available. In total, more than 85,000 W of Spectrolab multi-junction gallium arsenide solar cells are in orbit. An additional 393,000 watts have been delivered and are ready for flight integration.

Launches

Second Soyuz-Fregat Test Launch

Launched: 20 March 2000
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Soyuz Fregat
Orbit: LEO, apogee: 200 km, perigee: 200 km. Following re-ignition of the Fregat upper stage: HEO, apogee: 242 km, perigee: 18,000 km
International Number: 2000-15A
Name: Cluster II Dumsat
Owner:
Contractor: Aerospatiale Matra Lanceurs and NPO Lavotchkin

This test flight of Starsem's Soyuz launcher with a Fregat upper stage was intended to confirm the re-ignition and orbital manoeuvring performance of the Fregat upper stage.

Starsem plans to use this version of the launcher twice more this year, in June and in July, to place the four satellites of the European Space Agency's Cluster II mission into orbit.

Preliminary analysis shows that the flight was a success.

Asiastar and Insat 3B

Launched: 21 March 2000
Site: CSG Kourou, French Guiana
Launcher: Ariane 5

Orbit: GEO 105° E
International Number: 2000-16A
Name: Asiastar
Owner: Worldspace
Contractor: Matra Marconi Space

Orbit: GEO 83° E
International Number: 2000-16B
Name: Insat 3B
Owner: Indian Space Research Organization
Contractor: Indian Space Research Organization

Asiasat is an L band digital radio broadcasting satellite and is the second in Worldspace's fleet to be launched. The satellite had a launch mass of 2777 kg, an end of life power of 5600W and a 15 year design life.

Insat 3B is a communications satellite with 12 extended C band transponders, 3 Ku band transponders and an S band transponder. It has a launch mass of 2070 kg, a beginning of life power of 1712 W and a design life of 10 years.

IMAGE

Launched: 25 March 2000
Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Launcher: Delta 2
Orbit: apogee: 981 km, perigee: 46020 km: inclination: 89.9°
International Number: 2000-17A
Name: Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE)
Owner: NASA
Contractor: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space

IMAGE is a NASA spacecraft which will study he effects of the solar wind on the Earth's magnetosphere by taking images of emissions from neutral atoms, protons, electrons, and other particles over a wide range of wavelengths. It is the first in NASA's medium-class Explorer (MIDEX) series of space science missions.

Scientists hope to use the data collected by IMAGE to study how solar storms inject plasmas into the magnetosphere, what happens to those plasmas while in the magnetosphere, and how the magnetosphere responds in general to changes in the solar wind.

The probe will image remote particle populations in the magnetosphere. These "photographs" will then be linked together to make movies in real time. Their rapid two-minute cadence will allow detailed study of the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere and the magnetosphere's response during a magnetic storm, which typically lasts a few days.

IMAGE carries the following instruments along with a data processor:

• High Energy Neutral Atom (HENA) imager, developed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
• Medium Energy Neutral Atom (MENA) imager, developed by SwRI
• Low Energy Neutral Atom (LENA) imager, developed by Goddard
• Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) imager, developed by the University of Arizona
• Far Ultraviolet (FUV) imager, developed by the University of California
• Radio Plasma Imager (RPI), developed by the University of Massachusetts
• Central Instrument Data Processor (CIDP) developed by SwRI

The primary mission will last 2 years.

Business

Comsat Increases Intelsat Shareholding
Comsat Corporation has increased its ownership in the Intelsat satellite system by approximately 2.1%. This change will increase Comsat's ownership share in Intelsat to approximately 22.5% effective from March 1, 2000, through February 28, 2001.

Intelsat operates a global network of 17 satellites that serve over 200 nations. Originally created as an intergovernmental organisation, Intelsat's 143 member countries are now working to transform Intelsat into a fully privatised company competing in the global telecommunications market. Intrlsat ownership share is determined each year and therefore will be redetermined next year before full privatisation takes effect.

Court Approves ICO Disclosure Statement
ICO Global Communications has gained approval of its disclosure statement by the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

The court also scheduled a hearing on confirmation of ICO's plans of reorganisation for May 3, 2000. If approval of the plans is obtained at that time, and if related approvals are obtained from the Bermuda and Cayman Islands courts, the company will emerge from its reorganisation proceedings in mid-May 2000.

Products and Services

Ericsson Makes First AceS Phone Call
Ericsson has made the first call over the Asian Cellular Satellite (ACeS) network using a R190, the world's smallest satellite/GSM dual mode phone.

Calls have been placed successfully across the network using the Ericsson R190. Equivalent to a standard GSM phone in design, size and weighing just over 200 grams, the Ericsson R190 phone represents a leap forward for satellite handsets. Ericsson expects to launch the R190 during the second half of 2000.

The Ericsson R190 is capable of operating in both satellite and GSM 900 modes. Once out of cellular range, the phone automatically switches to satellite mode to send or receive calls making it the ideal phone for users travelling to remote areas beyond cellular coverage.

The Ericsson R190's small size is enabled by GMSS, which is derived from the popular GSM standard and exploits the filters, mixers and RF base band components already present in a GSM handset. Subscribers are able to roam on GSM networks and remain in communication should they move out of coverage area by switching to satellite mode.

The Ericsson R190 functions in four modes: GSM preferred - searches first for a GSM network and switches to satellite if one isn't found, GSM only - searches only for a GSM network, satellite preferred - searches first for the satellite network and switches to GSM if it is not found, and satellite only - searches only for the satellite network.

Ericsson R190 features include:

• ACeS satellite/GSM 900 dual band
• Weight 210 grams
• Size 130 x 50 x 32 mm
• Ultra slim battery
• Extra snap-on satellite antenna
• Talk time, 3 hours 40 minutes in both modes
• Standby time, 43 hours in both modes
• Smart dialing
• Data, fax, in GSM mode only

Satellite Tool Kit Streamed Over the Web
Analytical Graphics Inchas announced the ability to "share the view" of Satellite Tool Kit over the world wide web. STK/WebCast version 1.0 will allow two- and three-dimensional STK output to be continuously streamed across the Internet or local intranets/networks via RealNetworks' freely distributed RealPlayer(R) plug-in. STK/WebCast will be available in the April 2000 release of STK version 4.1.1.

Typical industry uses of STK/WebCast will include real-time launch and deployment visualisation, on-orbit operations visualisation, and distributed simulation and training activities.

Additionally, STK/WebCast will provide a way for STK users to showcase their missions thus raising the profile and visibility to the public, investors, and potential customers.

Analytical Graphics Inc provides commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) analysis and visualisation software solutions to over 23,000 aerospace industry professionals through its core product Satellite Tool Kit and a series of specialised STK add-on modules. STK supports end-to-end aerospace systems from mission planning through operations and is available free of charge to all aerospace professionals

People

Dean Holmstead to Heads SES' American Activities
Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), the operator of Europe's Astra satellite system, has announces that Dean Olmstead will spearhead its broadband activities for the American markets.

Named Executive Representative for SES in the Americas, Dean Olmstead will continue to report directly to Romain Bausch, Director General and Chairman of the Management Committee of SES

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