15 September 2002
Satcoms
EMS Satellite Networks Installs Demonstration DVB-RCS Hub
EMS Technologies
Receives Inmarsat Approval for Aeronautical Swift64 Mobile Packet Data
Services
Intelsat Signs Two New Deals for Video Services in Latin
America
Rockwell
Collins Orders EMS Technologies' High-Speed Data Transceivers
Spacenet Provides GTech with 7,500
Terminals VSAT System for State Lottery
Military
Space
Comtech
Announces US 2.4 Million Modem from Harris Corporation
Science
NASA Announces
Contract for Next-Generation Space Telescope
Space Dynamics Lab Teams
with NASA on New Sensor Development
Technology
Actel Details Next Phase in Space-Qualified FPGA
Roadmap
Products and Services
Actel Introduces 1553B Core for Military, Space and Avionics
Markets
Astra 1A
Now Available at 5.2° East
Intelsat and BT Broadcast Services Partner to Provide
End-to-End Video Solutions
Tandberg TV Launches nCompass for Combined Control and
Monitoring
People
Jon Romm to Head Intelsat's New Video Business Unit
Senior Officials Swap
Between NASA Sites
EMS Satellite Networks Installs Demonstration DVB-RCS Hub
(13 September 2002) EMS
Satellite Networks, a newly formed division of EMS Technologies Inc, has
installed a DVB-RCS hub in Montreal to offer DVB-RCS demonstration services
throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South
America.
Demonstration services are available
immediately in Ku band for all potential satellite service providers, service
operators and applications development partners.
EMS Satellite
Networks includes all of the satellite broadband products formerly managed
under EMS's Space & Technology Group including all DVB-RCS systems, hubs
and terminal products.
In a related development, EMS also announced
that Taraneh Shariatmadar will be joining EMS Satellite Networks' sales and
marketing team. Ms Shariatmadar brings to EMS more than 15 years of satellite
communications experience in Canada, in various roles both with Telesat Canada
and Canada's Government Telecommunications and Informatics Services (GTIS). Ms
Shariatmadar will be responsible for sales in the Canadian market, as well as
for developing initiatives in support of Canada's Innovation Strategy and
Broadband Pilot Programs.
EMS Technologies Receives Inmarsat Approval for Aeronautical
Swift64 Mobile Packet Data Services
(11 September 2002) EMS Technologies Inc has received
Inmarsat approval to fly Swift64 Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS) on the
HSD-128 Aeronautical High Speed Data terminal. Swift64 MPDS is an "always-on"
connection that allows users to pay for content used and not for the connect
time. Swift64 MPDS is to be globally available via the Inmarsat network in
early 2003.
The HSD-128 is the only aeronautical
high-speed data terminal that is capable of an ISDN circuit switched
connection, as well as a simultaneous MPDS packet connection providing users
the most flexibility while delivering the fastest connection speeds.
Dassault Aviation is the first OEM to put MPDS services on an aircraft. EMS's
HSD-128 was installed on a Falcon 900EX demonstrator aircraft in March of this
year. Dassault will be participating in beta trials of the service over the
coming months in preparation for full service launch later in the
year.
Intelsat Signs Two New Deals for Video Services in Latin
America
(13
September 2002) Intelsat has signed two large contracts with Latin American
broadcasters that will add significant further momentum to the flourishing
video community at its 55.5º W orbital location.
The first contract, signed with Radio Televisión Guatemala - Canal 3,
will bring seven new television channels and 10 new radio stations to its
affiliates throughout Guatemala.
The new television channels being
added to the Latin American "video bird" include: Radio Televisión
Guatemala, Televisiete, Teleonce and Trecevisión in Guatemala,
Teleemisoras del Sureste in Mexico, Repretel in Costa Rica and Telesistema de
Guayaquil in Ecuador. Prior to the new channels, Canal 3 distributed only four
local television channels. This lease also represents Canal 3's introduction to
TV program distribution via satellite.
