20 October 2002
Satcoms
Alcatel Espacio to Provide Amheris System for Amazonas
Satellite
Brazil
Selects Gilat to Provide Internet Service to 3,200 Sites
Broadband Satellite Internet Access for Schools in Rural
Ireland
New
Mexico's State Police Chooses Infosat Satellite Network
Xata to Embed Two-way Satellite-Based
Communications into Existing Fleet Management Solutions
Earth
Oservation
RSI-COPPETEC Contract Brings Radarsat-1 Surveillance Intelligence
to Brazil's Maritime Authorities
Military
Space
L-3
Communications Awarded Multimillion Dollar Contract to Support the US Air Force
Satellite Control Network
Raytheon Selected for Revolutionary Defense Advanced GPS Receiver
Development
Science
Stardust
Update - Asteroid Flyby
Technology
Ecliptic Signed On to Both Active Private Solar Sail Missions
Flawless Tests
Validate Spectrum Astro C/NOFS Satellite Design
Japan Tests Experimental Space
Shuttle
Launch
Services
Foton-M Launch
Failure
Business
Comsat International Holdings Completes Acquisition from
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Gilat to Negotiate Debt Restructuring
Swales Aerospace Doubles Production
Capacity
Products and Services
American Millennium Corporation Receives Certification of SatAlarm
Sentry
Analytical Graphics Releases Beta Version of STK 5.0
SpaceDev's New
Miniature Flight Computer
People
Director of Business Development Appointed to Tandberg Television
Americas
Mark K Craig Named JSC Associate Director, Space Development and
Commerce
NASA Administrator Names Deputy Chief Financial Officer
NASA Announces
New Stennis Space Center Deputy Director
PanAmSat Appoints Estevao Ghizoni
as Senior Director
Alcatel Espacio to Provide Amheris System for Amazonas
Satellite
(15
October 2002) The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded Alcatel Espacio a
contract for the development and turnkey delivery of the Broadband Interactive
Multimedia Communications System by Satellite, called AMERHIS, which will fly
on the Hispasat owned Amazonas satellite. The system is planned to be delivered
by mid 2004. The value of the system is 56 millions Euros of which ESA's
contribution is 28 millions Euros.
The system core, is
based on a digital processor that provides a compatible interface with the new
open standard DVB-RCS (Digital Video Broadcasting-Return Channel Satellite) for
the return channel through satellite and the DVB-S consolidated standard for
down link. The use of the standard DVB-RCS/DVB-S makes possible the supply of
equipment from different manufacturers, which results in the competitive
provision of services and equipments. The design of this advanced system has
been facilitated thanks to activities funded by the European Union within the
IST programme (IBIS Project) and will be validated by using the validation
tools developed in Alcatel Space in close co-operation with CNES since
2000.
The basic configuration of the AMERHIS system includes a network
management centre responsible for the management of the resources on board,
four access gateways to provide the system access to the terrestrial network
and user terminals, all of them oriented to the commercial offering of new
services.
The multinational consortium headed by Alcatel Espacio
comprises Alcatel Space, Mier Comunicaciones and Indra Espacio, EMS
Technologies and Nera.
Brazil Selects Gilat to Provide Internet Service to 3,200
Sites
(17 October
2002) Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd has been selected by Brazil's Communications
Ministry to provide two-way, satellite Internet service to 3,200 sites
nation-wide, in a contract worth US$ 23 million.
The
satellite communications network, based on Gilat's Skystar 360E VSAT product,
will serve Brazil's new GESAC program that was established to provide Internet
access to millions of citizens in 3,200 communities nation-wide. It is the
first government program of its kind in Brazil.
Gilat has provided
VSAT services and equipment to many of Brazil's largest Internet service
providers, telecommunications operators and private companies for more than 10
years. Those customers include:
Broadband Satellite Internet Access for Schools in Rural
Ireland
(16 October
2002) SchoolSat is a trial service providing fast access to the Internet for
schools in rural Ireland using leading-edge satellite technology developed by
Web-Sat in Dublin and supported by the Telecommunications department of the
European Space Agency (ESA).
The aim of the trial is to
investigate how far this technology can offer a solution to connect schools to
the Internet, to build networks between schools and to transmit large files of
information be it data, video, audio, or graphics.
