27 May 2001

Satcoms

Educational User Takes Over ACTS Research Satellite
NASA's ACTS (Advanced Communications Technology Satellite) has finished its roll as a research satellite and is now being used to provide distance learning.

The operation of the spacecraft's communications payload is to be taken over by the Ohio Consortium for Advanced Communications Technology (OCACT) which, in conjunction with Ohio University will launch Project LearningBird. This distance learning initiative will make satellite capacity available to SchoolTone Alliance members for demonstration projects until 2005.

e-Qual Orders STM's SpaceWeb VSATs
STM Wireless, Inc (STM), has received orders in excess of US$ 2 million from e-Qual, a European based service provider, for a network starting with 510 SpaceWeb broadband terminals. The network's hub, residing on a high-speed fibre backbone in central France, was inaugurated on May 18, 2001.

e-Qual, which built a teleport facility initially using Eutelsat satellites, is targeting businesses and commercial users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with a range of services including direct broadband connectivity using on premise multi-user terminals, voice and corporate VPN services.

STM's SpaceWeb VSAT system, the platform chosen by e-Qual for its service offering, uses standard DVB transmission in the downstream path and an IP-based TDMA return channel which has built-in features for bandwidth control, TCP acceleration, and other features such as fairness algorithms designed for multi-user commercial applications.

FCC Rules on Satellite Slots
The US Federal Communications Commission has turned down requests from Loral Space and Communications and VisionStar for additional time to build and deploy geostationary satellites.

The companies must now build and launch the satellite systems required by their licences for orbital slots or risk losing those licences.

At the same time the FCC refused to reinstate licences for orbital slots which had been withdrawn from PanAmSat and Morning Star Satellite when they failed to meet construction deadlines for their satellites.

Extensions have been granted to GE Americom and NetSat 28 to construct their systems.

Gilat Selects SkyStream's Source Media Routers for Consumer Internet Services
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd has selected SkyStream's Source Media Routers (SMR) for use as part of the satellite Internet platform Gilat provides to Internet service providers, including StarBand Communications Inc.

SkyStream's SMR platform is a high-performance vehicle for delivering high-speed Internet access and content distribution over broadcast networks. Gilat is one of more than 140 companies worldwide that utilise SkyStream's integrated hardware and software solutions for delivering rich digital content over hybrid broadcast and broadband networks.

The SkyStream SMR-24 is an intelligent network device that sits at a satellite uplink or headend of a network operator's premises and enables them to broadcast rich content files and streaming video over satellite to multiple locations or viewers simultaneously.

SatVision Selects SkyStream's Networking Solutions to Deliver Rich Multimedia Content
SatVision Plc, a Manchester, UK-based satellite service provider, has selected SkyStream's Source Media Router (SMR) 25 and its zBand Advanced Content Distribution Management software to provide streaming video-based advertising to thousands of retail, leisure and licensed trade outlets throughout the UK and Europe.

SkyStream's equipment will enable SatVision Plc to manage and control the large-scale delivery of rich multimedia content on behalf of its corporate customers who need to deliver rich multimedia content to their multi-site networks, edge locations, clients, and affiliates.

SkyStream's SMR platform is a high-performance router for delivering high-speed Internet access and content distribution over broadcast networks. SkyStream's zBand software enables service providers to manage and target rich video Internet content like advertising, distance learning and corporate communications to individuals and businesses for a high quality, personalised viewing experience.

The SkyStream SMR25 is an intelligent network device that sits at a satellite uplink or headend of a network operator's premises and enables them to broadcast rich content files or streaming video over satellite to multiple locations or viewers simultaneously.

With SkyStream's SMR and zBand, service providers can take raw Internet content (HTML pages, video clips, MP3 files) and prepare it for efficient distribution to edge cache locations throughout the Internet infrastructure. The SkyStream EMR would then receive the content files and then route it to the local area network for distribution.

ST Teleport to Provide Broadband Internet with InterSky
ST Teleport Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Telemedia, is Shiron's newest customer for its InterSky two way broadband Internet solution.

