24 March 2002
Satcoms
Agrani Buys Satellite
Globalstar and
AeroAstro Developing Low-Cost Satellite Sensing System
ND SatCom and Xantic Provide
Austrian Embassy Network
Northpoint Changes Strategy and Plans Satellites
Quake Global Selected by EchoFlight
To Provide Satellite Modems
TDRS-I Hits Problem After Launch
Launches
GRACE 1 and 2
Kolibri
Progress M1-8
Business
Canal+ Sues NDS Alleging Piracy
Emcore Acquires Tecstar's Applied
Solar Division
Intelsat to Buy Lockheed Martin World Systems
Telenor Establishes Marlink to
Provide Global Mobile Satcoms
Products and Services
Tenzing Communications Provides Inflight Email Service to General
Aviation Market
Thales Navigation Introduces Instant-RTK GPS Navigation System in
Sensor Format
People
Peter White to Head Globalstar's North American Sales and
Marketing
Tachyon
Strengthens Management Team
Worldspace Names Chief Operating Officer
Agrani Buys Satellite
Agrani Satellite Services has bought a
satellite from Alcatel Space Industries. The geostationary satellite will be
launched by the end of next year.
Agrani's main
shareholder is thed Essel group. Alcatel Space and Arianespace have invested a
total of US$ 20 million for a total shareholding of 13%.
Agrani is
buying what was originally built as a ground spare for Thaicom III. Alcatel
will modify the satellite to meet Agrani's requirements. The cost of the
satellite, including launch, is reported to be US$ 236 million.
Globalstar and AeroAstro Developing Low-Cost Satellite
Sensing System
To meet the growing demand for low-cost, remote
monitoring of business assets, Globalstar and AeroAstro are developing a new,
very low cost simplex data modem for remote sensing and asset tracking via
satellite.
An initial demonstration of the new product
is scheduled for late-summer 2002.
The new modems will be part of a
system that combines Globalstar's satellite communications network with
AeroAstro's Sensor Enabled Notification System (SENS) technology, allowing
sensing or tracking data to be sent from remote locations via satellite and
over the Internet to the customer. These modems will provide businesses with an
economic solution to remotely and automatically track the movement and
condition of assets, such as shipping containers, or to monitor environmental
data such as pipeline temperature and pressure or utility use.
By
sending data over the Globalstar satellite network and through SENS decoders at
the Globalstar gateways, the modems will enable reliable data transmissions in
real-time from locations far beyond the reach of any ground-based network - a
combination of features never before available in such a low-cost unit.
The Globalstar/AeroAstro basic modem unit is expected to be available in
volume quantities for as low as US$ 60, including the antenna, on an OEM basis.
Implementation of the modem into an end user solution will normally include
additional components, such as housing and sensors, at additional cost
depending on the particular industrial application. The new modem - the size of
a wireless pager - will allow data to be sent at pre-set or random intervals
from the modem over the Globalstar satellite network and then transmitted to
the customer's data collection facility via the Internet.
The new
modems provide myriad business solutions for various industries: For pipeline
operators, the new Globalstar/AeroAstro modems will make it possible to
economically monitor pipeline conditions such as pressure and throughput, at
regular intervals and in real-time across a field or across a continent,
allowing extremely rapid notification of a pipeline break or other anomaly. For
shippers, the modems will provide the location of their containers, affording
immediate notification of any emergency situations. With these features, assets
may be tracked even in very remote locations, and, if co-ordinated with customs
officials, these modems can be used to streamline freight traffic at
international border crossings.
ND SatCom and Xantic Provide Austrian Embassy Network
ND
SatCom has been awarded a contract to provide the Austrian embassies with a
world wide satellite communications network, by satellite services provider
Xantic.
During phase one of the project nine stations
will be installed in Europe, the Middle East and Asia - nine further embassies
will be equipped in the near future. The VSAT network will be ready for
operation by June 2002.
For embassies it is important to be able to
operate their communications network independently from terrestrial
infrastructures and political uncertainties in order to be able to exchange
information about events very quickly and co-ordinate actions. A satellite
network is ideally suited to provide end to end services with high
availability. The complete network, which supports different applications such
as voice, data and video conferencing simultaneously, is operated by
Xantic.