In a separate announcement,
Intelsat has also signed a 15-year contract with broadcaster Red Global for
distribution of entertainment programming to approximately 100 broadcast and
television systems within Peru. Red Global is the fourth Peruvian broadcaster
to join the Latin American video community on this satellite.
The
Intelsat 805 satellite at 55.5° W is providing the capacity for these
solutions, and hosts a growing community of Latin American broadcasters.
Intelsat 805 offers simultaneous coverage of all of South America, Mexico, the
Caribbean, the 48 contiguous US states and part of Western Europe in a single
beam. Each of its C band transponders enable television programmers to
distribute to or from anywhere in the larger geographic coverage area,
providing access to TV markets serving a potential audience of over 900 million
people.
Rockwell Collins Orders EMS Technologies' High-Speed Data
Transceivers
(10
September 2002) EMS Technologies Inc has entered into an exclusive agreement
with Rockwell Collins to deliver 33 HST-900 high-speed transceivers. Deliveries
will commence early fourth quarter, 2002.
The HST-900 is
an integral component designed specifically for the Rockwell Collins SAT-906.
The single 2MCU box, weighing about 3.6 kg, adds a single channel of Inmarsat
Swift64 service to the SAT-906 system. The HST-900 enables both mobile ISDN and
mobile packet data services with flexibility for future upgrades.
Spacenet Provides GTech with 7,500 Terminals VSAT System for State
Lottery
(12
September 2002) Spacenet Inc has been selected by GTech Corporation to provide
nearly 7,500 units of Gilat's Skystar Advantage broadband satellite
communications equipment.
The VSAT equipment will
support a new GTech state lottery contract, as well as other lotteries
world-wide.
In a separate agreement, Spacenet provided GTech with a
Skystar Advantage central satellite hub system, which will support all of
GTech's North American VSAT-based lottery operations. The new system includes
two redundant, diverse, interconnected hub stations - one located in Chicago
and the other in McLean, Virginia. Under the terms of the five-year agreement,
Spacenet will also be responsible for the operation and support of the hub
system and will provide GTech with satellite space segment.
Since
1991, Gilat and its subsidiaries have provided GTech with nearly 20,000 VSAT
terminals for use by government-authorised lotteries world-wide. GTech was the
first to use satellite communications in an online lottery system, and has
since proven that VSAT networks are a low-cost, dependable, easily deployable
platform for any lottery location.
Comtech Announces US 2.4 Million Modem Contract from Harris
Corporation
(10
September 2002) Comtech Telecommunications Corp has received a contract through
its Comtech EF Data subsidiary from Harris Corporation's Government
Communication Systems Division (GCSD) for Bandwidth Efficient Modem (BEM -
7650) assemblies.
The contract is an Indefinite
Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement with four additional one-year
options. The initial award was for US$ 2.4 million.
The BEM-7650 modem
assemblies provide the user with multiple compact, efficient satellite data
links from and to remotely deployed satellite terminals through a single
command and control hub station. The modem assemblies meet MIL-STD-188-165
standards and Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS)
specifications.
NASA Announces Contract for Next-Generation Space
Telescope
(10
September 2002) NASA has selected TRW to build a next-generation successor to
the Hubble Space Telescope.
The space-based observatory,
formerly known as Next Generation Space Telescope, will be known as the James
Webb Space Telescope, named after James E Webb, NASA's second administrator.
While Webb is best known for leading Apollo and a series of lunar exploration
programs that landed the first humans on the Moon, he also initiated a vigorous
space science program, responsible for more than 75 launches during his tenure,
including America's first interplanetary explorers.
The James Webb
Space Telescope is scheduled for launch in 2010 aboard an expendable launch
vehicle. It will take about three months for the spacecraft to reach its
destination, an orbit 1.5 million km in space, called the second Lagrange Point
or L2, where the spacecraft is balanced between the gravity of the Sun and the
Earth.
Unlike Hubble, space shuttle astronauts will not service the
James Webb Space Telescope because it will be too far away.