The service is
based on the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard which is deployed
Europe-wide (and is becoming accepted as a world-wide standard) for digital
television. It allows the user to receive Internet services with a relatively
small antenna (less than 1metre diameter) and a PC equipped with a satellite
modem anywhere within the footprint of the Eutelsat W3 satellite (used by
Web-Sat). This PC can be used as a gateway to connect multiple PCs to the
Internet.
The Belgian company ATiT, audio visual and IT service
providers specialising in education and culture, initiated SchoolSat as a
project under ESA Telecom’s User Segment programme in response to the
currently low levels of Internet connectivity for schools in Ireland.
The SchoolSat service currently serves the Donegal Education Centre and 9
secondary schools in the county, ranging from the largest secondary school in
Ireland, Carndonagh Community School on the Inishowen peninsula serving more
than 1300 students, to the small Gaeltacht Vocational School on Arranmore
island with just 46 students. The schools taking part have been equipped with
small satellite dishes that allow them to send and receive information at a
speed far faster than ISDN.
Many teachers taking part in the trials
have reported a significant improvement in their use of the Internet for
teaching purposes through their use of satellite-supported network.
New
Mexico's State Police
Chooses Infosat Satellite Network
(15 October 2002) The New Mexico State Police have
chosen Infosat Telecommunications' mobile satellite (MSAT) packet-data and
voice terminals to improve the range and quality of law enforcement
communications.
Using Infosat's mobile satellite system,
police officers will have mobile access to State data and be able to
communicate with one another electronically in message form for the first time.
As a result, officers will minimise personal risk and better evaluate
day-to-day calls by retrieving and sharing critical data, including information
about dangerous addresses or stolen vehicles.
Infosat's mobile
satellite system will also serve the new voice terminals in New Mexico's State
Police cars, which will allow officers to communicate with colleagues virtually
anywhere their patrol routes or criminal pursuits may take them. In contrast,
New Mexico State Police's terrestrial-based network covers only approximately
85% of the state's area.
Xata to Embed Two-way Satellite-Based Communications into
Existing Fleet Management Solutions
(15 October 2002) Xata Corporation has announced a
partnership with Orbcomm LLC to offer low-cost, two-way satellite
communications to new and existing Xata customers. The partnership will combine
two-way satellite with Internet and PC-based software, enabling Xata customers
to drive additional productivity gains into their fleet operations while
further enhancing their customer service.
The Orbcomm
satellite network will be an optional, integrated offering within Xata's
solutions and will be essential for any fleet operation that wants to see and
communicate with any vehicle, no matter what its location.
Orbcomm is
attracting interest in many market sectors due to its successful penetration of
several industries and partnerships with market-leading companies, including
Volvo Trucks North America, GE Transportation Systems and Garmin International,
a leading avionics manufacturer for the general aviation market.
The
integration of Orbcomm into Xata's system architecture is already underway as
the company plans to rollout the new capabilities to a number of test sites
later this month. The products are slated for general availability in
January.
RSI-COPPETEC Contract Brings Radarsat-1 Surveillance Intelligence to
Brazil's Maritime Authorities
(17 October 2002) Radarsat International (RSI) of has
signed an agreement with COPPETEC, a special operations division of the Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro and a recently established maritime-pollution
watchdog, will make a satellite-based oil pollution monitoring program for
Brazil a reality.
The one-year contract with COPPETEC
(Fundação Coordenacao de Projetos, Pesquisas e Estudos
Tecnologicos), valued at US$ 522,500, calls for RSI to routinely provide
COPPETEC with Radarsat-1 imagery - the core surveillance source for its
maritime monitoring campaign.
Delegated by Brazil's National
Association of Petroleum (ANP) to establish a maritime surveillance centre,
COPPETEC aims to develop operational tools to better monitor and to protect the
country's marine environment from harmful pollutants. Of particular concern is
the Campos Basin, a region that houses the majority of offshore oil platforms
and is subject to heavy shipping activity and traffic.
A key
initiative of that objective is the creation of an operational monitoring
program using Radarsat-1 imagery. RSI is providing COPPETEC with weekly
deliveries of Radarsat-1 scenes over the Campos Basin. With RSI's near
real-time service, imagery is available to COPPETEC within six hours of
acquisition. COPPETEC is then making the processed imagery available to
regulatory authorities such as Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA, the
Brazilian Navy and ANP.
