28 July 2002
Satcoms
Connexion by Boeing Adds Eutelsat for European Coverage
Globalstar,
Mykotronx Introduce Unsurpassed Data Security for Satellite Communications
Japan Airlines Agrees
to be Asian Launch Customer for Connexion by Boeing
Tandberg Television Leads
Digitisation of Russian Satellite Distribution Network
UK Grants License for Connexion by
Boeing
Navigation
SSTL GPS Receiver Selected for DART Mission
Military
Space
Analytical
Graphics to Provide Geospatial Components of NIMA Commercial Joint Mapping
Toolkit Software Contract
Manned
Space
Andrews Space
& Technology Wins US$ 2.9 Million Contract from NASA
XCOR and Space Adventures Announce New Sub-Orbital
Spacecraft
Technology
Frequency Electronics Receives Contract for NASA Space Timing
Loral Skynet Granted
Its First-ever Patent for Innovative Transponder Performance Measurement
System
Launch
Services
Arianespace
to Launch Helios IIA
UK and Russian Organisations Sign Launch Agreement for 8
Microsatellites
Business
ESA and Eurocontrol Sign Co-operation Agreement on Using Space
Technology for Civil Aviation
STM Wireless to Open Sales Office for Latin
America
Products and Services
EMS Technologies Granted Inmarsat Type Approval for HSD-128
Airborne Two-Channel High-Speed Data Terminal
People
Bill Parsons New Stennis Center Director
Former NASA Space Station Program
Director Becomes CSI "Alternate Access To Station" Program
Manager
Connexion by Boeing Adds Eutelsat for European
Coverage
(25 July 2002) Connexion by Boeing has contracted with
Eutelsat to use the Eutelsat IIF4 satellite to provide additional transponder
capacity that will provide real-time connectivity for airborne travellers en
route between North America and Europe. Two transponders - one each for
transmit and receive - are being leased on the satellite which is
located at 12.5° W.
Plans for Connexion by Boeing to use
transponders onboard the Brazilian Estrela do Sul 1 satellite, scheduled for
launch in early 2003, for long-term service support in the North Atlantic
region, remain intact. However, the addition of the Eutelsat IIF4 satellite
supports advance system testing and bolsters satellite coverage for the
commencement of commercial service demonstrations in January 2003 for Lufthansa
and in February 2003 for British Airways.
Connexion by Boeing is also
using the Eutelsat Atlantic Bird 2 satellite located at 8° W to support
airline service demonstrations aboard the Connexion One 737 flying laboratory
at the Farnborough International Air Show. Using the satellite capability,
leading airline industry executives are able to experience first-hand the
tremendous power and added value that real-time broadband connectivity can
provide to passengers and to airline operations in the air and on the
ground.
Globalstar, Mykotronx Introduce Unsurpassed Data Security
for Satellite Communications
(25 July 2002) Type-1 data encryption - the U.S.
government's highest level of security for data transmission - is now available
over Globalstar phones using Mykotronx encryption equipment.
The Rainbow Mykotronx KIV-7HSB data encryption device, which
has a proven record in providing top level data security across a wide range of
applications and installations, has been successfully tested and integrated by
Rainbow Mykotronx with the Globalstar Qualcomm GSP-1600 satellite phone. The
integration offers Globalstar users the same high assurance security protection
of the US National Security Agency's (NSA) strongest level of encryption.
The Rainbow Mykotronx KIV-7HSB's compact configuration is ideal for
desktop, embedded, or rack installations, yet it also offers a broad variety of
features, including removable Crypto Ignition Key protection of internally
stored keys, user-friendly menu-based interfaces, and compatibility with both
DS-101 and DS-102 electronic keying devices.
The Globalstar Qualcomm
GSP-1600 is one of the smallest and most versatile satellite phones available
today, allowing users to stay in touch from virtually anywhere with a clear,
reliable CDMA-quality signal. It is also available with a growing number of
add-on accessories for use in aviation, maritime and other applications in
demanding physical environments.