ST Teleport is a satellite transmission operator that serves broadcasters, media, Internet Service Providers, telecommunications companies and corporations. It has purchased a Hub, which will be installed in Singapore, and Remote Gateways.

InterSky offers high data rates along with Demand Assigned Multiple Access, Bandwidth On Demand and Automatic Power and Frequency Control, ensuring that satellite resources are used at maximum efficiency.

Other recent customers for Shiron's InterSky system include:

Pan Asia Sat Media, a Hong Kong-based Internet Service Provider, which launched an Asian multimedia superhighway in October using the InterSky system. The company purchased a Hub, which is installed in Hong Kong, and 50 Remote Gateways. Pan Asia Sat Media also ordered 200 additional Remote Gateways and plans to purchase an additional Hub to install in Jakarta for IP/VPN and corporate access products.

Shiron has signed Satteline Communications Pty Ltd to be its exclusive representative in Australia and New Zealand. Satteline also purchased an InterSky system, which will be installed in May. As Shiron's representative, Satteline will promote and sell complete InterSky systems to telecommunications companies and large corporations in Australia and New Zealand.

Shiron has established a Support Service Center in the Philippines with Fibercom T Phil Inc, a Filipino solutions company with extensive background, knowledge and expertise in the Philippine telecommunications market. Fibercom is an authorised representative of leading fibre companies and Shiron's exclusive technical support representative in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Earth Observation

Lockheed Martin's Real Time EO Data Processing System Now Operational
Lockheed Martin's Intelligent Library System (ILS) for the capture and processing of live satellite data iis now operational after having successfully processed its first images.

The image data, captured by the world's first one-meter resolution commercial satellite, Ikonos, is transmitted to a ground station where it is automatically processed, catalogued and stored in the ILS digital archive as earth imagery that can be electronically delivered to end users or retrieved on demand.

The Intelligent Library System (ILS) installation, completed last year, is configured to capture thousands of Gigabyte-size images per day and securely store millions of images for easy and rapid retrieval.

Until the live satellite downlink, the ILS system was ingesting recorded images from CDs and tapes, which will continue to be a complementary data source.

Science

Camera Problems During Galileo's Last Flybys
The camera on NASA's Galileo spacecraft had been suffering from intermittent failures and may not have been working properly during the spacecraft close flyby of Jupiter's moon Callisto on Friday.

Voltage readings received from the camera before the flyby were the same as when the camera was in a problem state during its last previous flyby, passing the moon Ganymede five months ago. During that flyby the condition was intermittent. It self-corrected spontaneously several times and was also corrected by commands from the ground to cycle its power off and on. More than half of the 120 images taken during that encounter period were captured successfully.

This time, however, indications of the problem began shortly before this orbit's closest approach to Jupiter on Wednesday morning and have persisted in every voltage reading received since then, even after the power-cycle commands.

Other scientific experiments on Galileo, including infrared imaging of Jupiter's clouds and a radio study of Jupiter's atmosphere, have functioned properly during this pass through the inner portion of Jupiter's system. Data will be transmitted to Earth during the next two months.

This is Galileo's 30th orbit of Jupiter since arriving at the giant planet in 1995. The original mission lasted two years in orbit, but the mission has been extended three times. By repeatedly passing through the highly radioactive environment close to Jupiter, Galileo has endured more than three times as much radiation as it was designed to withstand. Radiation damage to an electronic component is the main suspect in the camera's problem.

Cluster Takes Up New Position
The European Space Agency's four Cluster spacecraft are in the process of increasing their separation from each other and are being rearranged into a tetrahedral formation in order to monitor the larger scale structure of the Earth's magnetic tail region in space including magnetic waves and particle acceleration.

When the manoeuvres end on June 3rd, the separation of the spacecraft will have increased from 600 km to 2000 km. Observations in the new locations will begin in June and continue for six months.