COPPETEC first tested the feasibility of
Radarsat-1 as an operational pollution monitoring tool last March when it
signed an agreement with RSI to receive 50 Radarsat-1 scenes. The success of
that trial provided the positive results and the foundation COPPETEC needed to
continue to develop its surveillance program.
L-3
Communications Awarded
Multimillion Dollar Contract to Support the US Air Force Satellite Control
Network
(16 October
2002) L-3 Communications' Telemetry-West division has been awarded a
multimillion dollar contract to provide High Power Amplifiers (HPAs) to
Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc (HTSI) in support of the Satellite Control
Network Contract (SCNC).
Over a rigorous 18-month
selection process, this award has culminated in an HPA design that will serve
the future commanding needs of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN)
for many years to come. The value of the contract, when all options are
exercised, is estimated at over US$ 25 million.
The AFSCN is a network
of two communications and operational control centres and multiple antennas
located at nine sites world-wide. These ground stations are the vital
communications link between the National Command Authorities and US forces
world-wide. Honeywell, which earlier this year selected L-3's Communication
Systems-West division as part of the Honeywell Technology Solutions team on the
SCNC, competitively selected L-3 Telemetry-West to provide the multi-kilowatt
HPAs in both L and S band frequencies for dramatically improved satellite
command capabilities.
The SCNC program consolidates development,
systems engineering, integration and sustainment functions into one contract
for the AFSCN. Honeywell will replace the existing communications technologies
that make up the ground network and tracking systems of the AFSCN with improved
components and antenna systems, providing new capabilities to ensure the system
is operational 24 hours a day.
L-3 Telemetry-West is the heritage
supplier of the AFSCN Automated Remote Tracking Station (ARTS) HPAs now in
service world-wide to support Space Ground Link System (SGLS) command
capabilities. The new award will lead to development and production contracts
to replace the ARTS HPAs with both SGLS and Unified S band (USB) command
capability to allow expanded transmission into both L and S band
frequencies.
Telemetry-West also provides both SGLS and USB spaceborne
command/telemetry transponders, which interface with the AFSCN ground
network.
Raytheon Selected for Revolutionary Defense Advanced GPS Receiver
Development
(14
October 2002) Raytheon Company has been selected to participate in the
development of the revolutionary Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR), a
powerful digital handheld terminal that combines computing capabilities with
secure GPS Navigation. DAGR is scheduled to replace the existing Precision
Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR).
The GPS Joint Program
Office of the US Air Force Space and Missiles Center selected Raytheon as one
of two contractors for initial development and low rate production of first
article test units. Final selection of the DAGR production contractor is
expected during the fourth quarter of 2003, after completion of first article
testing. While DAGR is planned to support all US military forces and allies,
its primary user will be the US Army.
Raytheon's DAGR provides this
advanced capability by utilising commercial off the shelf hardware and a
commercial graphical user interface operating system to provide a large,
user-friendly, easy-to-view display. DAGR also utilises the GPS Selective
Availability Anti-Spoofing Module, or SAASM, the security architecture mandated
on all next generation GPS equipment for Precise Positioning Service (PPS)
user.
Stardust Update - Asteroid Flyby
(16 October 2002) NASA's Stardust cometary
probe will take advantage of flying near a small asteroid next month to test
many procedures the spacecraft will use 14 months later during its encounter
with its primary science target, comet Wild-2.
Stardust
will pass within about 3,000 km of asteroid Annefrank at 04:50 November 2,
Universal Time. The spacecraft will automatically image Annefrank using camera
tracking of the mountain-sized rock as it speeds by at 7 km/s.
Annefrank is about 4 km across. Unfortunately, the flyby distance is too great
for Stardust's instruments to produce a picture that would show any surface
detail. Also, the angle of the encounter relative to the Sun will give Stardust
a view in which only a thin crescent of the asteroid will be sunlit during
approach, providing an additional challenge for the optical-navigation system
to recognise it as a guiding light.
Aerogel dust collectors that will
gather comet dust from Wild-2 will stay open for the asteroid flyby. The Max
Planck Institute dust analyser and the University of Chicago dust flux monitor
also will be operating. However, no dust from the asteroid is anticipated at
the distance the spacecraft will pass.