The most
important advantage of this L2 orbit is that a single-sided sun shield on only
one side of the observatory can protect Webb from the light and heat of both
the Sun and Earth. As a result, the observatory can be cooled to very low
temperatures without the use of complicated refrigeration equipment. These low
temperatures are required to prevent the Webb's own heat radiation from
exceeding the brightness of the distant cool astronomical objects.
Before and during launch, the mirror will be folded up. Once the telescope is
placed in its orbit, ground controllers will send a message telling the
telescope to unfold its high-tech mirror petals.
To see into the
depths of space, the James Webb Space Telescope is currently planned to carry
instruments that are sensitive to the infrared wavelengths of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The new telescope will carry a near-infrared camera,
a multi-object spectrometer and a mid-infrared camera/spectrometer.
The James Webb Space Telescope will be able to look deeper into the universe
than Hubble because of the increased light-collecting power of its larger
mirror and the extraordinary sensitivity of its instruments to infrared light.
Webb's primary mirror will be at least 6 m in diameter, providing much more
light gathering capability than Hubble's 2.4 m primary mirror.
The
telescope's infrared capabilities are required to help astronomers understand
how galaxies first emerged out of the darkness that followed the rapid
expansion and cooling of the universe just a few hundred million years after
the big bang. The light from the youngest galaxies is seen in the infrared due
to the universe's expansion.
Looking closer to home, the James Webb
Space Telescope will probe the formation of planets in disks around young
stars, and study supermassive black holes in other galaxies.
Under the
terms of the contract valued at US$ 824.8 million, TRW will design and
fabricate the observatory's primary mirror and spacecraft. TRW also will be
responsible for integrating the science instrument module into the spacecraft
as well as performing the pre-flight testing and on-orbit checkout of the
observatory.
Eastman Kodak Company's Commercial & Government
Systems unit has been selected to integrate and test the Optical Telescope
Element (OTE) of the James Webb Space Telescope payload that will capture
images and information from outer space.
Ball Aerospace is responsible
for the telescope's sophisticated mirror system designed to operate in the
infrared and to study emissions from objects that formed when the universe was
just beginning.
The Goddard Space Flight Center manages the James Webb
Space Telescope for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. The program has a number of industry, academic and government
partners, as well as the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space
Agency.
Space Dynamics Lab Teams with NASA on New Sensor
Development
(14
September 2002) The Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) has teamed with NASA
Langley to develop an innovative sensor called FIRST (Far-Infrared Spectroscopy
of the Troposphere) to measure long wave radiation emitted from Earth.
FIRST will be a prototype sensor that will take measurements
ranging from 10 to 100 microns in wavelength. Once the prototype has been
proven successful, the instrument may be used on future satellites.
The new sensor will be designed to provide scientists with a set of
measurements that have never been made before to help them more fully
understand the Earth's climate changes.
A majority of the radiation
the Earth gives off in this spectral region comes from water vapour and clouds.
Measuring those changes could give scientists the information they need to
better understand climate variations.
The instrument will be tested in
2005 on a stratospheric balloon. The balloon is 10 times the size of a normal
hot air balloon and will lift the FIRST instrument over 100 thousand feet into
the atmosphere, where it will take measurements.
The project is part
of the NASA Instrument Incubator Program managed by the NASA Earth Science
Technology office. This low-cost program develops prototypes to remove
technical risk for new instruments designed for use on satellites.
Actel Details Next Phase in Space-Qualified FPGA Roadmap
(10 September 2002)
Actel Corporation has unveiled its plans to leverage the company's recently
introduced high-performance, antifuse-based AX architecture for its
next-generation, radiation-tolerant field-programmable gate array (FPGA)
offerings.
Optimised for the space market, the
high-density, high-performance FPGAs will offer key features, such as hardened
latches that offer practical single-event upset (SEU) immunity and, for the
first time, usable error-corrected onboard RAM memory. These solutions will
meet the density, performance and radiation-resistance requirements of many
payload applications, an area previously dominated by application-specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), allowing Actel to aggressively target these
applications in low-, mid- and geosynchronous-earth orbit satellites and deep
space missions.
