19 May 2002
Satcoms
Anomaly on DirecTV 3
Comtech PST Awarded $1.5 Million HPA Order
EchoStar Deploys
Terayon Digital Video Solutions
Lockheed Martin Building Two Satellites for SES
Americom
Spacenet Announces First Contracts for Connexstar Broadband
Service
Navigation
Red Rose Transit Authority Tracks Vehicle Fleet Using GPS System
From Radio Satellite Integrators
Military
Space
Netherlands
Armed Forces to Upgrade its Communications Infrastructure
Trimble Awarded Development
Contract From Raytheon
Manned
Space
NASA Modifies
Spacehab Contract
Launch
Services
Collapsing
Hanger Roof Kills Eight at Baikonur
Three New Contracts for Arianespace
Launches
Fengyun-1D,
Haiyang-1
Business
Arianespace Reports 2001 Losses
Kromos Communications Acquires iP3
Satellite IP Gateway Product From SSE Telecom
Products and Services
Paradise Datacom Introduce Family of Phase Combined Power
Amplifiers
People
New Appointments at NASA
Anomaly on DirecTV 3
(14 May 2002) Engineers at DirecTV Inc have
confirmed that a spacecraft control processor (SCP) aboard the DirecTV 3
satellite switched off on May 4 and is disabled.
As
designed, control of the Boeing 601-model satellite was automatically
transferred to the spare SCP and the spacecraft is currently operating
normally.
While the backup SCP on DirecTV 3 is designed to operate for
the life of the satellite, DirecTV has begun shifting traffic from DirecTV 3 to
other DirecTV satellites at its primary orbital slot at 101° W as a
precautionary measure. DirecTV 3 will become an in-orbit spare.
At no
time did DirecTV’s more than 10.5 million subscribers experience any loss
of service.
This is the latest is a series of failures in the SCPs on
Boeing 601 HP satellites over the last few years. Earlier failures have been
diagnosed as being caused by the growth of metal filaments in a relay which
caused the relay to short out. There is no cure for the problem and no work
around solution. Once a failure has occurred, disabling one redundant half of
the SCP all that can be done is to use the back-up half of the SCP until that
too fails.
DirecTV maintains in-orbit backup satellite capacity to
mitigate the consequences of possible satellite failures. With the successful
launch last week of DirecTV 5, DirecTV will have seven satellites in orbit
including four satellites at its primary orbital slot at 101° W; one at
110° W.L; and two at 119° W. DirecTV 7S, the company's second spot beam
satellite, is scheduled to launch in 2003.
Comtech PST Awarded $1.5 Million HPA Order
(14 May
2002) Comtech PST Corp has received a US$ 1.5 million order for high power
amplifiers from Rockwell Collins.
These amplifiers are
utilised as part of a Rockwell Collins system for high-speed satcom data
capability using the Inmarsat Swift 64 service. This system will enable
passenger e-mail and Internet access. This order for high power amplifiers is
based upon past performance of previously supplied similar equipment and will
supplement a significant installed base of Comtech PST satcom high power
amplifiers.
EchoStar Deploys Terayon Digital Video Solutions
(13 May
2002) To enhance television service and ensure the highest quality picture,
EchoStar Communications Corporation has deployed the Terayon CP digital streams
management system from Terayon Communication Systems Inc.
EchoStar has installed the systems and associated equipment
at its master uplink facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which transmits programming
to the company's satellites for broadcast to its subscribers across the
USA.
EchoStar Communications Corporation and its DISH Network offer a
state-of-the-art direct broadcast satellite TV system capable of offering over
500 channels of digital video and CD-quality audio programming, as well as
fully MPEG-2/DVB compliant hardware and installation.
Lockheed Martin Building Two Satellites for SES Americom
(16 May
2002) Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS) has announced today that
construction of two A2100 geosynchronous satellites is underway for SES
Americom Inc, based on a contract awarded in 2000. The Ku/Ka-band satellites,
designated AMC-15 and AMC-16, will provide distribution of video channels as
well as broadband data and internet services across North America.