Integral Systems Awarded Contract for Deep Space Missions
Integral Systems Inc has been awarded a contract by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) in Laurel, Maryland to support three upcoming deep space missions over the next five years. Financial terms were not disclosed.

APL is a not-for-profit research and development (R&D) division of Johns Hopkins University and supports numerous NASA and Department of Defense space missions. An important customer of Integral Systems, APL has already fielded Integral Systems' EPOCH 2000-based satellite control centres for NEAR, a satellite that recently executed the first-ever landing on an asteroid, and TIMED, an atmospheric observatory scheduled to launch later this summer. The current contract supports three new missions: CONTOUR, which will visit the nuclei of two comets; STEREO, which will observe powerful solar eruptions known as coronal mass ejections; and MESSENGER, which will orbit the planet Mercury. All three spacecraft will employ EPOCH 2000 systems for their development and mission operations phases.

NASA's Deep Impact Mission Gets Go-Ahead
NASA's Deep Impact mission, the first mission to attempt to impact a comet nucleus in order to answer basic questions about the nature of comets, has successfully completed its preliminary design phase and has been approved by NASA to begin full-scale development for a launch in January 2004.

The Deep Impact team of scientists, engineers and mission designers, from the University of Maryland, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation have been working for more than 18 months designing the mission, the dual spacecraft and three science instruments. The encounter with Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005 will reveal clues to the origin of comets and the composition and structure of perhaps the most mysterious objects in our solar system.

The Deep Impact team is now completing the final design details and will begin building the mission's two spacecraft: a flyby spacecraft and a 350kg impactor spacecraft. They will be launched together in early 2004 and travel to Comet Tempel 1's orbit where they will separate and operate independently. The flyby spacecraft will release the impactor into the comet's path, then watch from a safe distance as the impactor guides itself to collide with the comet, making a large crater in the comet's nucleus.

As the gases and ice inside the comet are exposed and expelled outward by the impact, the flyby spacecraft will take pictures and measure the composition of the outflowing gas. The images and data will be transmitted to Earth as quickly as possible. Many observatories on Earth should be able to see the comet dramatically brighten just after the impact on July 4, 2005.

Manned Space

Pizza Hut Delivers
Pizza Hut has become the first company to deliver pizza straight to the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).

The creation and delivery of the world's first space-consumable pizza was the culmination of nearly a year of collaboration between Pizza Hut and Russian food scientists. After months of rigorous testing, the Pizza Hut pizza made the landmark, trans-atmospheric journey to become the only pizza ever delivered to and eaten by people living in space.

The "space" Pizza Hut pizza delivered to the ISS featured traditional ingredients including a crispy crust, pizza sauce and cheese, but was topped with salami to enhance the pizza's flavour because researchers found that pepperoni did not withstand the 60-day testing process. In addition, the Pizza Hut space pizza was made six inches in diameter - the size of the Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza - in order to fit into the smaller-sized oven aboard the ISS. Before final certification for consumption was given, the vacuum-sealed Pizza Hut pizza had to undergo rigorous stabilised thermal conditions to determine freshness-stay and life span.

Technology

Further SLI Contract Details
More information is now available on the awards made a week ago under NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI).

The awards include:

• A US$ 3 million contract to Andrews Space & Technology to study its "Alchemist" propulsion system technology for use in NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program for a space shuttle replacement. In the first phase of the two-year multi-phase contract, Andrews Space will conduct a feasibility and risk assessment of its "Alchemist" Air Collection and Enrichment System (ACES). During the second phase, if awarded, Andrews Space would derive detailed design requirements, establish test objectives, and develop a comprehensive risk reduction development plan.
  
  The "Alchemist" ACES is a propulsion system technology that could significantly decrease the cost of space transportation and open new space-based commercial markets. Horizontal take-off and landing RLV's may employ ACES to generate liquid oxygen rocket propellant from the atmosphere. This allows an RLV to take off and generate most of its propellant mass while cruising to the launch location, which reduces RLV size, cost, and improves operational flexibility and safety.
  