AX architecture and RTSX-S FPGAs, which feature
triple-module redundancy (TMR), provide unparalleled performance and
flexibility in space-capable products. With densities up to 2-million
equivalent FPGA system gates (approximately 300,000 ASIC equivalent gates), the
new family is expected to offer inherent single-event latchup (SEL) immunity;
>63MeV-cm2/mg SEU capability; and total ionising dose (TID) performance in
excess of 100 Krads. The family will also feature embedded RAM with an upset
rate of <1E-10 errors/bit-day with error detection and correction (EDAC).
Prototyping capability for the new family is expected to available in 1H
2003.
DRTS,
USERS
Launched: 10 September
2002
Site: Tanegashima Space Centre, Japan
Launcher: H-2A
International Number: 2002-042A
Orbit: LEO
Name: USERS
Owner:
Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer
Contractor: Institute
for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer
International Number:
2002-042B
Orbit: GEO
Name: Data Relay Test Satellite W
USERS
(Unmanned Space Experiment Recovery System) is a technology satellite which
will test a re-entry vehicle. It will also conduct experiments in growing
crystals in a micro-gravity environment to create the materials necessary for
super conductivity.
DRTS (Data Relay Test Satellite) is an
experimental communications satellite which will be used to relay
communications between the International Space Station (ISS) and the
ground.
Metsat
Launched: 12 September 2002
Site: Sriharikota, India
Launcher: PSLV
Orbit: GEO, 74° E
International Number: 2002-043A
Name: Metsat
Metsat is an Indian meteorological satellite. Metsat weighed 1060 kg at
launch.
This launch was the first time the Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV), which was designed to place satellites in polar orbits, was
used to place a satellite in a geostationary orbit.
Bidding for Eutelsat
(9 September 2002) Global satellite operators PanAmSat
and Intelsat are making initial moves to take over Eutelsat in a bid to become
the largest satellite operator in the world.
Eutelsat
has been a potential take-over target since July last year when it was
privatised, but until recently there has been no serious interest from buyers.
Most of Eutelsat's major shareholders are ex-PTT's which have been deregulated
over the last ten years and are now saddled with massive debts which they are
trying to reduce by selling assets. They have been trying to sell their stakes
in Eutelsat since privatisation and now it looks like the buyers are
gathering.
Intelsat has now triggered off a flurry of activity by
making a surprise bid for about US$ 3.5 to US$ 4 billion about two weeks ago.
Intelsat made its offer to Eutelsat itself and to its main groups of
shareholders. Although Intelsat is talking to individual shareholders, it is
not trying to buy a stake in the company, but hoping to persuade several
shareholders to sell so it can take control of Eutelsat.
PanAmSat has
made a counter offer, and is also reported to be in negotiations with
Eutelsat.
To further complicate the situation, Intelsat has been in
talks with Hughes Electronics to acquire its 81% shareholding in PanAmSat for
several months, but these discussions are in limbo pending the outcome of
Hughes' merger with EchoStar Communications.
Actel Introduces 1553B Core for Military, Space and Avionics
Markets
(10
September 2002) Actel Corporation has announced it has developed a
MIL-STD-1553B remote-terminal core for space, avionics and military
applications in which high-reliability and system redundancy are essential.
Designed for use with Actel's field-programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs), the Core1553BRT intellectual property (IP) core enables a flexible
system solution with the Core1553BRT and a peripheral on a single chip. The
Actel solution speeds time to market and reduces design and assembly costs when
compared with available fixed-semiconductor 1553B products that require
separate board components. Verified by both Actel and Test Systems
International, an independent MIL-STD-1553B test house, Actel's Core1553BRT
meets all the requirements for dual-redundant remote-terminal operation.
