6 May 2001

Satcoms

Astrolink to Use Motorola Modems
Motorola Inc's Broadband Communications Sector and Astrolink International LLC have entered into an agreement to provide customers with two-way data communications service via satellite modems.

Under the terms of the agreement, Motorola will supply business customer-premises terminals for the transmission and reception of broadband data signals by Astrolink's planned global satellite telecommunications system.

Motorola has agreed to design, develop, and manufacture the terminals to meet the needs of Astrolink's target customers, including small/medium enterprises, large enterprises, and multi-national corporations.

Astrolink plans to offer broadband-on-demand interactive services--including high-speed Internet connectivity and private corporate data networks supported by its geostationary Earth orbit technology, beginning in 2003.

As part of the Astrolink network, Motorola will begin deployment of its high-speed, two-way IP satellite terminals in 2003.

Oceaneering Awards MTN Comms Contract for Research Vessel
Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN) has been awarded a three-year contract to provide Oceaneering International with a complete C band communications system, including an antenna with a stabilised platform and termination services, onboard The Performer.

This system will provide data communications in addition to voice and fax capabilities.

MTN's antenna system and below deck equipment, known as a Digital Ship Earth Station (DSES), will enable The Performer to transmit and receive information while exploring anywhere in the world. The DSES will be primarily used for high-speed data communications to Oceaneering Headquarters, in Texas. In addition, MTN will provide a dedicated back-haul circuit from MTN's Holmdel, New Jersey satellite network access point (SNAP) to Oceaneering International's headquarters, extending the Oceaneering's LAN to the vessel. This advancement is increasingly important to the offshore oil & gas industry due to the amount of data transferred during the exploration and drilling process.

The Performer's installation of the C band system will be completed by the end of April 2001.

Two More Yamal Satellites for Gazkom
Gazkom, the operator of the Gazprom satellite network, intends to launch two new Yamal communications satellites at the end of 2002.

Contracts for the satellites have already been placed with Alcatel, NEC and Alenia Spazio. Together the two satellites will carry 60 transponders.

Currently, Gazkom operates a Yamal 100 satellite, launched at the end of 1999, which carries 10 transponders.

Manned Space

Harris Corp to Provide Onboard Comms for International Space Station
Advanced fibre-optic technology from Harris Corporation will provide sophisticated, digital voice and video communications for astronauts and scientists living onboard the US Destiny Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS) once installation is complete and the module is operational.

Harris produced the Internal Audio System (IAS) and the Internal Video Distribution Subsystem (IVDS) as part of the fibre-optic communications networks installed by Boeing. The first phase of the Harris system was delivered to the ISS in early February onboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Once operational, IAS will provide audio communications between individual ISS crewmembers within the station, as well as communication with Earth, docked shuttles, and crewmembers engaged in extravehicular activity or working at Individual Science Payload Rack (ISPR) locations. The IAS enables multi-station audio conferences, as well as private, point-to-point conversations with members on the station or with operations on Earth. The IAS also carries five critical Caution and Warning (C&W) tones that alert crewmembers to emergency situations.

The IVDS makes it possible for video signals generated by cameras, the ground, or video recorders to be distributed to all elements of the station for display on monitors, recording, or transmission to Earth. The subsystem contains video fibre-optic transmitters and receivers that are used to convert standard NTSC video to Pulsed Frequency Modulated (PFM) video for transmission over the fibre-optic bus. The IVD subsystem also contains (16 X 15) fibre-optic input/output video switches that enable the video signal to be routed to single or multiple users.

Technology

Andrews Space & Technology Awarded Two NASA Propulsion Research Contracts
Andrews Space & Technology has been awarded two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to pursue advanced space propulsion concepts.

Under a Phase I SBIR, Andrews will perform proof of concept design analysis on its "Alchemist" Air Collection and Enrichment System that the company has proposed for NASA's Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Program. In addition, under a Phase II SBIR, Andrews will conduct proof of principle experiments for its Mini-MagOrion propulsion system, an extremely efficient high thrust engine for human exploration of the outer planets of the solar system.

The "Alchemist" Air Collection and Enrichment System (ACES) is a propulsion system technology that could significantly decrease the cost of Earth-to-Orbit space transportation.

