14 October 2001

Satcoms

Comsat Mobile Communications Granted Access to Domestic US Market
Comsat Mobile Communications (CMC), a business unit of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, has received authority from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide domestic land mobile, maritime, and aeronautical mobile satellite communications services throughout the United States and its territories via the Inmarsat satellite system.

This authority is granted in anticipation of the conduct of an IPO by Inmarsat as required by the 2000 Federal Orbit Act. All of CMC's voice, data, and high-speed data services, including Direct Internet Access, e-mail, and fax, are included in this ruling.

The FCC's Order is based on the Commission's conclusion that the 1999 privatisation of Inmarsat, a former intergovernmental organisation, is consistent with the criteria set forth in Orbit.

The ruling also includes a blanket CMC license for up to 1,000 each Inmarsat-B, C, M, Mini-M and M-4 terminals. This blanket licensing will permit CMC's customers to use these mobile satellite communications terminals in the US without the operator having to obtain an individual terminal license, sparing customers the time and effort of filing and waiting for a US license.

Comtech Announces US$ 1.1 Million Modem Order
Comtech Telecommunications Corp's Comtech EF Data subsidiary has received an order from Arrowhead Space and Telecommunications Company for US$ 1.1 million of Comtech Model BEM-7650 Modems.

The Comtech Model BEM-7650 Bandwidth Efficient Modem provides the user with a multi-modem chassis design that allows up to ten modulators and ten demodulators to be installed in a single chassis. Management control is provided by a Windows based Monitor and Control System. The BEM-7650 meets MIL-STD-188-165 standards and meets Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS) specifications.

Qantas Selects CMC Electronics' High Gain Antenna
CMC Electronics Inc has been selected to provide its CMA-2102 High Gain Satellite Communications (Satcom) Antenna for Qantas' new Boeing 747-438ERs (6 aircraft) and Airbus A330-200/300s (13 aircraft). Deliveries will start early in 2002 and will be completed in 2003.

The CMA-2102 customer list now includes 58 airlines and a number of corporate/VIP and military installations.

CMC Electronics is the new name for the former BAe Systems Canada, which was acquired by an investor group led by ONCAP LP in April 2001, further to approval by BAe Systems Canada shareholders. The company designs and produces leading technology electronic products for the aviation, communications, infrared sensing, marine electronics, global positioning and space markets.

Telesat to Link North American Ford Dealers
Telesat, along with partners IBM and Hughes Network Systems, has been awarded a contract by the Ford Motor Company to provide a high speed network to Ford and Lincoln- Mercury Dealers across North America.

The IP-based broadband network will connect some 2,000 dealers in The USA, Canada and Mexico. Dealers will have access to high speed Internet, the ability to transmit large files and access to Ford's corporate dealer Intranet.

Navigation

Surrey Supplies GPS Unit for International Space Station
SSTL has manufactured and prepared a space GPS receiver for delivery to Spacehab Inc for use on its Enterprise Module on the International Space Station (ISS).

The SGR-20 is a 24-channel L1 C/A code GPS receiver with four antennas designed for operation in space, and provides accurate position, velocity and time to the orbital user. The reception of signals from multiple antennas permits better performance under obstructed conditions and also enables the determination of the attitude of the vehicle from GPS signals. The SGR-20 is able to initialise itself in orbit within four minutes from a cold start, and determines position to an accuracy of 10 metres.

The SGR-20 is one of a family of space GPS receivers produced by SSTL for application on low Earth orbiting satellites. All receivers have been demonstrated in orbit on SSTL's own satellites, but products have also been delivered to external customers, including Spacehab and the European Space Agency.

The SGR-10 has been selected for two satellites currently under construction at the Surrey Space Centre: Alsat-1 a microsatellite for Algeria, and Biltensat-1 an enhanced microsatellite for Turkey. The SGR-05 is designed especially for very small satellites, weighs only 50 grams, and was demonstrated on SSTL's 6.5 kg SNAP-1 nanosatellite launched in 2000.

Science

Next Generation Space Telescope Design from Lockheed Martin
A team led by Lockheed Martin Space Systems has submitted a proposal to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), a key mission in NASA's Origins Program. The new space observatory, targeted for launch in 2009, will help NASA observe the first stars and galaxies formed in the Universe.

The Lockheed Martin team, which includes Goodrich, Jackson and Tull Engineers and the University of Arizona, has delivered innovative technical and management approaches to NASA for NGST. The team's design for the observatory includes a lightweight 6-meter-class deployable mirror.

The NGST will be a space observatory optimised for infrared imaging and spectroscopy of astronomical targets. It will be launched to a location about a million miles from Earth opposite the Sun where it will conduct its observations in the cold of deep space. To accomplish the ambitious science goals outlined for it, the NGST will be equipped with extremely sensitive infrared detectors.