Actel's Core1553BRT is MIL-STD-1553B compliant per the remote-terminal
validation test plan in MIL-HDBK-1553 Appendix A, passing all protocol,
electrical and noise requirements of the 1553B standard. It is a complete
dual-redundant remote-terminal bus that can interface to standard external
transceivers and legacy systems, enabling designers to replace existing
components and easily reuse current software drivers. The Core1553BRT supports
ten message types, including RT-to-RT and broadcast BC-to-RT data transfers,
and provides low-power operation from either a 12 MHz or 16 MHz clock.
Delivering a complete system solution, Actel provides everything needed to
incorporate a 1553B remote terminal into a system design, including development
tools, documentation and software. In addition, Actel plans to offer a fully
verified development board that complies with MIL-STD-1553B to help simplify
design execution and test.
The Core1553BRT is available now. Pricing
for the Core1553BRT is US$ 4,995 for a single-use netlist. The development
board based on this core is priced at US$ 1,895 and should be available in
October 2002.
Astra
1A Now Available at
5.2° East
(13
September 2002) With the relocation of SES Astra's Astra 1A satellite to
5.2° East and the satellite's shift into inclined orbit, commercially
attractive tariffs are available on a wide and flexible range of professional
applications.
Astra at 5.2° E offers full, part-time
or occasional transponder access for organisations needing to deliver data or
programming to regional, national or international users who are not
direct-to-home (DTH) customers. Astra 1A offers connectivity for ISPs to
Internet backbones and to corporate networks communicating LAN to LAN.
Customers may choose to transmit data via a contribution link to a multiplexing
platform or an uplink station for re-transmission to other satellites.
Astra 1A already provides contribution services to broadcasters GermanConnect
(formerly ChannelD) and AB Sat while NSAB has contracted one transponder for
occasional use services.
News organisations and television and radio
broadcasters benefit from occasional satellite capacity offering proven
reliability and security at attractive prices. Occasional use via Astra 1A
offers customised satellite capacity exactly when you need it. It enables
broadcasters to send analogue or digital transmissions from a remote studio or
from permanent uplink stations via a contribution link. The signal may then be
delivered to a designated location or be re-transmitted via other
satellites.
An additional advantage is that occasional short SNG
transmissions will not require satellite tracking as Astra 1A has only recently
entered inclined orbit.
Registered and approved customers may reserve
satellite time 24 hours a day, in real time online using the Satellite
Transponder Availability Reservation System (STARS).
SES Astra's
24-hour Web-based booking service STARS Online is an easy-to-use system that
meets the flexible and immediate needs of news organisations. All approved
registered clients are able to book transponder capacity directly.
Intelsat and BT Broadcast Services Partner to Provide End-to-End
Video Solutions
(13
September 2002) Intelsat and BT Broadcast Services have formed an alliance to
provide the international broadcasting community with end-to-end video
solutions and extended video distribution networks. BT has secured a 10-year
lease for additional capacity on the Intelsat 902 satellite at 62º E that
boasts global beam coverage of approximately 30% of the world's surface. The
two companies have agreed to combine their separate occasional use television
(OUTV) networks on the satellite to provide end-to-end service to customers via
a jointly managed network, where both partners will sell satellite capacity and
terrestrial infrastructure elements.
Broadcast customers
will be able to experience one-stop shopping by scheduling, booking and
ordering end-to-end transmissions, including uplink/downlink, digital
compression, space segment and terrestrial connectivity between key cities in
Europe, Asia and Africa from a single source.
The partnership with BT
will enable Intelsat to move more quickly into end-to-end digital video
services by leveraging BT's established relationships with world-wide uplinkers
to sell video services directly to end customers. It also allows Intelsat to
take advantage of pre-established arrangements and relationships that BT has
previously put in place with many broadcasters. By partnering with Intelsat, BT
will enhance its capabilities by having access to additional satellite capacity
that Intelsat will also sell, along with ground facilities and earth stations
to expand their OUTV network reach.
BT's digital end-to-end services
are operational and available now with Intelsat adding additional scheduling
capabilities by November of this year.