  Andrews Space & Technology will lead the study effort, which will be conducted by a team of contractors who are leaders in their respective fields:. Pratt & Whitney will examine the turbojet and turbopump elements of the ACES; Creare Inc will conduct heat exchanger and thermodynamic analyses; MSE Technology Applications Inc and Universal Technologies Corp will investigate and verify air separation technologies. In addition, Hamilton Sundstrand, ECON Inc and Sygenex Inc will conduct further analyses to verify the operational advantages of the Alchemist ACES.
• A US$ 136 million contract to Boeing to study technology concepts that could eventually lead to a new generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV). Under Phase I of the Task, Boeing Phantom Works will study airframe, vehicle subsystems, operations and propulsion concepts that could lead to a series of cutting-edge alternative technologies for eventual application to a specific RLV design. The goal will be a vehicle at least 10 times more reliable, with crew survivability 100 times greater, and at a cost 10 times less than today's launch vehicles. Additional leap-ahead technologies include crew survival systems, advanced tanks and airframe structures, advanced propulsion and thermal protection systems.
• A US$ 65 million contract to Rocketdyne to develop propulsion systems for second-generation reusable launch vehicles. The Rocketdyne propulsion activity focuses on design of and technology development for a fuel-rich staged combustion engine (FRSC). The Rocketdyne FRSC prototype will be a hydrogen-fuelled highly reusable engine in a class similar to the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) developed by Rocketdyne. Under this contract, Rocketdyne will also advance the design maturity of a highly reusable oxidiser-rich staged combustion (ORSC) hydrocarbon engine. In addition, the Rocketdyne SLI award enables research and development toward a hydrogen peroxide engine for upper stage propulsion.
  
  The contract calls for initial design work to be completed over a ten-month period beginning in June. At the end of ten months, NASA will authorise a follow-on 14-month option based on successful performance in the prior phase. NASA is planning on testing of a prototype engine to take place by 2005, with first flight of the full-scale development vehicle occurring in 2010.
• Two contracts totalling US$ 53 million to Orbital Sciences to use a Pegasus-derivative rocket to demonstrate in-orbit automated rendezvous technology and to further develop a 'Space Taxi' crew transfer vehicle concept.
  
  NASA awarded Orbital a US$ 47 million contract for the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) program. Under the contract, Orbital will design, build, test and launch a space manoeuvring vehicle derived from the company's Pegasus rocket that will flight demonstrate in-orbit autonomous rendezvous and close proximity operations as part of NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Risk Reduction Initiative.
  
  The DART flight demonstration is scheduled to be flown aboard Orbital's Pegasus air-launched rocket in 2004. The DART vehicle will conduct a series of rendezvous manoeuvres with an orbiting satellite to demonstrate autonomous proximity operations using a modified Pegasus upper stage and avionics system.
  
  Orbital was also awarded a US$ 6 million contract to continue to study and develop the "Space Taxi" Crew Transfer Vehicle (CTV) concept that the company proposed in 2000 under NASA's Space Transportation Architecture Study (STAS) program.
• A US$ 7.6 million contract to Aerojet to design, develop and demonstrate a dual-thrust Reaction Control Engine (RCE) for NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle program. Aerojet will use its leading-edge platelet injector technology to develop a safe, reusable RCE that performs at both high and low thrust levels for up to 100 missions. The RCE will use clean-burning liquid oxygen/ethanol propellants. Aerojet's work on the program is expected to start immediately and run through September 2004. During that period, Aerojet will build three RCEs at its Sacramento facility and test them at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

NASA Awards Engine Research Contracts
NASA's Glenn Research Center has awarded contracts to 11 companies to provide revolutionary research and technology for aerospace engine research in support of the Ultra Efficient Engine Technology (UEET) Program, Propulsion and Power Program, and Advanced Space Transportation Program.

The contracts for this five-year procurement effort are indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts that could have a total maximum value of US$ 197 million.

