7 July 2002
Satcoms
EchoStar to Challenge FCC Ka Band Ruling
Inmarsat Contract for Nera in
China
Navigation
First Galileo Contract Awarded
iSECUREtrac Receives GPS
Antenna Technology Patent
Military
Space
NATO Affiliate to
Use STM's VSAT System for Broadband Connectivity in Central Asia
Science
NASA Selects Two Small Explorer Missions
Launch
Services
NASA Extends ATK
Thiokol Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Contract
Pratt & Whitney Tests First RL60
Upper-Stage Rocket Engine Component
Launches
Contour
N-Star c, Stellat 5
Business
Mentergy Announces Spin-off Communications Services Business
Northrop Grumman to
Acquire TRW for US$ 60 Per Share in Stock
Products and Services
Skycasters Releases New Satellite-Powered Broadband Solution For
Hosted Applications
People
UBS Warburg Names Aryeh Bourkoff Cable and Satellite Analyst for
Equity and High Yield Research
EchoStar to Challenge FCC Ka Band Ruling
(2 July 2002) EchoStar
Communications Corporation has stated that it strongly believes the decision by
the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
cancelling EchoStar's Ka-band license is wrong and should be reversed.
According to EchoStar, the FCC’s decision is based on
the inaccurate premise that EchoStar has not commenced construction of its
first Ka-band satellite. EchoStar claim the FCC based its decision on an
incorrect reading of EchoStar's satellite contract documents.
The FCC
cancelled EchoStar’s licence because it did not consider that EchoStar was
making adequate progress towards developing and launching a Ka band satellite
to utilise the Ka band spectrum and orbital slot that EchoStar had been
previously allocated.
EchoStar is, however, well on the way towards
implementing its first Ka band satellite, EchoStar IX, which is due for launch
later this year some three years, EchoStar claim, in advance of the launch date
specified by the FCC.
EchoStar intends to vigorously challenge the FCC
staff decision and to supply the FCC with exhaustive additional documentation
confirming that construction of the satellite is in fact complete. EchoStar is
optimistic that once the FCC has the opportunity to evaluate the facts
thoroughly, it will reinstate EchoStar's license.
Inmarsat Contract for Nera in China
(1 July 2002) Beijing Marine
Communication & Navigation Co (and also known as CTTC) and Norwegian
Satellite equipment provider Nera SatCom AS, have signed a contract for a turn
key delivery of a Land Earth Station in China. The delivery will enable the
existing land station gateway to provide Inmarsat M4 & F Services. Nera
SatCom won the 28 MNOK contract in an open tender.
MCN a
state-owned Telecommunication Company has provided Inmarsat services to the
Chinese market for more than 20 years. The Chinese telecom market is highly
developed with regards to the use of modern Satellite Communications, a market
most likely to see continued growth - especially in the maritime sector.
Nera SatCom and MCN have co-operated in the field of Inmarsat equipment
and services since 1987.
Nera has been present with a Representative
office in Beijing since 1995, and has worked with a long-term strategy of
increased supply of telecommunication equipment and services to the Chinese
market.
MCN is the exclusive Inmarsat Service Provider (ISP) for the
Inmarsat market in China. MCN is the shareholder of Inmarsat Ventures. MCN
operates the land earth stations and is in control of some 70% of the sales of
Satellite terminals in the Chinese market. MCN is one of the operational
business units under the Ministry of Communication (MoC), in control of the
Chinese sector of the Inmarsat satellite services.
First Galileo Contract Awarded
(1 July 2002) Galileo
Industries, a joint venture between Alcatel Space of France, Alenia of Italy,
Astrium of the UK and of Germany and the GSS Spanish consortium, has been
awarded the first development contract for the European satellite navigation
programme, Galileo, by the European Space Agency. The contract is for the
development of the first version of the Galileo System Test Bed (GSTB-V1).
The Galileo System Test Bed will contribute to the
validation of the Galileo system concepts such as the main navigation
processing algorithms and integrity solutions. It will use the existing EGNOS
ground infrastructure of 30 grounds stations to collect existing satellite
data, evaluate the current available performance and extrapolate what will be
the ultimate performance of Galileo.