Tandberg TV Launches nCompass for Combined Control and
Monitoring
(9
September 2002) Tandberg Television has launched its integrated control and
monitoring system, nCompass. The system is built on years of experience of
working with broadcasters and operators to manage effective content delivery
networks.
nCompass offers the easiest method on the
market to ensure that customers such as telcos and specialists in content
exchange, as well as broadcasters and operators, can deploy an integrated
control and monitoring system to maximise Quality of Service (QoS) levels while
maintaining operational flexibility.
There are two key components of
the integrated nCompass range:
The most important new features of Tandberg Television's latest advancement in control software include:
The nCompass monitoring solutions include the following modules:
Jon
Romm to Head Intelsat's
New Video Business Unit
(13 September 2002) To better serve its growing list
of broadcast and video customers, Intelsat has created a Video Services
Business Unit and appointed Jon Romm as its new Vice President, Global Video
Services.
Intelsat's new business unit has been created
to enable Intelsat to more specifically focus on the development of its video
business, and to draw together and add to the video-focused resources within
the company. The unit will streamline the video operations of Intelsat, to
accelerate response times to broadcasters and other video customers while
providing them with even better customer service.
Mr Romm, formerly
Head of Global and Commercial Sales at BT Broadcast Services, joined Intelsat
this week and is responsible for the leadership and management of the new
business unit. He aims to grow Intelsat's video customer service across all
regions and territories, as well as ensure that Intelsat is meeting demand for
new video products and services that are in the best interest of its
customers.
Before joining Intelsat, Mr Romm worked at BT for seven
years, where most recently he managed more than 100 staff world-wide and
oversaw product development and marketing. Prior to this, Mr Romm was General
Manager for North and South America at BT Broadcast Services. He has been
working closely with video services since 1990, holding senior positions at
Hughes Television Network, IDB Communications and ICG Satellite
Services.
Senior Officials Swap Between NASA Sites
(11 September 2002)
NASA has named James W Kennedy as Deputy Center Director at NASA's Kennedy
Space Center (KSC) and David A King, as Deputy Center Director at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center effective November 3.
Kennedy currently serves as Deputy Center Director at Marshall, while King is
Director of Shuttle Processing at KSC. The announcement represents an exchange
of senior managers between two of NASA's human space flight centers.
At Marshall, Kennedy shares management responsibilities with Center Director
Art Stephenson for managing one of NASA's largest field centres that employs
more than 2,700 civil servants and more than 23,000 contractor personnel. He
began his NASA experience as a co-operative education student. Kennedy
transferred from KSC to Marshall in 1969 and has held a variety of positions
that included Deputy Director and Acting Director for the former Science and
Engineering Directorate as well as being named Marshall's Director of
Engineering.
Kennedy served in several key positions in NASA's Space
Shuttle program, ultimately serving as project manager of the Solid Rocket
Booster Project Office. Additionally, he was assigned to the Advanced Space
Transportation Project, where he served as project manager of the DC-XA and the
X-34.
As the Director of Shuttle Processing at KSC, King currently
manages and co-ordinates all Space Shuttle processing and launch operations,
overseeing the work of approximately 5,400 civil service and contractor
employees. He co-ordinates all pre-launch preparations, as well as Shuttle
landing operations. As the senior member of the Shuttle launch team during the
3-day countdown, King ultimately makes the final determination to launch.
King began his NASA career in 1983 as a main propulsion system engineer.
He later served as flow director for the Space Shuttle Discovery and then as
the acting Deputy Director of the Installation Operations Directorate. He was
appointed Deputy Director of Shuttle Processing in 1996, Launch Director in
1997, and Director of Shuttle Processing in 1999.
In addition to those
duties, King reassumed the responsibilities as Shuttle Launch Director from
July 1999 until the position was filled in August 2000. He served as Launch
Director for six Shuttle launches, including missions to the Mir space station,
the International Space Station, and the repair of the Hubble Space
Telescope.