25 November 2001

Satcoms

Alcatel Space to Operate CNES' Aussaguel Station
The French Space Agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) has awarded Alcatel Space the contract for the provision of operations and maintenance services of the satellite control stations at its Aussaguel site near Toulouse in southwest France.

Taking effect January 1, 2002, the contract covers a total of 12 stations, including the 2 GHz satellite tracking network station and the control stations for the Jason and Stentor satellites. Over the last 12 years or so, Alcatel Space has successfully operated ground-based systems for CNES, the European Space Agency, Eumetsat, Arianespace and the DLR (German Space Agency), in Europe, Kourou (French Guiana) and the Kerguelen Islands.

EBU Successfully Test BISS-E Scrambling System
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has successfully tested an upgraded standard scrambling system for TV contribution networks that can work with all makes of professional equipment used to transmit and receive television pictures by satellite.

The EBU collaborated with a consortium of manufacturers to create the so-called BISS-E system (Basic Interoperable Scrambling System with Encryption). Based on the DVB common scrambling algorithm available through the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, the system is proposed for standardisation by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) later this year.

Equipment from seven manufacturers was tested back-to-back at the EBU's Geneva headquarters in early November using encrypted control words as per the BISS-E specification (EBU Tech. 3292 rev.1, November 2001), with connection from transmission to receiver equipment made at L band.

Newtec, Nextstream, Octalis, Scientific Atlanta, Scopus, Tandberg Television, and Thalès Broadcast & Multimedia all provided BISS-E equipment. Every possible combination of equipment worked successfully.

Navigation

Reducing Vehicle Emissions Using GPS Technology
Mirenco has been issued a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for their "Method and Apparatus for Reducing Unwanted Vehicle Emissions Using Satellite Navigation."

Mirenco currently holds patents issued in the US, Canada and Mexico for advanced technologies designed to reduce over fuelling of vehicle engines. Engine over fuelling is a primary and recognised source of excess emissions and fuel waste, generally resulting from engine combustion-process deterioration and the driver's imprecise throttle positioning.

Expanding on Mirenco's patents, their core Satellite-To-Throttle technology -- known as EconoCruise - was initially demonstrated in 1999 after a joint design with the US Department of Energy Kansas City Plant Operated by Honeywell (DOE). Subsequent to the initial prototype demonstration, Mirenco filed for patent protection and made full, public disclosure of the technology.

The recently issued patent is effective through September 15, 2020, and covers an entirely new application for the satellite Global Positioning System (GPS). With GPS signals as input to the onboard EconoCruise computer, a precise throttle position can be applied in real time based on "knowledge" of the upcoming terrain, surrounding conditions and the operators' objectives. Initially, the route map may be obtained through a prior run over the route so that on subsequent runs EconoCruise will "know" the terrain. In the future, Mirenco envisions versions of the EconoCruise employing real time onboard emissions sensors and communicating directly with existing highway map database systems such as Navtech from Navigation Technologies, advanced systems from Trimble, or any number of navigational systems now being included in newer model vehicles.

An EconoCruise production model is currently in final stages of development under Mirenco's second engineering contract with the DOE. Preliminary testing performed with a Garmin GPS receiver has shown consistent fuel savings of 8-12% in comparison to standard cruise control technology, and can readily be over twice that amount in comparison to manual driver control. Emissions reductions are a direct result of the reduced consumption of fuel in that, according to EPA figures, over 10 kg of greenhouse gas are produced for each gallon of fuel burned.

Military Space

Lockheed Martin and TRW Team Awarded US$ 2.7 Billion Advanced EHF Contract
The US Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems and TRW Space and Electronics a contract for up to US$ 2.698 billion to begin the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of Advanced Extremely High Frequency (Advanced EHF) Program. The Advanced EHF Program is the next generation of global, highly secure, survivable communications system for warfighters within all services of the Department of Defense. The SDD phase will deploy two Advanced EHF satellites and the Advanced EHF Mission Control Segment.

Lockheed Martin is the Advanced EHF system prime contractor and will be providing the spacecraft bus and Mission Control Segment. TRW will be the payload integrator and will develop the payload processors, nulling antennas, the crosslink, RF antenna equipment, and up-link phased array.