The asteroid was discovered in
1942 and later named in honour of Anne Frank, author of an inspiring diary of
the two years before she was taken to a Nazi concentration camp.
Stardust will bring samples of comet dust back to Earth in 2006 to help answer
fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system.
Stardust
is a part of NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, highly focused science
missions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington
DC.
Ecliptic Signed On to Both Active Private Solar Sail Missions
(14 October 2002)
Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation has been invited to join both active private
solar sail mission teams: The Planetary Society and its Cosmos-1 project, and
Team Encounter and its Earthview Flight and Humanity's First Starship
missions.
Early last week Ecliptic's popular RocketCam
product successfully debuted in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet aboard the orbiter
Atlantis, and later in the week the firm announced its first order for a
RocketCam system designed to be used on a spacecraft - the DART spacecraft now
under development by Orbital Sciences Corporation.
For The Planetary
Society, Ecliptic is on contract to provide pre-launch data systems engineering
for the Cosmos-1 Project Operations Pasadena Center, followed by project
operations support during the actual mission, planned for early 2003. The
project's principal sponsor is Cosmos Studios.
For Houston-based Team
Encounter, Ecliptic has been designated as the supplier of the onboard video
imagery systems for the Earthview and Starship missions. The first launch of
the two, Earthview, is planned for late 2004. Ecliptic plans to supply versions
of its RocketCam system for capturing dramatic views of sail deployment and
departure activities. Other principal suppliers for these missions include
Arianespace, L'Garde and Microsat Systems Inc.
Flawless Tests Validate Spectrum Astro C/NOFS Satellite Design
(16 October 2002)
Spectrum Astro has announced that after a month of highly successful
qualification testing of its Developmental Test Vehicle (DTV) for the
Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS), the flight
structure is validated and ready for production.
The DTV
underwent testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), where Spectrum
Astro's engineers worked closely with Goddard personnel to accomplish the
testing 11 days ahead of schedule. Personnel from the C/NOFS Management Program
Office (CMPO), Kirtland AFB, New Mexico also supported the testing. Production
of the C/NOFS flight structure now begins on schedule and with no modifications
at Spectrum Astro's Integration and Test facility in Gilbert, Arizona.
The DTV consists of a flight-identical structure with mass models simulating
the C/NOFS spacecraft and payload components. The tested configuration was
representative of the space vehicle in a pre-deployed condition while being
launched atop a Pegasus launch vehicle. Each of the environmental tests
performed on the DTV is accomplished to verify the structure will have the
ability to withstand the launch environment during placement into a 400 km by
710 km elliptical orbit. The all-up weight of the DTV is over 360 kg.
A number of tests were performed on the DTV, including Acoustic, Modal Survey,
Random Vibration, and High Capacity Centrifuge (HCC) strength tests. The tests
also included the successful deployment of an engineering model solar array.
Spectrum Astro began flight fabrication for the C/NOFS spacecraft structure in
late July in anticipation of successful test results. After completing internal
and CMPO reviews, Spectrum Astro plans to begin bus integration in November
2002.
The Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System is a
joint project of the Air Force Space Test Program and the Air Force Research
Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate. The C/NOFS mission is to forecast and
specify ionospheric scintillations in the Earth's equatorial region.
Scintillations degrade the performance of communication, navigation, and
surveillance systems that rely on trans-ionospheric radio wave propagation.
C/NOFS is scheduled to launch in November 2003.
Japan Tests Experimental Space Shuttle
(18 October 2002) The
National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) has performed a test flight
of its High Speed Flight Demonstration program experimental space shuttle from
a test site on Christmas Island, Kiritimiti in the Pacific Ocean.
The flight of the unmanned vehicle was used to validate the
performance of the craft's navigation, auto-pilot and communications systems.
During the nine and a half minute test flight the jet propelled shuttle
attained an altitude of 600 metres and a velocity of 290 km/hr.
The
test vehicle is 3.8 m long and has a mass of 735 kg. Originally it was intended
that this craft would be the first step towards a manned space vehicle, but
this development is now on hold following budgetary problems.