Its large aperture and IR detectors will allow NGST to see much farther back in time. Objects 400 times fainter than those currently studied with large ground-based infrared telescopes or the current generation of space-based infrared telescopes will be observable. NGST will do this while equaling or surpassing the spatial resolution (image sharpness) of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Astronomers have a fairly good understanding of what the Universe is like today and in the past to when the universe was between 10-12 billion years old, based on observations at all wavelengths. They are also fairly confident of what the universe was like when it was quite young (less than about 1 million years old) based upon observation of the cosmic microwave background and an understanding of high-energy particle physics. The middle ground however, between 1 million and a few billion years old, is completely unobserved. It is during that time period that the first structures seen today, namely stars and galaxies, began to form.

The powerful capabilities of NGST will allow astronomers to focus on that important time period and begin to fashion answers to some fundamental questions:

• What is the shape of the universe?
• How do galaxies evolve?
• How do stars and planetary systems form and interact?
• What are the life cycles of matter in the universe?
• What is dark matter?

The NGST is a NASA-led project being undertaken by an international team comprising government, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, industry and academia. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the project. Principal Investigators under contract to NASA and ESA will develop scientific instruments for the observatory. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. will be responsible for the ground system, observatory operations, and science program management.

NASA's Origins Program follows the chain of events that began with the birth of the Universe at the Big Bang. It seeks to understand the entire process of cosmic evolution from the formation of chemical elements, galaxies, stars and planets, through the mixing of chemicals and energy that cradles life on Earth, to the earliest self-replicating organisms and the profusion of life.

Technology

Japan Licences MIP Technologies Processor
The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) has taken a license for the MIPS64 5Kf(TM) processor core from MIPS Technologies for use in a new satellite control and data transmission application. The 5Kf core will be used as the processing core of choice for the next generation of NASDA satellites and will utilise MIPS Technologies' industry-standard, high-performance, low-power, 64-bit architecture.

The new 5Kf core, introduced in June and already used by several leading semiconductor companies, is the only licensable, synthesisable 64-bit core with an integrated floating-point unit (FPU) in the market today. NASDA plans to integrate the core into a microprocessor unit (MPU) designed to handle attitude control, global positioning and image compression functions, all of which demand the performance throughput of a 64-bit processor with floating point. Because the 5Kf core is a synthesisable or "soft" core, it can be easily integrated into MPU and SoC designs and ported to any silicon process, allowing engineers to speed up the development process and keep costs down.

NASA Selects Three Advanced Technologies For Test Flight
In a step towards developing smarter spacecraft, NASA has selected three advanced technologies and providers for its next New Millennium Program test flight project.

The technologies will fly on three different spacecraft in 2004. They make up the Space Technology 6 project, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

The technologies promise to enable future spacecraft to have greater control over onboard decision making, allow two spacecraft to get close and personal, and give a spacecraft improved ability to autonomously detect its location and maintain its attitude.

The total NASA funding for the Space Technology 6 flight-validation opportunity is US$ 24.8 million. This includes the cost for all three technologies and all phases of the project. The selected technologies and providers are:

• Scientific Systems Company Inc, Woburn, Massachusetts (Autonomous Rendezvous in Low-Earth Orbit). This high-precision autonomous rendezvous system will allow two spacecraft to approach and meet each other in close proximity. This technology could significantly enhance in-space rendezvous for future sample return missions. Scientific Systems Company's contributing partners include the NASA Mars Program at JPL and the Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base. The technology will be tested on the Air Force's XSS-11 Microsat, scheduled for launch in 2004.
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California (Autonomous Sciencecraft Constellation). This software will give a future spacecraft unprecedented decision-making capabilities, allowing it to process data onboard, make intelligent decisions to downlink data that it deems scientifically important, and choose science observations that appear interesting. The software will fly on the Air Force's TechSat-21 constellation planned for launch in 2004. The Air Force Research Laboratory will manage TechSat-21.
• The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Low Power Avionics Sensor Suite). A miniature star camera and microscopic gyro will enable a spacecraft to determine its orientation whether it is spinning or stable. It will also enable a spacecraft to sense its position and recover its orientation after a power loss. This ultra-low power and low weight technology will enable new concepts in development of nanosatellites and free up room for science instrument payloads on large or medium class spacecraft. The "Hitchhiker Canister" payload was selected to carry the technology experiment aboard a Space Shuttle mission in 2004. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the Hitchhiker program.

The New Millennium Program was created in 1994 to identify, develop and flight-validate advanced technologies that can lower costs and enable critical performance of science missions in the 21st century.

Launches

Raduga 1

Launched: 6 October 2001
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton K
International Number: 2001-045A
Name: Raduga 1

This communications satellite is believed to have been launched for the Russian military.