Horizontal take-off and landing reusable launch vehicles (RLV's) may employ ACES to generate liquid oxygen rocket propellant from the atmosphere. This allows an RLV to takeoff and generate most of its propellant mass while cruising to the launch location, which reduces RLV size and cost as well as improves operational flexibility and safety. These factors are critical to NASA and its Second Generation RLV program.

Under the Phase I SBIR, Andrews Space & Technology will work with Pratt & Whitney of West Palm Beach, Florida to conduct analyses to verify the basic operating principles of the Alchemist ACES.

The Mini-MagOrion propulsion system uses micro-pulse fusion to generate a small amount of highly energetic plasma, which is then directed by a magnetic nozzle to generate thrust.

The Mini-MagOrion propulsion system would use a series of pulses to propel a large manned spacecraft to Mars or Jupiter in less than half the time it takes using current chemical propulsion. This is achieved by the Mini-MagOrion's use of micro-pulse fusion, which makes it extremely efficient - eighty times more efficient than the Space Shuttle Main Engines.

Under the Phase II SBIR, Andrews Space & Technology will work with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Washington to design and conduct an experiment that will verify the underlying physics of the Mini-MagOrion propulsion system.

Calculating Satellite Fuel Reserves
Engineers at Purdue University and Lockheed Martin have developed a computer model that originally used to understand how behind soap bubble form to calculate how much station keeping fuel is left in orbiting satellites.

A major advantage of the model is that it only requires temperature data that is available in satellites' telemetry already.

Traditionally, the amount of fuel remaining has been calculated from the number and duration of thruster firings using calibration data collected before launch. Another technique used relies on the ideal gas law - the temperature and pressure of the gaseous fuel in the tank can be used to calculate how much gas is in the fuel tank which, in turn, can be used to calculate how much liquid fuel remains.

The new method uses telemetry data from fuel tank heaters and temperature sensors to calculate where fuel is in the tanks. The fuel, unconstrained by gravity, forms complex shapes inside the tanks which are largely governed by surface tension - hence the connection to soap bubbles. Parts of the fuel tank not occupied by fuel heat up more quickly than parts of the tank containing fuel. Once the shape of the fuel inside the tank is known its volume can be calculated.

Sweden Developing Green Rocket Fuel
ECAPS has received an order from the Swedish National Space Board, worth SEK 11 million, for a demonstration of environmentally friendly rocket fuel for satellite engines.

Newly formed ECAPS is owned equally by the Swedish National Space Board and Volvo Aero.

The foremost advantage of new "green" fuel is that it is environmentally friendly. Moreover, it is neither explosive nor particularly hazardous, which means that it can be handled with rubber gloves, in contrast to Hydrazine, which requires protective clothing that resembles a space suit. It is expected that this will yield substantial cost savings as a result of reduced handling expenses. The new fuel is based on a patent owned by ECAPS.

Various versions of the new fuel will be tested in a laboratory environment.

In addition to environmentally friendly fuel, the assignment includes the development of small rocket engine prototypes for the fuel. The engines will be used in a propulsion system designed mainly for smaller satellites in low earth orbit.

Launch Services

ATK Successfully Tests Independently Developed Solid Fuel Rocket
ATK Aerospace Propulsion Company of Magna, Utah, shas uccessfully completed a static test firing of its independently developed Material Qualification Motor (MQM), which incorporates new technologies in rocket motor propellant formulation, nozzle materials, and insulation to reduce costs and enhance reliability.

The static firing, which took place at ATK Thiokol Propulsion Company's Promentory, Utah, test facility, will support the integration of the new technologies into ATK's Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM) and Orion family of solid rocket boosters flown on Boeing Delta launch vehicles and the Pegasus launch vehicle, respectively.

The ATK-funded MQM project began in April 2000. In the year leading up to the test, candidate technologies were selected, the design was finalised, a new low-cost propellant was formulated, and manufacturing and system tests were completed. Manufacture of the test motor and nozzle also required the development of new manufacturing processes and the design and procurement of new tooling.

The MQM nozzle was funded and manufactured by HITCO Carbon Composites Inc, Gardenia, California, which provides the nozzles for all the solid rocket motors in the ATK GEM family.

Galaxy Express to Offer Launch Services
Seven Japanese companies have formed a joint venture to launch small and mid-size commercial satellites from early 2006.

The consortium, which is called Galaxy Express, consists of: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co, Mitsubishi Corp, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, IHI Aero Space Co, a spin-off of Nissan Motor Co, Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd and Kokusai Sohko Co. There has also been speculation that Lockheed Martin Corp and Aerojet main also join the group.