The companies selected are:

• Allison Advanced Development Co
• Advanced Projects Research Inc
• Aerojet
• The Boeing Co
• CFD Research
• General Applied Science Laboratory
• General Electric Aircraft Engines
• Honeywell Engines & Systems
• Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics Co
• United Technologies
• Williams International

The selected companies submitted proposals to perform work in eight discipline areas including: air-breathing engine technology, pulse-detonation engine technology, auxiliary power systems, propulsion/airframe integration, rocket-based combined cycle, turbine-based combined cycle, design tools and cross-cutting technologies.

Planned and designed to develop high-payoff, high-risk technologies, NASA's UEET program will enable the next breakthrough in propulsion systems to spawn a new generation of high-performance, operationally efficient, economically reliable and environmentally compatible U.S. aircraft.

The UEET Program and the Propulsion and Power Program will develop aircraft engine technology.

The Advanced Space Transportation Program will focus on 3rd generation technological advances to increase the safety and reliability of reusable launch vehicles while reducing launch costs beyond those produced by the 2nd Generation RLV Program.

NASA's X-40A Space Plane Completes Test Program
NASA's X-40A, a prototype of a space-return vehicle, successfully completed its seventh and final test flight, gathering information and clearing the way for future flights of its larger brother, the X-37.

The unpiloted X-40A, an 85% scale model of the X-37, 6.7 m long and about 1,180 kg, was released from an Army helicopter above NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. The series of two-minute descents provided information for development and testing of the full-scale X-37 orbital and re-entry vehicle.

The X-37 experimental space plane is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that should increase both safety and reliability, while reducing costs by a factor of ten.

Guidance, navigation and control systems of the smaller X-40A are similar to those planned for the X-37. They were tested through complex manoeuvres such as pitch, roll and yaw adjustments when the nose is raised, rotated and moved side to side during flight. The vehicle was also released off-centreline, not directly over the landing site, testing the flight computer's ability to manoeuvre the vehicle to a straight approach towards the landing site.

The Boeing Company, NASA's partner in X-37, made major modifications to the X-40A, on loan from the US Air Force, which also participates in the X-37 program. The free-flight tests were conducted by Dryden with the co-operation of Edwards Air Force Base.

On average, the X-40A free flights lasted approximately 75 seconds from release to landing, with the vehicle reaching speeds of nearly 500 km/hr.

Unpowered flights of the X-37, when the vehicle will be attached to NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft then released to glide to Earth, could begin as early as 2002, with orbital missions beginning in 2004.

Launch Services

Aerojet Awarded US$ 31 Million Extension to Titan Production and Launch
Aerojet has negotiated a one-year, US$ 31 million extension to its Titan production and launch operations contracts with Lockheed Martin. This will lengthen Aerojet's support to the Air Force program through the last scheduled Titan flight in September 2003.

Aerojet builds the Titan first- and second-stage engines and provides extensive Titan launch services. Aerojet's current US$ 318 million production contract and US$ 88 million launch operations contract were scheduled to expire in September 2002.

Under the US$ 19 million production contract extension, Aerojet will maintain full capabilities for spares, repairs, engine processing, systems engineering, logistics support and test until the conclusion of the flight program.

Under the US$ 12 million launch operations contract extension, Aerojet will continue to provide on-site technical support at Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, as well as performance analysis, engineering, procedure maintenance, training and validation support.

Eleven remaining Titan flights are scheduled between now and September 2003: eight Titan IVs and three Titan IIs.

ATK Thiokol Tests Shuttle Solid Motor
ATK Thiokol Propulsion Company has successfully conducted a static test firing of a full-scale Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM). The test took place at the company's Promontory, Utah, facility, located approximately 145 km north of Salt Lake City.

The flight support test program is used to continue verification of the RSRM, including components, materials and processes. The static tests also provide opportunities to evaluate or certify various design, process and supplier changes for the RSRM flight program.

The test ran two minutes, the same duration as the motors fire when launching the Space Shuttle. The last test of an RSRM was conducted in February 2000. The next one is planned for October 2001.