Foton-M Launch Failure
(15 October 2002) A Soyuz U rocket launching the Foton
M-1 spacecraft exploded 29 seconds after launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in
Russia. One of the four RD-107 engines on the first stage of the launcher fell
off, causing the flight control system to abort the flight. The crippled rocket
then fell close to the launch pad, exploding on impact causing fires and a
powerful shock wave.
One soldier was killed and eight
were injured by debris from the explosion.
The Foton M-1 satellite was
carrying 44 experiments, provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), Russia,
Canada, Indonesia, Japan and the USA, into fluid physics, biology, crystal
growth, radiation dosimetry and exobiology. The satellite would have spent 15
days in orbit before returning a capsule to Earth.
The launch failure
may delay the launch of Soyuz TMA-1 to the International Space Station, which
is scheduled for 28th October.
Integral
Launched: 17 October 2002
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton
Orbit: MEO, apogee: 153,000 km, perigee: 9,000 km:
inclination: 51.6°
International Number: 2002-048A
Name:
Integral
Owner: ESA
Contractor: Alenia Aerospazio
Integral
(International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) is a scientific satellite
owned and operated by the European Space Agency.
Integral, the most
sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched, will to gather some of the most
energetic radiation that comes from space. It will pinpoint and study gamma-ray
sources in unprecedented detail and will help to solve some of the biggest
mysteries in astronomy: Integral will investigate the origin of enigmatic
gamma-ray bursts, brief but extremely powerful releases of energy, and will
bring much new information on stellar explosions and black holes.
Integral has four instruments to give the spacecraft maximum versatility in its
task of studying the gamma-ray Universe. Designed to complement each other,
their combined observations will allow scientists to get a very complete and
accurate picture of each celestial target at different wavelengths.
The first two are dedicated gamma-ray instruments. Imager on Board the Integral
Satellite (IBIS) is the sharpest-resolution gamma-ray camera ever built.
Spectrometer on Integral (SPI) will measure the energy of gamma rays with
exceptional accuracy. In particular, it will be more sensitive to fainter
radiation than any previous gamma-ray spectrometer. The other two instruments
are designed to provide complementary scientific data about Integral's targets.
The Joint European X-Ray Monitor (JEM-X) will make observations simultaneously
with the main gamma-ray instruments and will provide images at X-ray
wavelengths. The Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) will do the same but at
visible-light wavelengths. The total weight of the four instruments is about 2
tonnes, roughly half the launch weight of Integral.
Comsat International Holdings Completes Acquisition from
Lockheed Martin Corporation
(17 October 2002) Comsat International Holdings (CIH),
formerly known as World Data Consortium, recently completed its acquisition of
Comsat International (CI) from Lockheed Martin Corporation.
CIH, based in Washington DC, is a privately held
telecommunications investment and management company with significant
experience in telecommunications and other infrastructure industry services
across the world.
Comsat International, based in Bethesda, Maryland,
provides domestic, regional and international data and voice telecommunications
services through a fully integrated managed fibre, wireless, and satellite
network to key Latin American markets, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
CIH sees this acquisition as an
opportunity to leverage Comsat International's financial stability and strong
network to support CIH's growth strategy. CIH plans to grow through the
acquisition of both new customers and the strengths of new complementary
assets.
The CIH leadership plans to emphasise a customer-driven
approach to acquisitions and product line extensions and strengthen their sales
focus while maintaining engineering and technology prowess.
With this
recent closing, CIH takes an 81% ownership position in CI. Lockheed Martin
Corporation retains a 19% interest in the company. Additional details of the
agreement were not disclosed.
Gilat
to Negotiate Debt
Restructuring
(16
October 2002) Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd has announced that it, its largest
banking creditor, and bondholders holding a majority of the US$ 350 million
(face value), 4.25% Convertible Subordinated Notes due 2005, have agreed to
commence negotiations to restructure the Company's debt to the Bank and the
Bondholders
These negotiations will be based on certain
agreed guidelines that will include concessions from its creditors and lenders.
The guidelines anticipate a partial conversion of a major portion of the face
value of the Bonds into common equity and options, and a partial exchange of
the remaining face amount into new long-term convertible bonds with a grace
period for interest payments. The guidelines also anticipate that a certain
portion of the principal of the Company's debt to the Bank will be deferred by
a few years and that the remaining debt will be converted into equity and new
convertible bonds. The Company intends to negotiate better payment terms with
its other major lenders and to obtain concessions from its major suppliers. The
Company, the banks and bondholders holding a majority of the bonds have agreed
to co-operate in crafting a detailed restructuring plan by setting up a fast
track timetable (30 days) and to submit the proposed plan to the Bondholders
and banks for their approval as soon as feasibly possible.