Northpoint Changes Strategy and Plans Satellites
In a
policy about face, Northpoint Technology has changed its network plans and now
intends to establish a hybrid satellite/terrestrial network for the delivery of
data and TV programmes.
Last year Northpoint caused a
considerable backlash from the US DBS industry when it applied to the FCC to
share DBS spectrum with its terrestrial service. Northpoint's critics claimed
that interference from this spectrum sharing would disrupt DBS reception for
millions of satellite TV subscribers.
Northpoint has now applied for
an FCC licence to launch and operate a pair of satellites which would be used
for two way high speed data and for TV broadcasts. Northpoint's satellites
would cover the Western USA and would support hundreds of TV channels as well
as broadband Internet access with a downstream rate of 2 Mb/s and an upstream
rate of 0.5 Mb/s.
Quake Global Selected by EchoFlight To Provide Satellite
Modems
EchoFlight has entered an agreement to develop Quake
Global Inc's Quake Q1500 satellite modem for integration into its portable
Flight Cheetah multi-function displays. The Q1500 will allow the in-flight data
system to access critical information, such as weather and terrain
characteristics, by providing a link to the OrbComm satellite system.
Quake has completed all necessary FAA, FCC and ETSI
certifications and is currently delivering production units to EchoFlight.
The EchoFlight system is a compact GPS unit that displays data link
graphical weather information in colour, as well as other data through the
OrbComm satellite network. The combination of the Quake Q15OO and the OrbComm
satellite network allows pilots to obtain this information at any altitude and
at any location in the continental United States at a very low cost.
EchoFlight Inc, located in Boulder, Colorado, is a developer of affordable
satellite data communications to provide weather and messaging for mobile
vehicles in the aviation, marine and transportation markets. EchoFlight
operates both as a content provider with DTN/Kavouras weather and as a reseller
of OrbComm services.
TDRS-I
Hits Problem After Launch
Boeing has announced that the TDRS-I satellite the
company built and launched on March 8 for NASA has developed a propulsion
system problem which may prevent it from reaching the intended geostationary
orbit.
The satellite was placed in geostationary
transfer orbit by a Lockheed Martin Atlas 2A launch vehicle. It was then
intended that the satellite's on board propulsion system would, by firing
several times, raise the perigee of the orbit to circularise it at the required
geostationary height. Currently, TDRS-I has been left in an 8,000 km by 35,800
km elliptical orbit. Boeing has identified a problem with the propellant supply
from one of the four fuel tanks on the satellite which feed fuel to the
thrusters for these critical firings.
Whilst Boeing is currently
stating that the situation can be recovered and the satellite will eventually
be placed in geostationary orbit, it is not yet clear whether this will use up
fuel allocated for station keeping and will therefore limit the satellite's
operational lifetime. In the worst case, if the satellite cannot be placed in
its operational orbit, it will probably be declared a total loss.
GRACE 1 and 2
Launched: 17 March 2002
Site: Plesetsk
Cosmodrome, Russia
Launcher: Rockot
Orbit: LEO, apogee: 493 km,
perigee: 472 km: inclination: 89.0°
International Number:
2002-012A/B
Name: Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) 1 and
2
Owner: NASA/DLR
Contractor: Astrium
The twin GRACE
satellites are US/German scientific satellites, which, during their five year
lifetime, will precisely map the Earth's gravity field. The two satellites will
fly 220 km apart in polar orbit. Differences in orbital perturbations between
the two satellites will be used to construct monthly maps of the Earth's
gravity field. Regions of slightly stronger gravity will affect the lead
satellite first, pulling it slightly away from the trailing satellite. By
measuring the constantly changing distance between the two satellites and
combining that data with precise positioning measurements from Global
Positioning System instruments, scientists will be able to construct a precise
Earth gravity map. The mission will also create more accurate profiles of
atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity, leading to improved weather
forecasts.
The mission will use a microwave ranging system to
accurately measure changes in the speed and distance between the two identical
spacecraft. The ranging system is so sensitive it can detect separation changes
as small as 10 microns over a distance of 220 km.
GRACE is the first
launch of NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program, designed to develop
new measurement technologies for studying our Earth system.
GRACE is a
joint partnership between NASA and the Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Rumfahrt
(DLR).