The new satellites will be the fourth and fifth A2100 series
spacecraft currently on order by Americom; in addition, the company has eight
A2100s operating in its current fleet. A2100 satellites are produced at
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems facilities in Newtown, Pennsylvania
and integrated in Sunnyvale, California.
The AMC-15 communications
payload features twenty four 36 MHz Ku band transponders and intermediate
frequency (IF) processed Ka band spot beams which will be deployed in a pattern
taking advantage of frequency re-use while eliminating interference between and
among the beams. The satellite is expected to be operational in 3rd Quarter
2004. AMC-16 is being developed as an identical ground spare. The new hybrid
Ku/Ka band spacecraft will expand SES Americom's fleet of satellites, which
provide global distribution of cable, broadcast television and radio,
telecommunications services, business television and broadband data.
Spacenet Announces First Contracts for Connexstar Broadband
Service
(14 May 2002) Spacenet Inc has signed the first group
of contracts for its Connexstar broadband service. With more than a dozen
customers and three resellers announced, Spacenet has firm commitments to
deploy Connexstar at nearly 2,000 sites over the coming year - with many more
expected as these customers and resellers fulfil the terms of their three-year
Connexstar contracts.
Connexstar, introduced in January,
is the first satellite broadband service providing affordable,
commercial-grade, wide area network (WAN) connectivity to America's small and
mid-size multi-unit enterprises. Powered by Gilat's 360E VSAT platform,
Connexstar provides broadband Internet connectivity anywhere in the continental
United States - with the ability to add high-speed credit authorisation,
commercially licensed TV and music, distance learning, content multicasting and
secure backhaul services using the same in-store hardware.
Red Rose Transit Authority Tracks Vehicle Fleet Using GPS System
From Radio Satellite Integrators
(May 15 2002) Radio Satellite
Integrators Inc (RSI), a global provider of customised GPS-based vehicle
tracking and mobile data solutions, has completed an Automatic Vehicle Location
(AVL) system for Red Rose Transit Authority of Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania.
Red Rose Transit Authority provides the
public transportation for the 941 square mile area of Lancaster County and
completes approximately 2.5 million fixed route and shared-ride trips annually.
In order to improve public transportation services for nearly a half-million
county residents, Red Rose Transit chose Radio Satellite Integrators (RSI) of
Torrance, California to design, manufacture, and implement an end-to-end GPS
based vehicle tracking system.
Combining GPS, Motorola two-way radios,
and customised GIS mapping software, the RSI system allows Red Rose to know the
exact location and status of each of their vehicles at any given time, past or
present. Such information enables Red Rose to optimally operate, dispatch, and
manage their resources to provide the best service possible to their customers.
Additionally, all fixed-route vehicles are integrated to a schedule adherence
system residing at the base station to insure smoothness of
operation.
Netherlands Armed Forces to Upgrade its Communications
Infrastructure
(13 May 2002) ND SatCom has been selected by the
Netherlands Ministry of Defence in order to deliver a turnkey satellite
communications network to the Dutch armed forces. The contract, worth more than
35 million Euro, comprises the design, development and implementation of Phase
1 of the Milsatcom program.
During phase 1 ND SatCom
will provide an Anchor Station at Lauwersmeer which operates as a teleport, 37
Tactical Multiband Terminals, the Network Management System and the appropriate
Integrated Logistic Support services. This short-term solution is planned to be
operational early 2004.
ND SatCom bid for the order as the system
prime of an international industrial team consisting of L-3 Communications, a
leading US supplier for satellite communications products and tactical
terminals, Thales Communications in the Netherlands responsible for training
and the integrated logistic support as well as Stork Fokker with many years of
experience in design, development, production, assembly and integration of
complex systems and mechanical structures such as shelters.