The development of a launch vehicle will cost up to US$ 400 million. The firms will supply approximately a third of this and will rely on the Japanese government to provide the remainder.

Galaxy Express will use a next-generation J1 rocket, currently under development by Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The launcher is scheduled to be available in 2004. It will be able to carry a payload capacity of three tonnes to GTO.

Business

5G Wireless to Acquire a 30% Interest in Skyhub Asia
5G Wireless Communications Inc has entered into a Letter of Agreement to acquire 30% of Skyhub Asia Holdings Limited.

Under the terms of this agreement, 5G shall provide the financing of US$ 1,000,000 for the fulfilment of existing contracts and additional working capital for future expansion. In addition 5G has an option to purchase an additional 20% interest from evision.com (EVIS) within 3 years from this agreement.

This acquisition provides 5G with strategic capabilities, which will dramatically enhance the coverage in Asia, South Africa, Middle East and Europe allowing 5G to quickly and cost effectively deploy its wireless networks.

Skyhub Asia has been focusing on the deployment of earth stations and Points of Presence over the past twelve months dedicating its resources and working closely with local licensed partners, they have been successful in rolling out services in 8 countries to date. These include Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Malaysia with revenues anticipated to be in excess of US$ 2 million over the next twelve months.

Skyhub Asia is a regional ISP, employing a combination of local leased lines and satellite downlink to provide unlimited broadband Internet access to end-users. Skyhub Asia also performs network design and implementation of internal building infrastructure to enable commercial and residential buildings (both old and new) to accommodate high-speed Internet access. The company is also aggressively developing other complimentary and auxiliary services such as multimedia contents and applications over its broadband network on a regional basis.

Iridium Signs SAIT Communications as Top Tier Service Provider
Iridium Satellite LLC has signed a non-exclusive agreement with SAIT Communications SA to be a top-tier service provider for its mobile satellite voice and data services.

SAIT Communications SA (Former SAIT RadioHolland) currently provides satellite services for remote maritime, government and military users in Western Europe, the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

SpaceDev Australia Prospectus Status
On April 17, 2001, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) placed a stop order on a prospectus dated February 27, 2001, lodged on behalf of SpaceDev's majority-owned subsidiary, SpaceDev Australia, Ltd.

The prospectus sought to raise approximately Aus$ 8.0 million. The ASIC had concerns regarding the relationship of SpaceDev to Space Projects Australia Ltd (SPA), the division of funds raised in the offering between the two entities, and the use of forecasts and projections prepared by management and reviewed by an independent Australian accountant for use in the offering. The use of forecasts has become more limited under recent regulations adopted by ASIC.

Products and Services

CSOC and SpaceData Offer World's Fast Data Services Using NASA Satellites
Lockheed Martin's Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC) and SpaceData International (SDI) provide commercial data services to the oil, gas and energy industry using NASA's space and ground assets.

Under the CSOC contract, Lockheed Martin is authorised to sell available K Band satellite capacity to commercial customers as long as there is no commercial alternative.

SDI has been conducting a demonstration program with WesternGeco for the past six months transmitting on a daily basis raw seismic exploration data files from a vessel off the coast of Brazil. The data is transmitted over a constellation of NASA communications satellites, to a NASA ground station at White Sands New Mexico and on to an SDI data server. It is then sent by fibre directly into the WesternGeco processing centre in Houston.

This service, named SeismicStar, is an automatic point-to-point turnkey service for the oil and gas industry. At 311 Mb/s, the SDI SeismicStar service is believed to be the fastest satellite transmission capability in the world by a commercial entity. A typical daily 100 gigabyte file can be transmitted in less than an hour from a disk on the ship to a disk in the processing centre. To use this capacity, SpaceData has been successful in obtaining licenses from the FCC for the marine seismic exploration application. Lockheed Martin and SDI have signed a long-term contract for the SDI use of a portion of the available capacity on NASA's Space Network.

Because of the very large transponder bandwidth and the unique design of the TDRSS satellites, to date only NASA has the capability to provide these point-to-point global services via geostationary TDRSS Ku/Ka Band satellites. The TDRSS satellites, via their pointing and tracking capability, can reach virtually anywhere in the world except the extreme North Pole and South Pole areas. Licensing by commercial users with the FCC for the commercial use of these NASA TDRSS government frequency satellites is necessary.