This contracts will involve staff
from, Alcatel Space, Astrium, Alenia, GMV and Indra over a period of 30
months.
Galileo Industries SA is a company registered in Belgium. Its
headquarters are in Brussels and its main industrial facilities are in Rome.
Its permanent staff (about 40 experts covering a wide variety of
specialisations) are seconded from Galileo Industries shareholders: Alcatel
Space, Alenia, Astrium UK, Astrium GmbH, and Galileo Systemas y Servicios, an
industrial Spanish joint venture.
iSECUREtrac Receives GPS Antenna Technology Patent
(1 July
2002) iSECUREtrac Corp has announced the approval and receipt of US Patent
6,337,665 for its antenna and mounting systems used in the remote unit of a GPS
device used when monitoring and tracking individuals from a central control
station.
Founded in 1995 to develop tracking and
monitoring applications utilising global positioning systems (GPS) and new
communications technologies, iSECUREtrac has developed the most advanced
patented tracking and monitoring systems available for criminal
justice.
NATO Affiliate to Use STM's VSAT System for Broadband
Connectivity in Central Asia
(2 July 2002) STM Wireless Inc (STM) has been awarded
a contract for the supply of a broadband network for high-speed Internet
connectivity in Central Asia. The project, which is being sponsored by NATO's
Science Program, provides for the delivery of a DVB-based broadband system, in
collaboration with Eurasiasat (a satellite operator based in Monaco) and
Kalitel (a global telecom solutions provider).
The
system will provide eight countries in Southern Caucasus and Central Asia with
Internet connectivity via a hub in Hamburg, Germany, operated by DESY
(Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron), a NATO affiliate.
NASA Selects Two Small Explorer Missions
(2 July
2002) Spacecraft that will observe the Earth's highest clouds and detect hidden
matter in the universe have been chosen as the next two missions in NASA's
Small Explorer (SMEX) program.
The first mission, to be
launched in 2005, is the Explorer for Spectroscopy and Photometry of the
Intergalactic Medium's Diffuse Radiation (SPIDR), a mission to map the "cosmic
web" of hot gas that spans the universe. Half of the normal matter in the
nearby universe is in filaments of hot gas, and SPIDR will observe its emission
and distribution for the first time.
SPIDR's data will answer
fundamental questions concerning the formation and evolution of galaxies,
clusters of galaxies, and other large structures in the universe as well as
address a number of questions related to hot gas in our own galaxy. An
innovative and sensitive spectrograph design will be placed into a high earth
orbit to observe emission lines from important atomic tracers of mass in the
intergalactic medium. Supriya Chakrabarti of Boston University will lead SPIDR
at a total cost to NASA of US$ 89 million.
The second mission, to be
launched in 2006, is the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Explorer,
which will determine the causes of the highest altitude clouds in the Earth's
atmosphere. There are indications that the number of clouds in the upper
atmosphere (mesosphere) over the Earth's poles has been increasing over the
past couple decades, and it is hypothesised that this results from increasing
concentrations of greenhouse gases at high altitudes.
AIM will measure
atmospheric temperatures and water vapour concentrations in the cloud forming
region, as well as the properties of the clouds themselves. This will help
determine the connection between the clouds and their environment and serve as
a baseline for the study of long-term changes in the upper atmosphere. James
Russell III of Hampton University will lead AIM at a total mission cost to NASA
of US$ 92 million.
The Explorer Program is designed to provide
frequent, low-cost access to space for physics and astronomy missions with
small to mid-sized spacecraft. Six SMEX missions have been launched since 1992,
and five of them are still operating and returning science data. The Galaxy
Evolution Explorer (GALEX) will be the seventh SMEX mission and is scheduled
for launch in September 2002. GALEX will study the history of star formation in
the universe by measuring the ultraviolet light from newly formed stars in
galaxies out to a distance of 10 billion light years.