Japan Airlines Agrees to be Asian Launch Customer for Connexion
by Boeing
(22 July 2002) Japan Airlines (JAL) and Connexion by
Boeing have signed a Letter of Intent that will make the Asian carrier a
significant new customer for the high-speed mobile information services
provider.
The agreement calls for the broadband
communication service to be installed on 10 of JAL's long-haul aircraft as part
of the first step, with additional aircraft options for future expansion of the
service. While model types for the initial service installations and their
timing have yet to be determined, the primary focus for the initial
installations will be the Japan-to-Europe route. Financial terms of the
agreement were not disclosed.
JAL executives have been active
participants in the Connexion Working Together meetings where 15 global
airlines have directly contributed to the development of an intuitive,
customer-focused and service-ready connectivity solution for airline passengers
world-wide. In the months ahead, Connexion by Boeing will work closely with JAL
to define the level of services that will be offered to their international
airline passengers.
Tandberg Television Leads Digitisation of Russian Satellite
Distribution Network
(24 July 2002) Tandberg Television, a leading provider
of open solutions for digital broadcasting and broadband, today announced that
it is providing an end-to-end, fully integrated digital solution to the Russian
Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), a satellite services provider owning
Russia’s largest collection of geo-stationary communication and
broadcasting satellites.
Tandberg Television, working in
partnership with Russian distributor Elogar, is providing compression
equipment, ATM transmission, modulation, filtering and monitoring solutions -
the first end-to-end solution of it’s kind for the RSCC. This system will
provide the country’s federal broadcasters with the means to transmit high
quality, multi channel digital transmissions alongside commercial broadcasters
who have already made the move into digital.
Using the Tandberg
Television solution, the RSCC will start the process of broadcasting all of
Russia’s federal television and radio channels via digital satellite
alongside existing analogue transmission in September this year. The first
stage of the deployment project will transfer federal and regional programs
into digital format in the European and Far Eastern federal areas, and will
then be rolled out to the rest of the country once national broadcaster Russian
TV and Radio Network Company, completes its upgrade of the existing terrestrial
network.
The system will include a number of Tandberg
Television’s latest technological innovations designed to provide the RSCC
with the most efficient and flexible solutions on the market. These include
MA5300 MPEG/ATM adapters and SM5600 satellite modulators, as well as the E5710
1U encoders, part of Tandberg Television’s latest generation of encoding
solutions which combine the highest performance compression with flawless
picture quality at low bit rates.
UK Grants License for Connexion by Boeing
(24
July 2002) The British government has given the regulatory approval for
Connexion by Boeing to provide airlines and passengers broadband in-flight
access to the Internet, corporate intranets, email and other data services.
By authorising The Boeing Company's use of a range of radio
frequencies, the satellite network operator license granted by the United
Kingdom's Radiocommunications Agency helps lay the foundation for three-month
demonstrations of the Connexion by Boeing service by British Airways and
Lufthansa on routes between Europe and the United States, which are scheduled
for first quarter 2003.
Connexion by Boeing is a mobile information
services provider bringing high-speed Internet, email, intranet, data and
entertainment connectivity to aircraft in flight.
The new license is
the most recent regulatory achievement for Connexion by Boeing. Authorisations
also have been received from similar agencies in Germany, Canada and the United
States, laying the foundation for the beginning of commercial airline service
in early 2003.
Connexion by Boeing currently is available to the
executive services market in the United States, which includes operators of
private and government aircraft. In June, British Airways announced plans for a
three- month trial of Connexion by Boeing. The British Airways service
demonstration will begin in February 2003, one month after the start of a
similar demonstration by Lufthansa German Airlines. Both service demos will
involve trans-Atlantic flights between Europe and the United States. This week,
Japan Airlines announced it had signed a Letter of Intent to equip 10 of its
long-range jetliners with Connexion by Boeing on routes between Asia and
Europe.