Kolibri
Released: 19 March 2002 from Progress M1-7 (ISS flight
6P)
Launched: 26 November 2001
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Kazakhstan
Launcher: Soyuz U
Orbit: LEO, apogee: 374 km, perigee: 371
km: inclination: 51.6°
International Number: 2001-051C
Name:
Kolibri
Owner: Institute of Space Research, Russia Academy of Science
Contractor: Institute of Space Research, Russia Academy of Science
Kolibri is a small Russian/Australian scientific satellite which was released
from the ISS supply vessel Progress M1-7 as it left the International Space
Station. It carries a particle and electromagnetic field analyser and
magnetometer to observe the space over Europe and Australia. Readings from the
satellite's sensors and its orbital parameters will be monitored by children in
two Russian and two Australian schools.
The satellite is a hexahedral
prism with solar panels. It has a mass of 20.5 kg and generates 60 W of
electrical power. Design life is 4 to 6 months.
Progress M1-8
Launched: 21 March 2002
Site: Baikonur
Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Soyuz-U
Orbit: LEO, apogee: 397 km,
perigee: 397 km: inclination: 51.6°
International Number: 2002-013A
Name: Progress M1-8
Owner: Russian Aviation and Space Agency
Progress M1-8 is an unmanned resupply mission for the International Space
Station (ISS), replacing Progress M1-7 which undocked from the ISS on March 19.
Progress M1-8 carried food, fuel and supplies.
Canal+ Sues NDS Alleging Piracy
Canal+ Group and subsidiaries
Canal+ Technologies SA and Canal+ Technologies Inc have filed a lawsuit against
News Corporation's NDS Group in the Northern District Court of California
alleging conspiracy to harm Canal+'s digital television business.
Canal+ alleges that NDS engineers in Israel in 1998 cracked
Canal+'s conditional access system which allowed only authorised viewers to
receive and decode digital television transmissions. NDS is alleged to have
extracted the access code from a subscriber smart card and to have then
supplied the code in 1999 to a web site specialising in hacking into TV
transmissions. Once the code had been made public, Canal+ was subject to a
flood of counterfeit cards which were freely available on the black market.
Canal+ is claiming damages in excess of US$ 1 billion resulting from lost
business, damage to customer relationships and the cost of implementing
measures to make the counterfeit cards inoperable.
Canal+'s lawsuit
alleges that NDS violated several US statutes including The Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, The Copyright Act and the California
Unfair Competition statute.
Canal+ is to replace its smart cards
beginning in Spain next month.
NDS has strongly denied any involvement
and has blamed Canal+'s encryption technology for the piracy. NDS has also said
it intends to countersue.
Emcore Acquires Tecstar's Applied Solar Division
Emcore
Corp has completed the acquisition of the Applied Solar Division business of
Tecstar Inc. The acquisition will enable Emcore to provide satellite
manufacturers with proven integrated satellite power solutions that
considerably improve satellite economics.
Tecstar's
solar panel technology has flown on numerous successful satellite missions,
including Lockheed Martin's Chinastar, Loral's Telstar satellite and Orbital
Sciences' OrbComm Constellation. Tecstar's solar cells were used to accomplish
the recent Hubble Space Telescope power upgrade.
Emcore's
multi-junction solar cell technology will be used on approximately 10 satellite
launches over the next 3 years. The Company is currently completing the process
of qualifying its advanced solar cells with Tecstar's proven solar panel
processes for LEO and GEO orbits.
Emcore currently manufactures the
most efficient radiation hard solar cell in the world, with a beginning of life
efficiency of 27.5%. Satellite success and corresponding revenues depend on
power efficiency and the satellite's capacity to transmit data.
Under
the terms of the acquisition, which was completed by the parties on March 13,
Emcore paid approximately US$ 20 million for Tecstar's Applied Solar Division,
with additional financing for forgiveness of a debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan,
making the total purchase consideration approximately US$ 21
million.
Intelsat to Buy Lockheed Martin World Systems
Intelsat Ltd has announced two planned acquisitions
that represent the first step in its efforts to assemble a new ground-based
infrastructure to complement its global satellite system.