Advanced EHF satellites will provide greater total capacity and offer channel data rates higher than that of Milstar communications satellites. The higher data rates permit transmission of tactical military communications such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. The Mission Control Segment will consolidate Milstar and Advanced EHF Satellite control and communication resource planning into a single, modernised Mission Control System.

To accomplish this, Advanced EHF adds new higher data rate modes to the low data rate and medium data rate modes of Milstar satellites. The higher data rate modes will provide data rates up to 8.2 Mb/s to Advanced EHF terminals. Each Advanced EHF satellite employs more than 50 communications channels via multiple, simultaneous downlinks. For global communications, the Advanced EHF system uses inter-satellite crosslinks, eliminating the need to route messages via terrestrial systems.

The Advanced EHF constellation will provide secure data throughput capability and coverage flexibility to regional and global military operations and will also be backward compatible with the Milstar system. The first of the Advanced EHF satellites will launch in 2006.

The Advanced EHF system is the follow-on to the DoD's Milstar highly secure communication satellite program. The Milstar Program currently has a three-satellite constellation in orbit. A fourth Milstar II satellite was recently shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, where it will be readied for a January 2002 launch aboard a Titan IV/Centaur launch vehicle. The last Milstar satellite is planned for launch in 2002.

Technology

First Laser Comms Link Between Satellites Established
For the first time, a data link between satellites has been established using a laser beam as signal carrier. The link connected ESA's Artemis technology satellite to CNES' Spot-4 Earth observation satellite.

On board ESA's Artemis satellite - launched last July by an Ariane 5 - is the SILEX system. This system provides an optical data transmission link with the CNES Earth observation satellite Spot 4, which is orbiting the earth at an altitude of 832 km while Artemis is temporarily in a parking orbit at 31,000 km. Through the laser data link, images taken by Spot 4 can be transmitted in real time to the Spot 4 image processing centre at Spot Image in Toulouse, France, via Artemis, thus drastically reducing the time between taking the picture and its delivery to the control centre. This is possible whenever the two satellites are in mutual visibility. Without the relay function of Artemis the images are stored on board Spot 4's memory and dumped over the ground stations.

The experiment consisted of establishing the link four times: in the course of four successive Spot 4 orbits, the SILEX terminal on board Artemis activated its optical beacon to scan the area where Spot was expected to be. When contact was made, Spot 4 responded by sending its own laser beam to Artemis. On receiving the Spot 4 beam, Artemis stopped scanning and the optical link was maintained for a pre-programmed period lasting from 4 to 20 minutes.

During the period in which the two satellites were "communicating", test data were transmitted from Spot 4 to the ground via Artemis at a rate of 50 Mb/s. The extremely high accuracy of the data stream was confirmed at ESA's test station in Redu (Belgium) and the Spot 4 receive station in Toulouse.

The main challenge in establishing an optical link between satellites is to point a very narrow beam with extreme accuracy to illuminate the partner spacecraft flying at a speed of 7,000 m/s. The experiment was performed under worst-case conditions since Artemis is not in its nominal geostationary position but in an lower parking orbit, circling the Earth every 19 hours.

The experiment was preceded by a series of tests a week earlier, during which a link was established between Artemis and ESA's optical ground station in Tenerife. These tests demonstrated the correct operation of the SILEX terminal and paved the way for the intersatellite tests.

The first experimental transmission of a Spot 4 image is planned from the beginning of December. Before Christmas, the ion-propulsion phase is expected to start moving Artemis to its final geostationary orbit at 36,000 km. Once the spacecraft has reached that orbit, in the middle of next year, the operational phase will start and the link between the two satellites will be established at least 5 times a day.

The SILEX system consists of two terminals: one on board Artemis, the other on Spot 4. Both terminals were designed and built by Astrium. The definition and procurement of the system were conducted in close co-operation between ESA and the French space agency, CNES.

Artemis was launched on 12 July 2001 from Kourou by an Ariane 5 launcher. Due to a malfunction of the launcher's upper stage, the satellite was left in a low orbit. Since then the orbit has been lifted by the satellite's own means to an altitude of 31,000 km. To raise the orbit to the geostationary altitude of 36,000 km, the satellite will use its newly designed ion propulsion system. This system will provide enough acceleration using only 20 kg of xenon gas as fuel. For the orbit-raising manoeuvre, the satellite will have to be oriented in a direction which was not included in the baseline. A team of experts from ESA, Alenia and Astrium UK and Germany (also responsible for the development of the double ion-propulsion systems) are developing new control software to be uplinked to the satellite. It is planned to have the new software fully validated by mid-December and to start raising the orbit before Christmas. This will bring Artemis to its final position by summer next year. Artemis will have an operational lifetime of at least 5 years.