SSTL GPS Receiver Selected for DART Mission
(23
July 2002) Surrey Satellite Technology Limited has been selected by Orbital
Sciences Corporation to provide an SGR-10 GPS receiver for the Demonstration of
Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) mission.
This is
part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI), and will see the DART vehicle
being launched and manoeuvred to approach an existing target satellite,
converging to within about 5 metres using a new advanced video guidance sensor
before manoeuvring away again.
Surrey's Space GPS Receiver (SGR) is a
24 channel C/A code multi-antenna receiver designed for positioning, timing and
orbit determination of low Earth orbiting spacecraft. The SGR is able to
initialise itself in orbit within four minutes from a cold start, and
determines position to an accuracy of 10 metres. The SGR has been used on a
number of satellites, including ESA's PROBA mission, and several of Surrey's
own small satellites. It has been selected for Surrey's Disaster Monitoring
Constellation, and the first of these satellites, AlSAT-1, is scheduled for
launch in autumn 2002.
Analytical Graphics to Provide Geospatial Components of
NIMA Commercial Joint Mapping Toolkit Software Contract
(25
July 2002) Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI) will provide dynamic geospatial and
three-dimensional software components for the Commercial Joint Mapping Toolkit
(C/JMTK) contract recently awarded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency
(NIMA).
The program will develop a commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) version of NIMA's Joint Mapping Toolkit to provide
military and intelligence agencies a common suite of imagery software. NIMA
selected Northrop Grumman Corporation's Information Technology (IT) sector to
lead the 11-year, US$ 72-million contract along with a team composed of AGI,
ESRI and Leica Geosystems/ERDAS.
C/JMTK software will provide the
mapping foundation for the defence information infrastructure common operating
environment (DII COE) supporting DoD C4ISR. Phase I of the C/JMTK program will
insert COTS geographic information systems (GIS) components into the DII COE
and associated Joint and Service C4ISR systems using technology components from
AGI's Satellite Tool Kit (STK) software suite integrated with ESRI's ArcGIS
software. Mission application developers will also be able to use STK off the
shelf as part of Phase II of the program. Overall, this new system will provide
the warfighter with a comprehensive range of mapping utilities, analysis tools,
and visualisation to support real-time situational awareness, track management,
terrain analysis, multi-intelligence fusion, and other important geographically
based functions.
Andrews Space & Technology Wins US$ 2.9 Million Contract from
NASA
(22 July 2002) Andrews Space & Technology
(AS&T) has been awarded a US$ 2.9 million contract by NASA to develop an
integrated system solution for delivering supplies to the International Space
Station as part of NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI).
The twelve-month study will focus on developing an effective commercial
re-supply service to transport up to 13,600 kg of food, equipment, and
experiments per year to the International Space Station. AS&T will evaluate
innovative technologies including recoverable, reusable and expendable systems
as well as ballistic and winged re-entry designs. The project builds on
previous innovations submitted by AS&T to NASA.
Supporting
AS&T on the project are leading aerospace firms including: Alenia Spazio of
Turin, Italy will study pressurised cargo module accommodation and design;
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems sector will perform
structural feasibility assessments; and Spacehab Inc will focus on ground and
space operations required to process and transfer cargo.
This is the
third contract AS&T has been awarded under the Space Launch Initiative in
the past 14 months. In May 2001, the Company was awarded approximately US$ 3
million to assess the feasibility of its Alchemist Air Collection and
Enrichment System, a 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle propulsion
technology. AS&T also won a US$ 1.8 million contract from Northrop Grumman
Integrated Systems in January 2002 to support 2nd Generation Reusable Launch
Vehicle architecture design studies.
XCOR and Space Adventures Announce New Sub-Orbital
Spacecraft
(22 July 2002) XCOR Aerospace and Space Adventures Ltd
have announced a marketing agreement that enables Space Adventures to offer the
first 600 flights to 100 km altitude aboard XCOR's Xerus sub-orbital vehicle,
designed specifically for space tourist flights.