Based upon
the progress reached with major lenders and bondholders holding majority of the
bonds, and in order to accelerate the completion of the process, the Company
has filed an application with the Israeli District Court in Tel Aviv to
commence the approval for the restructuring plan and a stay of action by the
bondholders. The stay will be effective in Israel and the Company will seek a
similar stay in the US. The stay in Israel will be in effect for a period of 30
days subject to the Company's compliance with certain matters requested by the
Court. The stay is intended to allow the proper completion of a detailed
restructuring plan and its further submission to bondholders and banks. The
approved stay will enjoin the Company's bondholders from exercising any rights
that could hamper the plan.
The Company's petition filed with the
Court is supported by it largest banking creditor, the Company's other Israeli
banks and bondholders holding a majority of the bonds.
While this
process is taking shape, the Company's ongoing operations do continue as usual
and are unaffected by the restructuring process.
Swales Aerospace Doubles Production Capacity
(12 October 2002)
Swales Aerospace has unveiled a new 34,000 square foot production and office
facility at its aerospace campus in Beltsville, Maryland.
The expansion, which includes a 28 ft high bay area,
represents a doubling of Swales' capability to design, fabricate and test heat
pipe and loop heat pipe systems for the global satellite industry.
In
addition to the high bay area, other key building features include temperature
controlled paint booths, an anodising and iridite coating capability, a
speciality-machining centre, an ISO 9001 certified calibration laboratory, a
class 100K clean room for multi-layer insulation systems, and associated office
space.
The new facility complements two existing Swales facilities; a
22,000 sq ft design, test and fabrication facility for flight quality ammonia
and cryogenic capillary pumped loops, heat pipes and related thermal management
hardware systems, and a 23,000 sq ft facility for fabrication of structural
components and composites. Installed equipment also includes ovens, autoclaves,
test labs and facilities for controlled preparation of adhesives and compounds
for bonding and conformal coatings.
American Millennium Corporation Receives Certification of SatAlarm
Sentry
(14 October
2002) American Millennium Corporation Inc has announced that it has received
Class I, Division 2 certification for hazardous location use of its
SatAlarm-Sentry product for both the United States and Canada.
This certification entails extensive testing through an
independent laboratory to ensure that the AMCi product is non-incendive and can
be used in areas where there may be ignitable atmospheres, such as in its main
application as a call out system for gas compressors.
Certification is
deemed necessary for practically all sales of call out systems in Canada.
Numerous customers have been requesting AMCi to provide the C1/D2 certification
so that they can put the SatAlarm-Sentry units on their remote gas compressors
where only a satellite-based system has coverage. Certification will provide
additional opportunities for sales in the United States and other countries
that are as rigorous in their acquisition requirements as are Canadian end
users.
Use of only certified systems on any gas compressor should
provide an increased measure of safety for the owner/operator of the gas
compressor and may even affect insurance costs. Adoption of the C1/D2 standard
for its call out products is another example of how AMCi works to provide its
customers with sophisticated technology in simple applications. The certified
SatAlarm Sentry product is still packaged exactly as before and mounts using
magnetic clamps and comes with batteries good for two years of operation
without replacement. Installation and activation takes just a matter of minutes
and can be accomplished without any training, just using the AMCi installation
guide.
First production of the C1/D2 product is scheduled for the end
of October and will be provided to customers and distributors who have been
waiting on final approval.
Analytical Graphics Releases Beta Version of STK 5.0
(14 October 2002)
Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI) has announced the first beta release of the next
generation of its Satellite Toll Kit (STK). STK version 5.0 Beta is being
distributed to all interested users for the purpose of gathering feedback and
enabling a seamless upgrade to the official release of STK 5.0 in the spring of
2003.
The STK 5.0 experience is designed to enable users
to use STK "their way" with a new graphical user interface (GUI) based on
familiar Microsoft Windows standards; an open architecture to support
customisation and integration with other software packages; and an HTML
interface that promotes customised, task-oriented work flows. In addition, STK
5.0 Beta's architectural enhancements will help AGI provide more rapid delivery
of new features and products based on their customers' needs.