Spot 4 was developed by the French Space Agency (CNES) under a partnership agreement between France, Sweden and Belgium; it was launched on 24 March 1998.

Launch Services

Ariane 5 Booster Test Firing Successful
An Ariane-5 solid rocket motor (MPS) has been successfully tested on the booster teststand (BEAP) at the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, under the Ariane-5 Research and Technology Accompaniment programme.

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.

The motor test will also serve to qualify Ariane-5 improvements designed to increase launcher lift-capability and get production costs down.

Overall planning for the test was built around four main objectives :

• Qualification of new procurement sources for one constituent of the propellant, involving use of Ammonium Perchlorate produced by Wecco.
• Evaluation of the effect of ageing and analyse behaviour on an over 6-year-old rear booster's segment (S3).
• Further qualification of an 'increased-load' forward segment S1 containing an extra 2.2t of solid propellant (10% of its mass). The new definition of this segment, which delivers about 50% of the thrust during the first part of the burn, will raise launcher GTO lift-capability by about 200 kg.
• Test of a new design of the nozzle developed with the objective of reducing the recurrent costs

Other objectives targeted under this test notably involve: simplifying the boosters' electrics ducts and reducing from two to one the number of high-pressure capacities needed for each booster's thrust vector control.

The prime contractor for the test was Europropulsion, which defined the objectives and supplied the specimen. Responsibility for conducting the test were assigned to CNES, whose role covered stand deployment, supply of the test facilities and conducting operations with Arianespace's assistance.

The solid rocket motor (275t, including 240t of propellant) built by Europropulsion comprises a nozzle, an igniter and three loaded segments: the 26t S1, 107t S2 and 107t S3.

The solid-propellant booster developed by EADS-LV is the complete stage incorporating the motor with all command systems, (ignition, flight control, destruct and possibly recovery), forward/aft skirts and connections to the launcher's core stage.

Business

XM Radio Announces Share Transfer
Following the rollout of XM Radio last week Motient Corporation has announced that, as part of its ongoing debt restructuring efforts, it has exchanged and transferred its remaining stake in XM Radio Class B Common stock to its senior secured debt guarantors led by Hughes Electronics Corporation.

The share exchange will eliminate all remaining shares of XM Radio Class B Common Stock and transfer those shares as XM Radio Class A Common Stock to Motient's guarantors. Following the settlement of the stock transfer, Hughes Electronics will become XM's single largest shareholder.

Products and Services

Astra Broadband Interactive System Now Commercially Available
SES Astra, the SES Global company operating the Astra satellite system, has announces the commercial availability of the Astra Broadband Interactive System (BBI). BBI, which uses Ka band frequencies on the Astra 1H satellite, is the first commercial Ka band two-way broadband satellite service available across Europe.

Using Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs) located at their business premises, users can contribute data and media-rich content at transmit rates of up to 2 Mb/s via Astra 1H to the BBI Hub for onward multicast distribution via satellite or for routing to the terrestrial backbone.

Astra's BBI, the first commercial implementation of the Digital Video Broadcast - Return Channel over Satellite (DVB-RCS) broadband standard, can support all standard IP-Based needs such as file transfers, email, database management and broadband Internet access.

The acceptance testing and final commissioning of the fully redundant BBI Hub was conducted over a three week period by a team from SES Astra, ND Satcom GmbH and EMS Technologies Inc. ND Satcom designed and implemented the BBI Network Management System and was responsible for system integration and testing. EMS designed and implemented core subsystems of the Hub including the Return Link Sub-system, provided systems engineering and integration. EMS also provided the Satellite Interactive Terminals used in the acceptance test period.

The BBI Hub provides a standard DVB-S forward path capable of delivering up to 38 Mb/s of IP data or content to SITs located at client premises. For enhanced reliability, the BBI Hub uses hot stand-by redundancy of baseband subsystems to ensure successful transmission of client data and content at all times. It also incorporates a Ka band receive diversity site. This ensures that, when operating at Ka band frequencies, the optimum availability of Ku band satellite communication systems can be maintained.