USA-162

Launched: 11 October 2001
Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Launcher: Atlas 2A (MLV-12)
International Number: 2001-046A
Name: USA 162
Owner: National Reconnaissance Office
Contractor: Boeing

USA 162 is reported to be a data relay satellite that will be used with various US imaging and surveillance satellites

Business

iBeam Files for Bankruptcy
iBeam Broadcasting Corp, a leading provider of streaming communications solutions, has announced that it has voluntarily filed a petition with the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

iBeam's filing lists assets of US$ 118.8 million and debts of US$ 41.9 million as of 30 June.

iBeam has also signed an agreement with Williams Communications in which Williams Communications will acquire substantially all of iBeam's assets for US$ 25 million in cash and assume certain of iBeam's liabilities. The transaction includes a loan from Williams Communications to iBeam, which is to be repaid upon the consummation of the asset sale, that funds iBeam's operations through the sales transition period. This agreement is, however, effectively a bid for the assets of iBeam. Under US bankruptcy law these assets will be the subject of an auction and will be sold to the highest bidder.

Williams Communications' purchase of iBeam's assets and its loan of operating funds to iBeam are both subject to approval of the bankruptcy court.

While the two companies work to complete the asset purchase agreement, iBeam intends to continue to provide its customers with uninterrupted service and support and assure fulfilment of its obligations to them as well as to its employees.

Upon completion of the proposed purchase, Williams Communications plans to integrate iBeam's streaming and webcasting business into its Vyvx Broadband Media unit, which currently provides integrated transmission and broadband media services, including fibre-optic and satellite transmission, digital media management, content gathering and distribution, as well as managed web hosting and streaming.

Williams Communications and iBeam previously announced a strategic partnership on June 25, 2001, in which Williams Communications invested US$ 20 million in cash and US$ 10 million in future in-kind services in iBeam in exchange for convertible preferred stock representing approximately a 49% ownership of the company. Other shareholders include Allen and Co Inc (6.4%) and Touch America Inc (6.4%).

SES Gets FCC Approval for GE Americom Acquisition
Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), the Luxembourg based operator of the Astra satellite system, has been granted regulatory approval by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its acquisition of GE Americom.

SES will establish a new company, SES Global, which will control GE Americom, SES's current satellite assets and its shareholdings in other satellite companies including Asiasat an NSAB.

Under the terms of the acquisition, SES pay General Electric Capital Corporation US$ 2.7 billion in cash and 15.4 million new SES Global shares for GE American Communications.

SpeedCast Expands Across Asia
SpeedCast Ltd., a satellite broadband enabler based in Hong Kong, has announced several new partnerships with broadband partners, further extending the reach of its SpeedCast Broadband service offering.

In addition to SpeedCast's existing network of partners across Asia and the Middle East, SpeedCast has recently formed strategic alliances with the following partners throughout the region: the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), Abdullah Al Fouad Company from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Agni Ltd. of Bangladesh, the Almoayed Telecom/AmNet from Bahrain, Cynex from India, Commsat.net of Indonesia, DotCom of Bangladesh, E-Biz Maldives from the Maldives, Globe Net from Laos, Mega Internet Services from India, Pan Asian from Hong Kong, Pasifik Satelit Nusantara from Indonesia, Newcastle Direct from Australia and Telecom Mongolia from Mongolia.

SpeedCast provides these partners with a range of high-speed Internet access services via satellite. SpeedCast Broadband uses C band transmissions via the AsiaSat 3S satellite located at 105.5° E with a footprint covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, an area extending from Russia in the north, down to New Zealand in the south, east to Japan and as far west as Egypt.

SpeedCast Broadband offers 4 service plans based on usage and consumption: Galaxy, Galaxy+, Infinity and Pre-Paid services. Each service offering includes a high speed Internet connection up to 1.5 Mb/s via satellite, and access to SpeedCast Multimedia's video content including Bloomberg TV, Fashion TV, ChannelNewsAsia, Channel J and much more branded content.

Founded in September 1999, the shareholders of SpeedCast Limited include Tech System Limited, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), Telecom Venture Group and Yahoo! Inc.

Products and Services

Conexant Unveils Single-Chip Dual-Stream Demodulator for Satellite Receiver Systems
Conexant Systems Inc has introduced the industry's first single-chip dual-stream demodulator for satellite receiver systems. The CX24130 device is ideal for applications such as personal video recorders (PVRs) that process dual incoming video streams to simultaneously play and record two different television programs. Other applications include digital video broadcasting/digital satellite system (DVB/DSS) set-top and PC receivers, and residential gateways.