The selected
proposals were among 33 SMEX and 13 mission-of-opportunity proposals originally
submitted to NASA in February 2000 in response to an Explorer Program
Announcement of Opportunity issued in November 1999. NASA selected seven
proposals in September 2000 for detailed feasibility studies. Funded by NASA at
US$ 450,000 each, these studies focused on cost, management and technical
plans, including small business involvement and educational
outreach.
NASA Extends ATK Thiokol Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
Contract
(1 July 2002) NASA has extended to May 2007 its
six-and-a-half-year US$ 2.4 billion contract with ATK Thiokol Propulsion for
the production and refurbishment of 70 Reusable Solid Rocket Motors for the
Space Shuttle Program.
Under the modified contract,
Thiokol will produce and refurbish 35 Reusable Solid Rocket Motor flight sets
(70 motors) and three flight support motors. The modification adds US$ 429
million to the contract.
The contract, issued in October 1998, is the
sixth in a series of contracts for the design, development, production and
refurbishment of Solid Rocket Motors for the Space Shuttle Program.
At
launch, the three Space Shuttle Main Engines and the two Reusable Solid Rocket
Motors provide enough thrust to lift the 2 million kg-pound shuttle vehicle -
the propellant weighs 1.6 million kg - into orbit.
The Shuttle's
Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) is the largest solid motor ever flown and
the first designed for reuse. Each motor consists of four segments lined with
0.5 million kg of solid fuel propellant. The forward segment holds an
igniter.
Two motors, each producing an average thrust of 2.6 million
pounds during their 124-second burn, are used on each space shuttle flight. At
burnout the shuttle has reached an altitude of 44 km and a velocity of 5000
km/hr. After the propellant is depleted, the Solid Rocket Boosters, which house
the motors, separate from the shuttle's orbiter and land in the ocean.
The Solid Rocket Boosters are recovered and disassembled and the motors are
returned to Thiokol. At Thiokol, the cases are cleaned, inspected and
reassembled for propellant casting, and a new nozzle and igniter are installed.
The motor's steel case components can be used as many as 20 times.
Pratt & Whitney Tests First RL60 Upper-Stage Rocket Engine
Component
(1 July 2002) Pratt & Whitney (P&W) Space
Propulsion has successfully hot fire tested its first RL60 engine component. A
full-scale thrust chamber injector was tested at the company's West Palm Beach,
Florida facility at full-power conditions (equivalent to 65,0000 pounds of
thrust).
Following a successful demonstrator engine
program, the RL60 could proceed into full-scale development and be ready for
service by the end of 2006. In addition, P&W plans to use the robust RL60
expander cycle technology for even higher thrust applications for reusable
launch vehicles (RLV).
This effort supports second-generation RLV
trade studies for NASA's Space Launch Initiative and the utilisation of the RLX
second-stage expander cycle engine for that system.
Contour
Launched: 3 July 2002
Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida
Launcher: Delta 2
Orbit: interplanetary
International Number: 2002-034A
Name: Contour
Owner: NASA
Contractor: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
Contour, the Comet Nucleus Tour, is a scientific probe. It will orbit Earth
until August 15 when it will be injected into a new orbit to intercept comet
2P/Encke.
Contour’s flexible four-year mission plan includes
encounters with comets Encke (Nov. 12, 2003) and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (June
19, 2006), though it can add a study of a "new" comet from the outer solar
system should one be discovered in time for Contour to catch it. Contour will
examine each comet's nucleus which scientists believe is a chunk of ice and
rock, often just a few km across and hidden from Earth-based telescopes beneath
a dusty atmosphere and long tail.
The 8-sided solar-powered craft will
fly as close as 100 km to each nucleus. A 5-layer dust shield of heavy Nextel
and Kevlar fabric protects the compact probe from comet dust and debris.
Contour’s four scientific instruments will take pictures and measure
the chemical makeup of the nuclei while analysing the surrounding gases and
dust. Its main camera, the Contour Remote Imager/Spectrograph (CRISP), will
snap high-resolution digital images showing car-sized rocks and other features
on the nucleus as small as 4 m across. CRISP will also search for chemical
"fingerprints" on the surface, which would provide the first hard evidence of
comet nuclei composition.