Trimble Awarded Development Contract From Raytheon
(13 May
2002) Trimble has been awarded a US$ 2.1 million military development contract
to supply Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for Raytheon Company's
Miniature Airborne GPS Receiver (MAGR) 2000 GRAM SAASM (M2KGS) Program.
Under the contract, Trimble will incorporate its Selective
Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) technology in the Force 5 GPS
Receiver Application Module (GRAM-S) for use in Raytheon's MAGR 2000.
Trimble's Force 5 GRAM-S is an embedded, dual-frequency GPS receiver module
with Precise Positioning Service (PPS) capability. Designed in compliance with
the NAVSTAR GPS Joint Program Office (GPS JPO) GRAM guidelines, the Force 5
provides unequalled performance for airborne and high dynamics applications.
Raytheon's MAGR 2000, utilising the Force 5, has been selected for use in a
variety of US and Allied military aircraft including the MH-53E Sea Dragon,
F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier, ASTOR and E-2C Hawkeye.
SAASM is the architecture selected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which
implements the next generation security functions for all GPS PPS military
users. The use of SAASM significantly enhances and ensures the US and Allied
military user the ability to obtain precise GPS position, velocity, time, and
other GPS sensor information in all types of environments. Trimble's SAASM
technology was granted GPS JPO security approval on May 1, 2000.
Like
the current Force 5, the SAASM-equipped GRAM-S will provide the features
necessary for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operation including all-in-view
tracking, Fault Detection and Exclusion (FDE) and step detector in accordance
with RTCA/DO-229, predictive FDE in accordance with FAA Notice 8110.60, and
European B-RNAV aircraft operations. When operated in the PPS mode, it will
also provide Navigation Warfare (NAVWAR) features including Anti-Spoofing and
high Anti-Jamming protection including integration with Controlled Reception
Pattern Antennas.
The M2KGS program is the responsibility of Raytheon
Electronic Systems (RES) headquartered in El Segundo, California. Within RES,
the program is being managed by Precision Guidance Systems (PGS), a business
area of Raytheon's Air Combat and Strike Systems business unit. PGS is a
leading developer of military GPS integrated navigation systems for avionics
and weapons, airborne multimode receivers, GPS receivers, and anti-jam
technology solutions.
NASA Modifies Spacehab Contract
(15 May 2002) NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston has awarded a US$ 42.5 million contract modification to
Spacehab Inc. to supplement support for the STS-116 and STS-118 Space Shuttle
missions to the International Space Station, currently scheduled for 2003.
This extension includes two space station Logistics Single
Module missions providing supplies to crews on board the space station.
Spacehab provides mission support hardware and related services including
flight hardware, module transporter, ground support equipment, ground payload
processing facilities, module trainers and mock-ups to support flight crew
training and mission integration services.
This modification brings
the total of the initial firm-fixed-price Research and Logistics Mission
Support Contract to US$ 224.5 million. The contract, awarded in December 1997
and managed by Johnson, involves work in Huntsville, Alabama., and at the NASA
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Collapsing Hanger Roof Kills Eight at Baikonur
(15 May
2002) In a tragic accident at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, all eight
workers in a construction crew, who were on the roof of one of the
Cosmodrome’s massive hangers, died when the roof collapsed on Sunday 12
May.
The men were inspecting the roof of the hanger, the
80 m high building 112, which was originally built in 1964 for the Soviet moon
program. The inspection was being carried out prior to annual maintenance. At
the time of the accident the hanger was used to store a Buran space shuttle
mounted on a mock up of an Energia launcher - it is not yet known whether these
were destroyed when the roof fell on them - along with several Energia
launchers in various stages of construction. Another part of the building,
believed to be undamaged, housed an integration facility for Starsem, a
Russian-German joint venture. Although Starsem’s facility does not appear
to have been damaged, it will probably be unusable and will have to be
relocated.
After the accident, the safety engineer responsible for
overseeing the work on the roof collapsed and died of heart failure.