The
Xerus vehicle project has begun preliminary design including development of
XCOR's next-generation rocket engine and propulsion system using non-toxic
propellants. The Xerus will be capable of flying one pilot and one Space
Adventures paying passenger on a one-hour sub-orbital space flight. At the peak
of its parabolic trajectory, passengers will experience several minutes of
weightlessness and see the Earth from space.
According to a recent
study commissioned by Space Adventures, the sub- orbital space tourist market
could generate revenues of over US$ 1 billion annually. Space Adventures has
over 100 sub-orbital reservations and is currently accepting bookings for
sub-orbital flights at US$ 98,000.
Completion of the Xerus is
conditional on securing financing. Assuming full funding, XCOR expects that it
will take eighteen months to begin flight tests and three years before entering
revenue service.
Frequency Electronics Receives Contract for NASA Space
Timing
(24 July 2002) Frequency Electronics Inc's
wholly-owned subsidiary, FEI Government Systems Inc, has been awarded a US$ 1.2
million initial contract from Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) to develop the
next generation of timing systems for NASA's interplanetary space missions and
deep space probes.
The new timing systems will be based
on FEI's precision quartz technology and unique legacy of success in developing
and building timing systems for space applications. The Company also announced
that since fiscal 2001 its backlog for government programs has risen from US$ 2
million to US$ 8 million, including this JPL contract.
Frequency
Electronics Inc is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of
high-technology frequency, timing and synchronisation products for satellite
and terrestrial voice, video and data telecommunications.
Loral Skynet Granted Its First-ever Patent for Innovative
Transponder Performance Measurement System
(25 July 2002) Loral Skynet
has received its first-ever patent for a unique transponder plot measurement,
storage and distribution system that allows Skynet's engineers to clearly see a
customer's satellite signal integrity, power levels and possible interference
problems directly from a desktop computer in real time.
Transponder plots - essentially a snapshot in time of the radio frequency
spectrum on a given transponder - are generally drafted on paper at a satellite
operator's control centre and faxed to engineers and the satellite's end-users.
Skynet's electronic plot system allows its engineers to supply customers with a
clear and professional quality plot of their signal(s) on Loral Skynet
satellites quickly and efficiently. The information can also be sent to
customers electronically as a JPEG file.
The software gives Skynet
engineers a consistent and flexible electronic plot format that allows for
analysis, annotation and distribution with no loss in the professional
presentation quality. In its electronic format, over a year's worth of plots
can be archived on a single CD ROM.
The transponder measurement system
was developed by Loral Skynet engineers Derwin Skotch and David McDowell in May
2000.
Arianespace to Launch Helios IIA
(25 July 2002) An Ariane 5
will launch the Helios IIA satellite into a sun-synchronous polar orbit during
the second half of 2004 from the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana. Helios IIA
will weigh about 4,200 kg at launch.
Helios IIA is the
first second-generation satellite in the defence/security observation system
operated by France in collaboration with other European countries. The French
defence procurement agency DGA (Delegation pour l'Armement), part of the
Ministry of Defence, is in charge of the program, and has named CNES system
architect and contracting authority for the space segment. The program
organisation is very similar to that chosen in 1986 for the Helios I production
phase.
The space segment covers both the satellites and ground control
facilities. Two satellites are being built by Astrium as prime contractor. It
leads a number of European subcontractors, including Alcatel Space which is
responsible for the high-resolution imaging instrument. CNES is in charge of
the development and operation of the satellite control centre, located at the
Toulouse Space Centre.
The control centre monitors the satellites via
CNES's network of tracking stations. In addition, it generates and transmits
commands using the working program prepared by the Main Helios Control Centre
in Creil (near Paris). The Helios IIA satellite is the 19th military payload
for the Ariane launcher.
UK and Russian Organisations Sign Launch Agreement for 8
Microsatellites
(24 July 2002) Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL)
of the UK and Rosoboronexport of Russia have signed a contract to launch 8
microsatellites on 3 Cosmos rockets from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome during
2002-2004.