Intelsat expects to use this ground-based infrastructure to
begin offering hybrid space/terrestrial services in a new service portfolio
called "Global Connectivity Solutions." Hybrid services in this family are
being designed to address increasing customer demand for one-stop shopping and
end-to-end services. In addition, these acquisitions are intended to bring
Intelsat closer to its customers in the US market.
Specifically,
Intelsat has signed an agreement to acquire the World Systems business unit of
Lockheed Martin Corporation, including existing service contracts with World
Systems' customers for Intelsat capacity as well as earth stations located in
Clarksburg, Maryland and Paumalu, Hawaii. Under the agreement, Intelsat would
also purchase the teleport facilities and related assets of Comsat Digital
Teleport Inc (CDTI). Intelsat further announced that it had acquired a teleport
facility in Fuchsstadt, Germany from Deutsche Telekom. Terms of these
transactions were not disclosed.
In addition, Intelsat announced that
it has established points of presence (POPs) connected by fibre at key traffic
exchange points in Los Angeles, New York and London that will be connected to
the teleport facilities to be acquired from Lockheed Martin and Deutsche
Telekom.
The assets to be acquired under the Lockheed Martin agreement
will include:
The teleport acquired in
Fuchsstadt, Germany includes one 18-meter and two 32-meter antennas and
operating facilities.
The closing of the Lockheed Martin transaction
is subject to regulatory and other approvals and certain other conditions. It
is anticipated that the transaction will be completed by the end of the year.
While Lockheed Martin and Intelsat pursue requisite regulatory approvals from
the US government, World Systems and CDTI will continue to operate as Lockheed
Martin businesses.
World Systems and CDTI originally were part of
Comsat Corporation, which Lockheed Martin acquired in 2000 through its Lockheed
Martin Global Telecommunications (LMGT) business. When Lockheed Martin
announced it was exiting the global telecommunications services business in
December 2001, it determined it would offer for sale certain telecommunications
assets, including World Systems and CDTI.
Telenor Establishes Marlink to Provide Global Mobile Satcoms
Telenor
Satellite Services has formed a new company, Marlink, to provide a wide range
of mobile satellite communication services, mainly for customers in the
maritime sector.
Marlink will act as a 'multi-supplier'
of mobile satellite airtime providing communication services from a number of
suppliers, including but not limited to Telenor. Marlink will also provide
traffic accounting services, hardware and value-added services.
Marlink brings together the retail arm of Telenor Satellite Services and SAIT
Communications, one of the world's largest accounting authorities, which
Telenor acquired in 2001.
The business currently serves around 8,000
vessels worldwide and had revenues in 2001 of nearly US$ 100 million, making it
one of the world's largest global mobile satellite service providers. It has
offices in 10 key locations for the maritime market: Amsterdam, Athens,
Brussels, Dubai, Hamburg, Houston, London, Oslo, Singapore and
Tokyo.
Tenzing Communications Provides Inflight Email Service to General
Aviation Market
Tenzing Communications Inc is to introduce its
in-flight email and information services to the corporate and private aircraft
market in alliance with Baker Electronics.
Distributed
by Baker as CabinLINK, the in-flight connectivity service allows corporate and
private passengers to securely send and receive email and browse
up-to-the-minute news, business, sports and other information. Passengers will
access the service via their laptops or onboard workstations. The software is
installed on Baker's CabinLAN server, which connects to any of the existing
air-to-ground communications systems. CabinLINK will be one of the product
offerings in Baker's World Wide Connection product line. The first scheduled
installation will be on a Dassault Falcon 900 aircraft.
Thales Navigation Introduces Instant-RTK GPS Navigation System
in Sensor Format
Thales Navigation has introduced the Z-Xtreme Sensor,
the first instant-RTK GPS navigation system designed to provide cost-effective,
centimetre-accurate navigation in a variety of system configurations.
Thales Navigation pioneered the use of Real-Time Kinematic
(RTK) for surveying, and extends its development to the Z-Xtreme Sensor, which
uses state-of-the-art RTK algorithms and an all-new hardware platform to
achieve accurate, reliable, centimetre-level positioning.