All eight construction workers were Kazakhs. Seven bodies have so far been
recovered. The search for the eighth has been suspended because of the
dangerous state of the building.
The cause of the collapse is not yet
known and an investigation is underway.
Three New Contracts for Arianespace
(15 May 2002) Arianespace has
announced three new contracts for Ariane launches of the DirecTV-7S, iPSTAR-1
and STAR ONE C1 satellites. These transactions represent the bulk of orders
that were open to commercial bids since the beginning of 2002
DirecTV-7S will operate from 119° W but is also capable
of operating from 101° W, the primary orbital slot for DirecTV, and will
provide customers in the United States with local channel service to additional
markets and new services. The Space Systems/Loral-built satellite will operate
with 37 spot-beam transponders for regional broadcasting and 7 super-high power
beam transponders for national coverage from the 119° W longitude location.
DirecTV-7S' launch is scheduled for early fourth quarter 2003 and will have a
separated mass of 5,550 kg.
iPSTAR-1 will be the fourth satellite
launched by Arianespace for private Thai operator Shin Satellite Public Company
Limited (formerly Shinawatra Satellite). It follows Thaicom 1 (orbited in
December 1993), Thaicom 2 (launched in October 1994) and Thaicom 3 in April
1997.
Built on a new-generation Space Systems/Loral FS 1300 platform,
iPSTAR-1 will weigh over 6,700 kg at launch. It will be positioned at 120°
E, and will mainly provide broadband Internet and multimedia services. Its
footprint will cover not just Thailand, but all countries in the Asia-Pacific
region. iPSTAR-1's launch is scheduled for early 2004 on an Ariane 5 heavy-lift
vehicle.
STAR ONE C1, also named Simon Bolivar F1, is the result of
the co-operation between Brazil and 5 Andean countries (Colombia, Peru,
Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela). With this program STAR ONE will become a
regional operator and one of the most important provider of telecommunications
services for Latin America. STAR ONE C1 will be lofted by an Ariane 5 in the
fourth quarter of 2004 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. It will be
positioned in geostationary orbit at 67° W, above the Atlantic Ocean. Built
by Alcatel Space in Cannes, France, this Spacebus 3000-based platform will be
optimised to provide direct television, telecommunications and Internet
services. With a lift-off mass of about 4,100 kg, STAR ONE C1's 44 Ku band
transponders will provide coverage over South America and the area south of
Florida.
Fengyun-1D, Haiyang-1
Launched: 15 May 2002
Site:
Tiayuan Satellite Launching Centre, Shanxi province, China
Launcher: Long
March-4B
International Number: 2002-024A
Orbit: LEO
Name:
Fengyun-1D
International Number: 2002-024B
Orbit: LEO
Name:
Haiyang-1
Fengyun-1D is a Chinese weather satellite. It will also
monitor flooding and other environmental phenomenon along China's Yellow,
Yangtze and Pearl rivers, while collecting data on sandstorms. The 428 kg
satellite was placed in polar orbit.
Haiyang-1 is a Chinese marine
surveying satellite.
Arianespace Reports 2001 Losses
(17 May 2002) Arianespace has
announced its financial results for 2001 with a reported loss of 193 million
Euros on sales of 807 million Euros.
These results were
due to two factors: Arianespace's decision to take charges to account for
rapidly deteriorating commercial conditions in the global launch services
marketplace during the past months, and the company impact from a stand-down in
Ariane 5 flights after the incident that occurred last July on the launcher's
10th mission.
Since the beginning of 2002, Arianespace successfully
carried out six launches in less than 100 days - including the Ariane 511
mission in February that marked a resumption of Ariane 5 launches. With seven
more Ariane flights scheduled for the remainder of this year, Arianespace is
set to perform a total of 13 launches in 2002.
Arianespace also signed
six of the seven launch contracts open to commercial bids since the beginning
of 2002, demonstrating the continuing client confidence in the Ariane launch
system.