Seven of the advanced Earth Observation
microsatellites will be injected into the same orbit by the three Cosmos
rockets in order to form the first international constellation dedicated to
monitoring natural and man-made disasters. The eighth microsatellite is a
demonstration high resolution Earth Observation microsatellite for the UK
British National Space Centre. Seven of the microsatellites are being
constructed by SSTL in the UK in collaboration with its international
partners.
Cosmos and RBE were selected by SSTL for this important
mission due to their capabilities to achieve the necessary orbital injection
accuracy into a sun-synchronous orbit within the timescales needed by SSTL and
at an affordable price. Cosmos, built by Polyot of Omsk, has an excellent
record and was previously used by SSTL to launch successfully its SNAP-1
nanosatellite and the Tsinghua-1 microsatellite for China in June 2000.
The first launch for SSTL, carrying the first DMC microsatellite AlSAT-1,
is scheduled for autumn 2002.
In a remarkable example of international
collaboration in space, seven organisations from Africa, Asia and Europe have
formed a consortium and agreed to contribute microsatellites into the first
dedicated Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). The DMC will comprise seven
Earth observation microsatellites launched into low Earth orbit to provide
daily imaging revisit anywhere in the world.
The DMC Consortium
comprises a partnership between organisations in Algeria, China, Nigeria,
Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Each organisation is building
an advanced yet low-cost Earth observation microsatellite to form the first
ever constellation specifically designed and dedicated to monitoring natural
and man-made disasters. The first DMC microsatellite is scheduled to be
launched for Algeria in autumn 2002 and subsequent microsatellites into the
same orbit in spring 2003 & 2004.
The objective of the Consortium
is to derive the maximum mutual benefit from the constellation through
collaboration and co-operation between the DMC Partners. The partners in the
DMC Consortium agreed to exchange their DMC satellite resources and data to
achieve a daily Earth observation imaging capability for disaster monitoring
and other dynamic phenomena.
Arkon/Cosmos 2392
Launched: 25 July 2002
Site: Baikonur
Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton K
Orbit: MEO, apogee: 1836 km,
perigee: 1500 km: inclination: 64.4°
International Number:
2002-037A
Name: Arkon/Cosmos 2392
Owner: Russian Ministry of
Defense
Contractor: NPO Lavochkin
This is reported to be a
military and civil imaging satellite of the Arkon class. The satellite has an
expected lifetime of 3 years and has a mass of 2600 kg.
ESA and Eurocontrol Sign Co-operation Agreement on
Using Space Technology for Civil Aviation
(26 July 2002) A five-year
renewable Agreement for Co-operation has been signed in Brussels by the
Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Antonio Rodotà, and
the Director General of Eurocontrol, Victor M Aguado.
The Agreement establishes a general framework for co-operation and support
between the two organisations regarding the use of space technology for civil
aviation purposes in areas of common interest such as satellite navigation,
telecommunications and the environment.
Under the Agreement, the
parties will exchange information regarding programmes and projects, research
results and publications, and will co-ordinate research and development
programmes.
Specific arrangements will be implemented, spelling out
the technical and operational interfaces between the respective activities and
the roles and responsibilities of the parties. Each party will bear the cost of
work to be done, without funds being exchanged.
One such arrangement
will cover the safety regulation process for GNSS with exchanges of information
on the methodologies to be employed, sharing of results obtained from R&D
and technical projects and joint participation in on-going projects.
Operational validation will also be taken into account by working together on
all phases of flight: en-route, standard non-precision approach and airport
surface movements.
A Joint Committee of ESA and Eurocontrol
representatives will be responsible for the administration of the Agreement and
for ensuring its implementation, by examining potential areas for concrete
co-operation, evaluating the status of ongoing activities, identifying specific
action required and reviewing its general functioning.
STM Wireless to Open Sales Office for Latin
America
(25 July 2002) STM Wireless Inc has announced its
plans for expanding its Latin American sales efforts through the establishment
of a new sales office to be located in the Miami, Florida, area.