Users
are encouraged to join the beta community by visiting www.stk.com/beta and
requesting a free STK 5.0 Beta CD-ROM. Beta testers receive evaluation licenses
to all key STK analysis and visualisation modules. Those who offer feedback are
eligible to win prizes.
AGI offers commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
analysis and visualisation software to more than 28,000 aerospace, defence, and
intelligence industry professionals through its core product Satellite Tool Kit
(STK) and a comprehensive set of STK add-on modules. With integrated land, sea,
air, and space elements, the STK software suite technology is ideal for all
phases of complex industry programs from system concept and design to real-time
operations.
Basic STK applications include calculating and visualising
a vehicle's position and attitude, determining acquisition times, and analysing
its field of view. STK functionality can be extended with add-on modules that
support specialised tasks including 3-D battlespace visualisation,
communications link analysis, collision avoidance, manoeuvre planning,
real-time data interfacing, high-fidelity missile modelling, GIS analysis,
attitude simulation, orbit determination, and coverage assessment.
SpaceDev's New Miniature Flight Computer
(15 October 2002) The SpaceDev Miniature
Flight Computer (MFC) is the perfect high performance 300 MIPS general-purpose
flight computer for a wide variety of space vehicles. It is cost-effective, has
about 10x the performance-to-power ratio of current flight computers and only
uses .5 to 6 watts of power, depending on its mode of operation.
The SpaceDev MFC produces an impressive 50 MIPS per watt and
operates at speeds up to 300 MIPS. A variable power feature enables users to
minimise system power consumption based on processing requirements.
SpaceDev's advanced architecture and processing throughput enable a new
generation of smaller, higher performance spacecraft to solve more intensive
computing problems while using fewer processors than have previously been
required.
The SpaceDev MFC has successfully passed manufacturing and
environmental testing for low earth orbit (LEO) missions and is ready for
civil, military and commercial spacecraft, launch applications, and other
remotely operated applications.
The SpaceDev MFC is one of six
innovative and affordable subsystem components developed for the Cosmic Hot
Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) mission. SpaceDev designed and built
the sophisticated, high-performance 45 kg microsatellite that will carry the
CHIPS instrument. CHIPSat is currently scheduled to launch on December 19, 2002
from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.
Director of Business Development Appointed to Tandberg Television
Americas
(16
October 2002) Tandberg Television has announced that the former head of its
segment business management group, Carl Furgusson, has become the company's new
Director of Business Development for the Americas. In his new position, Carl
will focus on the development of new business opportunities within the cable,
broadband and ATSC market segments.
Carl will provide a
link between Tandberg's European research & development teams and the
Americas sales, marketing and engineering teams. As Director of Business
Development, Carl will also identify market trends and customer requirements
particular to the Americas market and ensure these are driven through the
development teams to ensure the continued long-term success of the Americas
region.
Previously based in Tandberg Television's Southampton, UK
headquarters, Carl recently relocated to the Americas office in Orlando,
Florida.
Carl joined Tandberg Television in 1995 as Product Manager
for the Digital Satellite News Gathering market and became New Business
Development Manager for Digital Terrestrial, Digital Cinema and HDTV in 1997,
responsible for the DVB-T in Asia and ATSC markets in America. In 1999, Carl
was named as head of the segment business management group of Tandberg
Television, retaining his responsibilities for the ATSC market, as well as the
mobile communications area.
Before joining Tandberg Television, Carl
was a Design Engineer for Matsushita Electric in the UK, designing the national
brand of microwave ovens for Europe. Carl received a Bachelor of Engineering
degree, with honours, from Victoria University in Manchester,
England.
Mark K
Craig Named JSC
Associate Director, Space Development and Commerce
(16 October 2002) Veteran NASA manager and
engineer Mark K Craig has been named to the new position of Associate Director
for Space Development and Commerce at the Johnson Space Center.
In his 35-year career with NASA, Craig most recently served
as Acting Center Director of the John C Stennis Space Center. In his new
position at JSC, he will better focus human space flight's value in science,
education, inspiration, technology, and space commerce.