Australia and Russia Sign Launch Deal
The Australian Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Senator Nick Minchin, and Mr Yuri Koptev, Director-General of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, have signed an agreement for co-operation between the two nations on space activities.

A number of companies are proposing to establish space launch facilities in Australia, of which two will use Russian launch vehicles. The Asia Pacific Space Centre project will represent the first dedicated commercial deployment of a wholly Russian launch vehicle outside the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Spacelift project will represent the first deployment outside of the CIS of the Start launch vehicle regulated under the US-Russian START I Treaty. The two companies propose to use Christmas Island north west of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Woomera in central Australia respectively.

SED Awarded Cdn$ 9.2 Million Operations Contract
Calian's Systems Engineering Division has been awarded a Cdn$ 9.2 million contract tendered through Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

Under the terms of the contract, Calian's System Engineering Division (SED) will provide operations and maintenance services for the Canadian Space Agency's Satellite Operations Directorate at its facility in Saint-Hubert, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The contract runs until March 31, 2003 and includes provisions for an additional two years of service, potentially bringing the total value of the contract to Cdn$ 18.7 million.

SED's involvement consists of supporting the operation, development, maintenance, management and ongoing evolution of satellite control and support systems provided by the CSA through the provision of a dedicated team of qualified personnel. SED's team in Saint-Hubert consists of 40 engineers and technicians, and six technicians in Saskatoon.

This contract is a continuation of work SED has performed for the CSA since 1993.

Launches

Progress M1

Launched: 21 May 2001
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Soyuz U
Orbit: LEO
International Number: 2001-021A
Name: Progress M1 (ISS flight 4P)

This was a transport flight carrying supplies to the International Space Station.

Business

Agilent to Acquire Sirius Communications
Agilent Technologies Inc has signed an agreement to acquire all of the issued share capital of Sirius Communications NV, a leading developer of CDMA application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for the 3G wireless and satellite communications market. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Sirius, founded in 1996, is a privately held fabless semiconductor company with headquarters near Brussels, Belgium. It develops code division multiple access (CDMA) and W-CDMA baseband ASIC technology. Adding Sirius' solutions is expected to give Agilent a broad and flexible set of 3G solutions for wireless, hybrid personal digital assistant (PDA) and mobile information appliance manufacturers.

The acquisition of the issued share capital of Sirius, which currently has 19 employees, will provide Agilent with engineering talent and intellectual property, including several patents. The company focuses on developing high-performance, low-power, and highly flexible standards-based CDMA and GPS IP physical modem layer silicon solutions, peripherals and development tools. It designs highly specialised software-programmable telecom chips for use in cellular, non-cellular and satellite communications.

Agilent's plans for Sirius include investment in and expansion of its present role into a powerful design centre dedicated to creating key components for telecommunications devices and networks. Sirius will become part of Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group.

EchoStar Communications Announces US$ 1 Billion Offering
EchoStar Communications Corporation has announced that it is offering a US$ 1 billion aggregate principal amount of Convertible Subordinated Notes due 2008, in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 144A.

The net proceeds of the offering are expected to be used for the construction, launch and insurance of additional satellites, strategic investments and acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes.

New Signatory for Intelsat
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has joined the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation as its 145th member nation, designating The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications as the national Signatory to the INTELSAT Operating Agreement.

As a new Signatory, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications now owns 0.05% of Intelsat. The company has been an Intelsat customer since 1995.

Products and Services

Toshiba Announces Industry's Highest-Power Internally-Matched GaAs FET
Broadening its line-up of high-power microwave solutions, Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc (TAEC) has extended its family of gallium arsenide field effect transistors (GaAs FETs) with the addition of a new 60 watt (W) C band internally-matched GaAs FET for the 7.7 to 8.5 GHz range.

Designated TIM7785-60SL, the C band GaAs FET is targeted for use in solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) for gateway or earth station satellite communications systems, and long-haul point-to-point terrestrial communications.