In support of its sales effort, STM also announced the
establishment of a new maintenance and installation facility. Located in
Bolivia, the new facility has been equipped and staffed for after-sales
technical support, as well as a depot for support of customers on a regional
basis.
STM already has an extensive installed base of rural telephony
VSATs throughout Latin America in use by phone companies in Brazil, Argentina,
Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Mexico.
EMS Technologies Granted Inmarsat Type Approval for
HSD-128 Airborne Two-Channel High-Speed Data Terminal
(24 July 2002) EMS
Technologies has been granted full type and unrestricted access approval from
Inmarsat for the HSD-128 and HSD-64 High Speed Data Terminals. EMS is the first
avionics manufacturer to obtain this unrestricted approval from Inmarsat.
This supersedes the case approval of EMS' HSD-128 that was
granted by Inmarsat in April 2002.
While the EMS HSD-128 high-speed
data terminal is targeted at corporate and commercial transport aircraft, a
single-channel 64 kb/s version of the system has been flying routinely on US
military aircraft since last November.
Bill Parsons New Stennis Center Director
(24
July 2002) Roy S Estess, centre director for NASA's John C Stennis Space Center
in Mississippi, today announced plans to retire after 42 years in government
service, 37 with NASA. Administrator Sean O'Keefe named William (Bill) W
Parsons Jr, the current Center Operations and Support Director at Stennis, as
Estess' successor, effective August 25th.
Estess first
joined NASA in 1966 as a test engineer on the Saturn V second-stage test
program. He later served as head of the Applications Engineering Office, deputy
of the Earth Resources Laboratory and director of the Regional Applications
Program. From 1980 to 1988, he served as Stennis' Deputy Director and was named
Center Director in 1989.
In 1992, Estess was temporarily assigned to
NASA Headquarters in Washington as a special assistant to the Administrator and
served two consecutive NASA Administrators. From February 2001 to April 2002,
Estess was temporarily assigned as acting director of the NASA Johnson Space
Center (JSC) in Houston.
Parsons is a veteran of the US Marine Corps
and decided to join NASA after watching a space shuttle launch while on a
Florida vacation. He joined the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 1986 and
transferred to the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in 1990.
Parsons
met Estess in 1994 at KSC and decided to move to Stennis in 1997 where he
served as Chief of Operations for all propulsion test operations. In 1998,
Parsons was named Deputy Director of JSC, where he was later reunited with
Estess. He moved back to Stennis in 2001.
Former NASA Space Station Program Director Becomes CSI
"Alternate Access To Station" Program Manager
(22 July 2002) Constellation
Services International Inc (CSI) has announced that Thomas L Moser, who served
as NASA's highest executive in the Space Station Freedom program, has been
appointed as the Program Manager for CSI's "Alternate Access to Station" (AAS)
Phase 1 effort to study its LEO Expres Space Cargo System for launching
supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
The
AAS program, managed by NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), is a
multi-year effort enabling commercial re-supply services for the ISS to
supplement the Space Shuttle and other nations' ISS delivery vehicles.
During 25 years at NASA, Mr Moser held a number of senior management positions,
including Deputy Associate Administrator and Program Director for Space Station
(1987-1989). Before that, Moser served as NASA Deputy Associate Administrator
for Space Flight (1986-1987), and as Johnson Space Center's Director of
Engineering (1983-1986). After retiring from NASA, Mr Moser served under
then-Governor George W. Bush as the Executive Director of the Texas Aerospace
Commission (1998-2000).
CSI was awarded a US$ 2.3 million AAS contract
by NASA/MSFC on 12 July 2002 to validate and refine CSI's patent-pending LEO
Express Space Cargo System. The system will use off-the-shelf technology to
create standardised containers that can be launched on a broad variety of
existing and future launch vehicles. Over the last 50 years, standardised
containers have transformed cargo transportation across the entire surface of
the Earth.