Following a series of successful compatibility trials, SES Astra has also ordered SITs from Raytheon Satcom Systems. The ease with which these Raytheon trials were successfully completed, demonstrates the value for manufacturers and customers of SES Astra adopting an open standard such as DVB-RCS for BBI.

With both Raytheon and EMS as terminal manufacturers compliant to the DVB-RCS standard, BBI becomes the first two-way broadband satellite system for which independent terminal sources are available.

People

DeWitt to Succeed Klineberg at SS/Loral
C Patrick DeWitt has been named president of Space Systems/Loral and vice president of Loral Space and Communications, succeeding John M Klineberg who is retiring from the company.

Mr DeWitt, 55, has held management positions with SS/L and its predecessor companies since 1973. He has served since 1996 as SS/L's executive vice president and since 1999 has been a member of the office of the president. Mr DeWitt earned his degree in business administration from San Jose State University.

John Klineberg, 63, joined Loral in 1995 and will continue his association with the company as a member of the SS/L board of directors. Prior to becoming SS/L's president in 1999, he was assigned to the Globalstar project where he oversaw the successful development, production and deployment in orbit of the Globalstar satellite constellation. Dr Klineberg spent the prior 25 years with NASA in a variety of senior management and technical positions including leadership of the Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA's Lewis Research Center.

Paul R Davis Named President of Loral Asia-Pacific
Paul R Davis, formerly vice president of marketing and sales for Space Systems/Loral's satellite manufacturing business in Asia and Africa, has been named president of Loral Asia-Pacific.

In this position, Dr Davis will act as corporate ambassador to customers and potential customers for both Loral and its subsidiaries, including Space Systems/Loral, throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He will help to co-ordinate the activities of the Loral companies in pursuing regional business opportunities.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Dr Davis will now be the regional contact for Asian matters for businesses, US and Pacific-Rim governmental agencies, and for Loral customers. His duties will include providing planning assistance to customers, and co-ordinating the activities of all Loral representative offices in Asia.

Dr Davis replaces William H Wright, IV, who has been named president of XTAR, a new satellite communications services company majority owned by Loral. XTAR will provide X band satellite services to the US and Spanish governments and to other friendly governments.

Dr Davis joined SS/L in 1996 after seven years at Hughes Space and Communications. Before joining Hughes, Dr Davis spent four years as director of information systems at Tracor Applied Sciences.

He spent 20 years in the US Air Force, retiring in 1985 with the rank of colonel, where he concentrated on communications systems and satellite operations. He served for five years in Korea, Germany, and Italy, in addition to a three-year assignment in the Pentagon.

Dr Davis earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama, and his master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. His graduate work was in algebraic coding theory and artificial intelligence.

SpaceDev Appoints New Vice President of Government Business Development
SpaceDev Inc has announced the appointment of Ron McKeown as vice president, government business development. McKeown will be responsible for positioning SpaceDev as a major player in the rapidly accelerating evolution in micro-miniaturisation of components, processes, and vehicles for military applications in space.

Mr McKeown brings more than 15 years of experience in government sales and marketing to SpaceDev. Most recently, McKeown served as the Director of Marketing for Maxwell Technologies' Systems Division in San Diego. While at Maxwell Technologies, McKeown was instrumental in branding and positioning the company as a leading source of electronic components for the aerospace industry. Previously, McKeown was Vice President of Business Development at McDonnell Douglas Technologies. A retired Navy captain, McKeown held a variety of senior management positions in business development, product marketing, and marketing strategy. A renowned expert on Tactical Air Warfare and Naval Aviation, McKeown authored numerous articles on Air Warfare and was the first Commanding Officer of the Navy's famed "Topgun" Navy Fighter Weapons School.

A Naval Academy Graduate, McKeown also holds a masters degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. He attended the US Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB in California where he studied advanced aeronautics and astronautics in addition to becoming an experimental test pilot. He has flown experimental test flights in the F-4 Phantom, F-5 Tiger, F-14 Tomcat, F15 Eagle, F16 Falcon, F/A18 Hornet, the F-104 Starfighter, and several non-US fighters.

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