Kromos Communications Acquires iP3 Satellite IP Gateway Product
From SSE Telecom
(14 May 2002) Kromos Communications Inc has completed
acquisition of the iP3 gateway product from SSE Telecom. 70 MHz iP3 platforms
are now available for shipment.
The iP3 is a two-way
satellite IP transport solution for IP data, voice (VoIP) and video traffic.
The iP3 gateway offers unique combination of hardware and software features to
provide highly efficient satellite based point-to-point, star-hub and hub-less
mesh networks.
The iP3 Gateway is carrier-grade integrated terminal
capable of providing data rates from 64 kb/s to 15 Mb/s in symmetric as well as
asymmetric mode. With features like Routing, IPmax - TCP acceleration
technology to mitigate the poor performance of TCP over satellites, bandwidth
aggregation to aggregate multiple channels into one large channel, modular
architecture for scalability and user friendly remote monitoring & control
functions through SNMP, Web or dial up modem, the iP3 gateway is ideal for
small or large satellite IP networks. The iP3 gateways have been deployed in
Europe and Africa and in use for over a year.
Paradise Datacom Introduce Family of Phase Combined Power
Amplifiers
(14 May 2002) Paradise Datacom has announced the
introduction of their family of solid state power amplifier (SSPA) systems,
comprising standard 1:1 and 1:2 redundant systems, 1:1 phase combined redundant
systems, 1:1 variable phase ratio combined systems and 1:2 fixed phase combined
systems. These systems can be configured as indoor cabinet based systems or
outdoor systems.
The family is based around Paradise
Datacom’s compact outdoor SSPA. Taking advantage of industry advances in
power transistor technology, Paradise Datacom have deployed unique RF power
combining techniques and a novel approach to thermal management to develop very
compact, high output power SSPAs. By reducing the size of a 200 W SSPA from
that of a small refrigerator to something slightly bigger than a shoe-box,
whilst at the same time improving its cost-effectiveness, it has at last become
practicable to phase-combine SSPAs to produce higher output amplifiers which
are a genuine economic alternative to less reliable TWT based solutions.
Using the phase combining approach, Paradise Datacom now offer up to 400 W
at C band for outdoor systems and 500 W at C band for indoor cabinet based
systems. A 1000 W outdoor C band system is currently under development. At Ku
band, the highest power available for outdoor systems is 140W, with a 200W
variant also under development. While most of the systems delivered so far have
been for C and Ku band transmission, significant volumes of 800 W, S band
systems combining two 400 W amplifiers have also been shipped.
This
phase combining approach is also used to build redundant systems. For example,
a fixed phased combined system of three 200 W C band SSPAs, with two of the
SSPAs phase combined to double their output power and the third in hot standby,
is an economic alternative to a 1:1 redundant system comprised of two 400 W
amplifiers. In the unlikely event of an SSPA failure occurring, the hot standby
is automatically switched into the circuit, maintaining full output power from
the system. Paradise Datacom can supply similar redundant systems in all
frequency bands and configure the power levels to meet specific customer
requirements.
New Appointments at NASA
(14 May 2002) NASA
Administrator Sean O'Keefe has made four appointments at NASA HQ in Washington
DC.
Theron M Bradley Jr has been named as the agency's
Chief Engineer, responsible for the overall review and technical readiness of
all NASA programs.
Bradley, 55, is a former nuclear engineer for the
US Navy, serving in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. He has also served as
a civilian with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense in
numerous leadership and management positions with the Office of Naval Reactors,
both in Washington and in the Idaho branch.
Reporting directly to the
Administrator, Bradley will ensure development efforts and mission operations
are being planned and conducted on a sound engineering basis and will provide
an integrated focus for agency-wide engineering policies, standards and
practices.
During his Navy career, Bradley served as Director,
Submarine Systems, for the Trident submarine program and was instrumental in
the initial design of the nuclear propulsion plant for Nimitz class aircraft
carriers and the advanced reactor design for Los Angeles class submarines.