Fast Satellite Internet From EarthLink
EarthLink has launched a high-speed satellite Internet-access service, the company said Tuesday. The service will initially be available on the East Coast of the USA and will be available across the whole country by the end of May.

The new service is being marketed as "EarthLink Satellite Powered by Direct PC."

EarthLink's service costs US$ 69.95 per month. Terminal equipment costs US$ 649 with a further US$ 250 for professional installation. The service supports downstream speeds of up to 400 kb/s and upstream speeds of up to 128 kb/s.

International Rectifier Introduces Ultra-Fast Recovery Diodes

International Rectifier (IR) have expanded their portfolio of hermetically-sealed, high reliability (hi-rel) HEXFRED products, to include new 200V ultrafast recovery diodes with soft reverse recovery characteristics.

Power losses reduce with ultrafast recovery speeds, making power supplies more efficient, smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective.

In addition to typical high-reliability space and military applications, the new diodes may be used in moisture sensitive undersea fibre optic drivers and telecommunications routers, commercial avionic equipment and oil exploration applications.

The new HFB25xx20, HFB20xx20C, HFB60xx20 and HFB60xx20C diodes have current ratings up to 60A and are appropriate for power supplies with input voltages to 100V. (Note: "xx" refers to package type. For example, HFB25HJ20 is a 200V HEXFRED device in an SMD-0.5 package.) With a 200V rating, this diode family is ideally suited for space and high reliability design applications with bus voltages up to 100V, where 50% de-rating requirements are typically imposed.

The new devices are optimised for key reverse recovery time performance and reverse recovery softness. The soft recovery characteristics eliminate the snubbing circuits in some designs and reduce the size of snubbing components in most design applications. The low forward voltage drop reduces conduction losses and low reverse recovery current reduces power-switching losses. All features combine to reduce power dissipation, operating temperature, physical size and weight while increasing power supply efficiency and reliability.

The new hermetically-sealed ultrafast diodes are available in both single and common cathode configurations. Package configurations include TO-254, TO-257, TO-258, and TO-259, as well as surface-mount SMD-0.5, SMD-1, SMD-2, hermetic D2, and D3 packages.

The new diodes are available as hermetic commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) as well as screened to space or military QPL equivalent to MIL-PRF-19500 and sold under IR's in-house specifications.

Pegasus Launches High Speed Internet Service
Pegasus Communications Corporation has launched Pegasus Express powered by DirecPC, a two-way high-speed satellite Internet service that offers always-on connectivity to users everywhere in the continental US.

Pegasus Express allows consumers to take advantage of everything high-speed Internet connectivity has to offer including web browsing, streaming video and fast music downloading. In addition, Pegasus Express offers unique video multicasting opportunities that are currently unachievable with terrestrial Internet services, such as cable and DSL.

The Pegasus Express system is comprised of a DirecPC satellite dish antenna, satellite modem, software, plus additional hardware and accessories. In addition to high-speed Internet service, the system's hybrid dish also enables customers to receive select programming from DirecTV(R) (a DirecTV subscription and receiver are required for DirecTV service).

Pegasus Express is available through Pegasus Communications' network of nationwide retailers. Pegasus Express is available for US$ 600, which includes the FCC-mandated professional installation and carries a subscription fee of US$ 69.95 per month.

People

Dr S Rangarajan Joins Worldspace Engineering Team
The WorldSpace Corporation has announced that Srinivasan Rangarajan has joined the firm as senior vice president, broadcast networks implementation.

In this capacity, Dr Rangarajan will be responsible for the global implementation of the WorldSpace ground segment, including the deployment of terrestrial networks to retransmit the satellite signals for mobile reception.

Dr. Rangarajan comes to WorldSpace following a distinguished career at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The senior-level posts he held there included director of the Master Control Facility, director of the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Center, director of Satellite Communication Programs, director of the Frequency Management Office and program director, INSAT Satellites.

Intelsat Appoints Vice President of Strategy and Business Development
Intelsat has appointed Kevin Mulloy as Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.

In his new capacity, Mulloy will be responsible for business planning and the development of Intelsat's commercial strategy, including the finalisation of new solutions-based applications and services that will be key components of the company's continuing growth. Additionally, he will co-ordinate the formation of strategic alliances and other partnering opportunities.

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