A graduate of
Purdue University, Craig began his career at JSC in 1967 as a co-op student. He
pursued engineering post-graduate study at Rice University, and completed MIT's
Program for Senior Executives in 1992. As an aerospace engineer at JSC, he
worked on the Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Space Shuttle and Space Station
programs.
He has held a range of management positions at JSC and NASA
HQ, including Space Shuttle subsystem manager, Space Station system engineering
and integration manager, Mars Rover Sample Return deputy project manager, and
Space Exploration Initiative director. In these assignments he has worked
extensively with all NASA centres, the White House, Congress, foreign
governments, the scientific community and other federal agencies. Craig was on
the start-up teams for the Space Shuttle in 1969, the Space Station in 1983 and
the Space Exploration Initiative in 1989.
Prior to his work at
Stennis, Craig served on the NASA administrator's staff at NASA HQ and was the
principal architect of the NASA Strategic Plan. He became deputy director of
Stennis in 1995 and acting director there in 2001.
Craig began his
duties at JSC on Monday, Oct. 7, 2002.
NASA
Administrator Names
Deputy Chief Financial Officer
(16 October 2002) Gwendolyn Brown has been selected as
NASA's Deputy Chief Financial Officer, effective November 1. As the Deputy
Chief Financial Officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, she will manage
day-to-day financial operations, direct the preparation and submission of
annual financial and related reports, and co-ordinate Agency financial
management activities with other related federal agencies.
Brown replaces Stephen J Varholy, who retired in September.
Kenneth J Winter, who has been serving as Acting Deputy at Headquarters during
this interim period since Varholy's retirement, will return to his duties at
NASA's Langley Research Center as the centre's Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to coming to NASA, Brown was a senior Program Analyst with the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Directorate for Program
and Financial Control at the Pentagon. She was instrumental in instituting
streamlined reporting requirements and developing electronic management reports
which significantly reduced the amount of required hard copy accounting
data.
Brown began her Defense Department career as a Management
Analyst in 1992, where she helped plan, develop and institute modern business
and accounting practices. She joined the Pentagon's financial team after
serving on the United States Senate staff. Brown started her public service
career as a manager and auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency in
1987.
She has a bachelor's degree in Accounting from The Catholic
University of America and a master's degree in Public Administration from The
American University, both in Washington.
NASA
Announces New Stennis
Space Center Deputy Director
(17 October 2002) Michael U Rudolphi has been named
Deputy Center Director for NASA's John C Stennis Space Center in south
Mississippi, effective in November after the next Space Shuttle launch,
STS-113.
As Deputy Director, Rudolphi will support
Center Director William W Parsons in managing NASA's rocket propulsion test
capabilities and Earth Science applications.
Rudolphi has served as
Manager, Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project, at the Marshall Space Flight
Center, Alabama, since January 2000.
Rudolphi began his career with
NASA at Marshall in 1988 as Facility Manager for the Advanced Solid Rocket
Motor Project in Luka, Mississippi. He managed the design, construction and
operation of an ultra-modern US$ 700 million rocket manufacturing facility.
Prior to that, Rudolphi was on special assignment to the Solid Rocket
Booster Project (SRB) managing the resident office at the contractor plant at
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He also served as Project Manager, SRB,
from March 1999 to January 2000.
PanAmSat Appoints Estevao Ghizoni as Senior Director
(16 October 2002)
PanAmSat Corporation has announced the appointment of Estevao Ghizoni as head
of its operations and sales efforts across the southern region of Latin
America.
Based in Coral Gables, Mr Ghizoni will direct
the company's operations and sales efforts across five countries. Mr Ghizoni
will report to Carmen Gonzalez-Sanfeliu, PanAmSat's vice president of Latin
America.
Specifically, Mr Ghizoni will direct PanAmSat's day-to-day
operations in five countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
In each of these countries, he will also be responsible for setting the overall
strategy and tone for the company's growth.
Mr Ghizoni has more than
20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Most recently, he
was the sales director for a European-based satellite operator. Earlier in his
career, Mr Ghizoni was director of sales in Latin America for a wireless
telecommunications company. In addition, he was the regional Latin American
sales director for another international satellite operator. Mr Ghizoni has
also held engineering positions within several telecommunications companies in
Brazil prior to entering the world of satellite communications.
He
holds a BS Engineering degree from Instituto Technologico de Aeronautica, Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