The latest in Conexant's family of set-top box solutions, the CX24130 replaces two 100-pin demodulators with one 80-pin IC, allowing system designers to significantly reduce product size and component requirements. Optimised for use with Conexant's CX24108 radio frequency (RF) satellite tuner ICs, the CX24130 device cuts board space by approximately 35% and external component costs by about 15%. The CX24130 also provides a seamless interface to Conexant's CX22492 interactive MPEG-2 audio/video decoder for a complete direct broadcast satellite (DBS) PVR system solution.

The CX24130 dual-stream quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) demodulator joins Conexant's extensive communications portfolio, which includes MPEG audio/video decoders, digital terrestrial demodulators, silicon tuners, broadband home networking products, cable, DSL and dial-up modems. Key features include superior bit error rate (BER) performance, low power dissipation, and small form factor. The device is compliant with DVB (ETS 300-421) and DSS specifications for satellite transmission, and provides digital derotation, digital filtering, equalisation and Viterbi/Reed-Solomon forward error correction (FEC).

A variety of advanced demodulator features enhance overall system performance, including automatic correction for external quadrature gain/phase imbalances and DC offsets, and automatic gain control (AGC) to compensate for input signal level variations. A robust carrier-tracking loop corrects for frequency offsets due to inexpensive low noise block down-converters (LNBs), and a unique automatic acquisition algorithm searches and acquires the carrier during initial acquisition, and performs a smart search to reacquire the carrier during fade conditions. In addition, the CX24130 features integrated signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and bit-error-rate (BER) monitors that facilitate channel-performance measurements.

Conexant provides a complete reference design package that allows designers to rapidly bring innovative new products to market. The CX24130 demodulator is manufactured using proven 0.18-micron CMOS process technology, and is packaged in an 80-pin quad flat pack (QFP). The device is sampling now and is scheduled to begin volume production this quarter.

Stratos Delivers Prepaid Calling Cards for Satellite Communications
Stratos has announced that it is the first to make available a range of new, flexible Prepaid Calling Cards for multiple satellite networks, including Inmarsat-A, -B, -M, mini-M, North America MSAT (Marinesat/Landsat/Oceancell) and Iridium - a first for the Iridium satellite network.

Stratos Prepaid Calling Cards can be used by vessel crewmembers wishing to contact friends and family while at sea, for third party users of satellite phones in any environment, or simply as an alternative to reconciliation of monthly billing. Prepaid Calling Card users are greeted with automated voice prompts that provide English, French, and Spanish language options, with additional languages available in the future.

The card user scratches the 9-digit PIN number and follows the instructions on the back of the card to complete the call. Cards are disposed of when their value has been depleted.

People

JPL Names Chief Engineer for Mars Exploration Program
Charles Whetsel has been named Chief Engineer of the Mars Program a the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a position he has held in an acting capacity since February.

As chief engineer, Whetsel will lead the technical development of all current and future Mars missions. Along with other members of the Mars Program staff, he will identify promising mission architectures and technologies, while resolving technical issues affecting multiple projects within the existing Mars Program. He will also lead the Mars Program Systems Engineering Team, comprised of senior engineers from across NASA and other key international space agencies participating in the co-operative exploration of Mars.

At JPL since 1989, Whetsel has worked on a variety of missions, including Cassini, Mars Observer and the Mars Global Surveyor. He was also the orbiter payload manager for the Mars Sample Return Study, a position he left in 1999 to become manager of the Flight Systems Engineering and Test Section.

Whetsel received a bachelor's degree in planetary science and another in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, Stanford, California.

New president for XTAR
Loral Space & Communications has announced that retired Admiral Bill Wright has been named president of the Loral/Hisdesat X band joint venture company XTAR.

Mr Wright was previously president, Loral Asia-Pacific, where he represented Loral and its business units to commercial and government customers, providing assistance in planning, financing and regulatory matters, as well as co-ordinating the activities of all Loral offices in Asia.

A retired rear admiral, Mr Wright joined Loral in 1998 after a 34-year career in the US Navy.

XTAR, with offices in Washington, DC, is a satellite operator that will provide X band satellite communications services to government users in the United States, the Spanish Ministry of Defence and other friendly nations. The company's first satellite, XTAR-EUR, currently under construction at Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is scheduled to enter service in 2003. XTAR is a joint venture between managing partner Loral and Hisdesat.

PanAmSat Creates New Marketing Post
PanAmSat Corporation has created a senior vice president of marketing post to oversee all strategic marketing and marketing communications initiatives for the company. Effective immediately, Michael S Liebow will serve the company in this new post reporting to Tom Eaton, executive vice president of global sales and marketing.

Prior to his arrival at PanAmSat, Mr Liebow was chief marketing officer for a Boston-based, Internet start-up venture named EMT Corporation, focused on building Internet applications for large entertainment and enterprise customers. Prior to EMT Corporation, Michael was recruited by IBM Corporation to serve in a senior marketing position managing the strategy and marketing of the company's Intel-based server business.

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