The Z-Xtreme
Sensor receiver combines patented Ashtech Z-Tracking technology with
state-of-the-art electronics to deliver the highest level of dual-frequency GPS
performance. Logging of data for post-processing is easy and efficient,
utilising a removable flash memory (PCMCIA) card. Ashtech Instant RTK
technology provides fast and accurate real-time positioning, with fixed
ambiguity solutions available in as few as two seconds after full satellite
lock. Receiver configuration, monitoring and data downloading are quick and
easy using Thales Navigation's RCS or Evaluate PC software. The four-button
interface and LED display can also be used to perform setup and monitoring
functions.
The Z-Xtreme Sensor's highly functional industrial design
meets military moisture resistance standards (Mil Spec 810E) and is built tough
to withstand the wear and tear of daily field use. The weatherproof housing
contains the removable PCMCIA memory card, a single removable lithium ion
battery that lasts more than nine hours and an optional internal UHF or spread
spectrum wireless modem. The convenient user interface on the front of the
receiver enables surveys to be completed quickly and reliably without adding an
external controller.
For surveyors, Z-Xtreme systems are conveniently
available in configurations ranging from the ZX Solutions system, an
entry-level system optimised for post-processing, to the ZX SuperStation, which
provides the ability to perform centimetre-level positioning in real-time. For
other "Precision Navigators", the Z-Xtreme Sensor format offers the flexibility
needed for integration with other systems.
Peter White to Head Globalstar's North American Sales and
Marketing
Globalstar LP has named Peter White as vice president
for North American sales and marketing, a new position reporting to Tony
Navarra, president of Globalstar.
Mr White was formerly
general manager of Globalstar Canada, one of Globalstar's largest country
operations. In his new role, Mr White will be responsible for Globalstar's
sales and marketing operations across the US, Canada and the Caribbean, all
territories where Globalstar is in the process of acquiring part or all of its
local service providers.
Prior to joining Globalstar Canada, Mr White
held a variety of sales and marketing assignments in the wireless
telecommunications industry, including key management positions in Motorola
Canada and Telular Canada.
Tachyon Strengthens Management Team
Tachyon Inc has promoted two
key executives to strengthen its management team. The company has appointed
Jeremy Guralnick to the position of senior vice president of strategic
marketing and chief scientist, and has also named Tom McCann as vice president
of network operations.
Guralnick joined Tachyon in 1998,
previously serving as a vice president for the company. In his new position, he
is principally responsible for operations research and overseeing quality of
service for Tachyon's global broadband satellite network.
Guralnick
has 16 years of technical and general management experience in the wireless
telecommunications industry, with emphasis on product development, business
planning, financial controls, marketing, and development of a broad-based
knowledge of the world telecommunications market. Additionally, he has 14 years
of direct design experience in digital hardware and software systems with
emphasis on processor developments and secure data transmissions.
McCann also joined Tachyon in 1998, most recently serving as director of
network services. As vice president of network operations, he is now
responsible for all aspects of Tachyon's European and North American network
operations centres, which monitor the company's global broadband satellite
network on an ongoing basis to ensure around-the-clock availability for
corporate customers.
Prior to Tachyon, McCann served as a senior
engineer and member of the technical staff at ComStream Inc, in San Diego,
where he designed, developed, and deployed network management systems for
satellite equipment in the US, Asia, Europe, and South America. Earlier in his
career, McCann was a senior project engineer with Computer Associates
International.
Worldspace Names Chief Operating Officer
WorldSpace Corporation has named Andy Ras-Work to the
position of Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Mr. Ras-Work will be
responsible for all functions that support the company's frontline regional
operations. He will report directly to the Chairman and CEO of WorldSpace
Corporation, Noah Samara.
Mr Ras-Work comes to
WorldSpace after serving as President and CEO of Semantix Inc, an enterprise
software firm with offices in Montreal and Northern Virginia. In his two years
of leading Semantix, Mr Ras-Work sharpened the company's focus and marketing
efforts, expanded revenues and presided over the firm's recent sale.
Prior to joining Semantix, Mr Ras-Work served for 10 years at Hewlett Packard.
Entering HP as a recent MBA graduate, he distinguished himself in a succession
of increasingly responsible senior management positions in marketing and
management, ultimately playing a pivotal role in HP's e-commerce initiatives.
Mr Ras-Work proposed, developed and then ran HP's business-to-business direct
sales operations, the HP Business Store.
Mr Ras-Work received his MBA
from INSEAD, European Business School of Fontainebleau, France. He earned a BS
in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los
Angeles.