Toshiba's TIM7785-60SL has the highest output power available in the microwave industry today at 48.0 dBm (typical) for the 7.7 to 8.5 GHz frequency range. In addition, the device is internally matched to 50 ohm, eliminating the need for matching circuits and simplifying the design process to reduce time-to-market. Featuring a high gain of 6 dB (typical), the device allows designers to create more economical SSPA solutions whether they are stretching the limits of higher absolute power or reducing their part count in amplifiers of more modest requirements. The new device is capable of handling complex modulation for high data rate communications due to its excellent linearity. In addition, theTIM7785-60SL features the same packaging, 2-16G1B hermetically sealed, as Toshiba's entire C band line-up above 12 W, enabling customers to reuse some of their existing designs.

To achieve the new 60W C-Band's high power, Toshiba implemented its Heterojunction Field Effect Transistor (HFET) process technology. The HFET process is ideal for high power microwave devices due to its high carrier concentration that enhances output power and gain. Since HFETs have higher Schottky Barrier height than GaAs Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFETs), HFETs achieve improved gate breakdown voltage (BVgd) with reduced gate leakage current, which is critical for higher power devices.

People

Antenna Specialists Names US Sales Manager for Consumer Products
Michael Uxa has been appointed by Antenna Specialists, a division of Allen Telecom Inc, as national sales manager for the division's new Consumer Products Group.

In his new position, Uxa will be creating a consumer manufacturers representative sales force that will support sales of satellite digital audio radio antennas. He will also be handling account sales on an OEM and National Retailer basis.

Hughes Electronics CEO Retires
Hughes Electronics has announced the retirement of its Chairman and CEO, Michael Smith.

Smith will be replaced as Chairman by Harry Pearce, a former vice chairman of GM. Jack Shaw will become Hughes' CEO.

New Managers at Spot Image
Spot Image's Board of Directors made two new appointments to its management team.

Jean-Marc Nasr has been appointed as Spot Image's Chief Executive Officer. He will replace Jacques Mouysset after a transition period of two and a half months.

Also, Philippe Munier has been appointed as General Manager of the company. He will be responsible for Spot Image's relations with public sector shareholders. In particular, he will be working with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and overseeing ministries to define the future role that Spot Image is to play within the French and European Earth observation sector.

New Sales VP at PanAmSat
PanAmSat Corporation has announced the appointment of Gregory T Willis to the position of vice president, global sales operations.

In the newly created post, Mr Willis will collaborate with key executives throughout the organisation to monitor performance and customer satisfaction as well as to implement new measures to ensure the achievement of annual sales targets. Mr Willis reports to Tom Eaton, PanAmSat's executive vice president of global sales.

Tandberg Television Americas Promotes Two
Tandberg Television Inc has announced the promotion of Al Nunez to Director of Sales and Lisa Hobbs to Director of Marketing. Tandberg Television also named Doug McKay as the new Southeast Regional Sales Manager, taking the position created by the promotion of Al Nunez.

Tandberg Television also recently moved into new corporate headquarters in the Central Florida Research Park in Orlando from its former Los Angeles address. The move saw Tandberg Television's senior management, customer service, marketing, and sales administration re-locating to the Orlando headquarters, bringing them closer to key customers and prospects on the US's east coast, and the growing Latin American broadcast market.

Al Nunez, the new Director of Sales for Tandberg Television Americas, was the Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Tandberg Television for the past three years. As Director of Sales, he is in charge of all direct and channel sales in North, Central, and South America.

In her new role, Lisa Hobbs will be responsible for product pricing, product definitions and marketing communications activities for the Americas. Lisa was previously the Marketing Manager for Tandberg Television Inc.

Doug McKay will replace Al Nunez as Tandberg Television's Southeast Regional Sales Manager. As Southeast Regional Sales Manager, McKay will handle all sales within 11 states, including Texas and Oklahoma, across to North Carolina and all states south of that line.

Web spacenewsfeed.co.uk