Since 1982, he has served the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion as a
field representative and manager of the branch office in Idaho, in charge of
nuclear operations.
Bradley will join NASA June 15.
Dr.
Jeremiah F. Creedon, Director of the NASA Langley Research Center has been
named Associate Administrator for the Office of Aerospace Technology at NASA
Headquarters in Washington, effective June 15.
Samuel L. Venneri, who
has been Associate Administrator for the Enterprise since February 2000, will
remain at Headquarters as Chief Technologist, a second position he has held
since 1996.
In his new position as Associate Administrator, Creedon
will be responsible for developing integrated, long-term, innovative
agency-level technology for aeronautics and space. He will also be charged for
developing new commercial partnerships that exploit technology breakthroughs,
and for establishing and maintaining technology core competencies at the NASA
field centres.
Creedon, who is Langley's seventh director, began his
career there 39 years ago as an engineer. He succeeded Paul F Holloway.
Prior to being named Center Director, Creedon served as Director of the
Airframe Systems Program Office and Director of the Aeronautics Program Group.
Creedon began his NASA career at Langley in June 1963 as a research engineer in
the Navigation and Guidance Research Branch, Instrument Research Division.
Creedon has a doctoral degree from the University of Rhode Island. He is
the author of more than 30 technical articles and is a fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Before being named Chief
Technologist, Venneri served as Director of the Spacecraft Systems Division in
the former Office of Space Access and Technology. He started his career at NASA
in 1981 as a program manager in the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology,
where he was responsible for the spacecraft design technology, structural
dynamics, computational analysis and design methodology, and aircraft and
engine materials and structures technology.
Prior to joining NASA,
Venneri was an aerospace consultant with Swales and Associates and principal
engineer with Fairchild Space Electronics. He has a bachelor's degree from
Pennsylvania State University and a master's degree in engineering from George
Washington University.
Delma C. Freeman, Jr., Langley's Deputy Center
Director, will assume duties as Acting Director.
Retired Air Force
Major General Michael C Kostelnik has been named as Deputy Associate
Administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle, a newly
created senior management position within the Office of Human Space Flight.
The new position provides leadership and accountability for top-level
safety requirements, mission success criteria, overall policy definition, and
strategic planning in the direction and administration of the two programs.
Kostelnik's responsibilities will include the corporate level management
of program safety, budget, performance and schedule requirements for the
International Space Station and the Space Shuttle program. The program managers
for these important programs will report directly to Kostelnik, consistent with
the recommendations of the International Space Station Management and Cost
Evaluation (IMCE) Task Force, known as the Young Report.
Kostelnik has
more than 25 years of hands-on experience in research, development, testing,
and evaluation of leading edge aerospace systems. He brings to NASA broad
experience and in-depth expertise in the management of high-risk aerospace
development test programs and operations safety.
Until his retirement,
Kostelnik was the Commander of the Air Force Development and Test Center and
Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Responsible for two of
the Air Force's largest installations, he was also the flight manager for
high-risk flight operations, which tested weapon systems.
From late
1995 through 1997, Kostelnik was Vice Commander and Director, Plans and
Programs, of the Air Force Materiel Command, Wright Patterson Air Force Base in
Ohio.
From mid-1994 through late 1995, Kostelnik was Director, Special
Programs, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. He managed
advanced technology programs, with responsibility for oversight of acquisition,
covert operations and intelligence special access programs.
He holds a
bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University, a
master's degree in Industrial Management Engineering from the University of
Iowa, and has completed extensive advanced program and executive management
training at a variety of institutions, including the National Defense
University, the Goldratt Institute, and Johns Hopkins.
Kostelnik will
report to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida June 1 to immediately begin an
intensive review of the system integration challenges associated with the
International Space Station. He will permanently relocate to NASA Headquarters
in Washington by late summer.