The targets were selected because of their
diversity and relative closeness to Earth during encounter time - less than 50
million km - allowing astronomers to observe the comets during the encounters.
Encke has been seen from Earth more than any other comet; it's an "old" body
that gives off relatively little gas and dust but remains more active than
scientists expect for a comet that has passed close to the sun thousands of
times. Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, on the other hand, was discovered just 70 years
ago and recently split into several pieces, intriguing scientists with hopes
that they might see fresh, unaltered surfaces and materials from inside the
comet.
Contour’s orbit loops around the sun and back to Earth for
annual "gravity swings" toward its targets; these manoeuvres bend
Contour’s trajectory and help it reach several comets without using much
fuel. Contour will cruise unattended between comet encounters and Earth
swingbys in a spin-stabilised "hibernation" mode, helping the mission reduce
operations and communications costs.
The US$ 159 million Contour is
the sixth mission in NASA's Discovery Program of lower cost, scientifically
focused exploration projects. APL manages the mission, built the spacecraft and
its two cameras, and will operate Contour during flight. NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, provided Contour’s neutral gas/ion mass spectrometer and
von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH built the dust analyser. NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory will provide navigation and Deep Space Network (DSN)
support.
N-Star c, Stellat 5
Launched: 5 July 2002
Site: CSG Kourou, French
Guiana
Launcher: Ariane 5
International Number: 2002-035A
Orbit: GEO, 5° W
Name: Stellat 5
Owner: Stellat
Contractor:
Alcatel Space
International Number: 2002-035B
Orbit: GEO, 136°
E
Name: N-Star c
Owner: NTT DoCoMo
Contractor: Lockheed Martin
Commercial Space Systems
Both Stellat 5 and N-Star c are commercial
communications satellites.
Stellat is based on Alcatel’s Spacebus
3000B3 platform and will have a footprint which includes Europe, Africa, the
Middle East, near Asia and the east coast of the Americas. In addition to
providing continuity of service for current users of the Telecom 2 satellite,
including French analogue television broadcasts, Stellat 5 will allow for the
development of a number of additional applications: digital radio and
television; high-speed two-way Internet access via dishes as small as just 60
cm in diameter; and business and telecommunications networks.
Stellat
5 carries 45 high power transponders: thirty five 36 MHz Ku band transponders
and ten 36-72 MHz C band transponders capable of reaching Europe, Africa, the
Middle East, near Asia and the Americas from a single uplink. In addition, six
steerable Ku transponders allow Stellat 5 to supply bandwidth as needed
anywhere within its coverage area.
Stellat is a joint venture between
France Telecom (70%) and Europe*Star (30%), created to develop, operate and
commercialise the next-generation Stellat 5 satellite at the 5º W
position.
N-Star c will operate at S band with a C band feeder link.
It is optimised for a 10-year life on-orbit, and will provide mobile telephony
and data transfer services to Japan and its surrounding waters. N-Star c
carries 20 S band transponders and one C band transponder.
Mentergy Announces Spin-off Communications Services Business
(1 July
2002) Mentergy Ltd has announced the closing of the sale of two wholly owned
subsidiaries, Gilat Satcom Ltd, and Israsat International Communications Ltd.,
which comprise its satellite-based communications services business (together,
“Gilat Satcom”).
The shares of Gilat Satcom
were purchased by Lito Ofsset "Ziv" Ltd, an Israeli company (Ziv), whose shares
are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, in exchange for the issuance to
Mentergy of new shares of Ziv, such that Mentergy holds 70% of the outstanding
ordinary shares of Ziv on a fully diluted basis. Ziv is expected to change its
name to "Gilat Satcom Systems Ltd."
Gilat Satcom and Israsat
Communications (together - "Gilat Satcom") was established approximately 10
years ago, and today is a leading provider of satellite based communication
services in Israel. Gilat Satcom offers its customers private network
communication services in Israel, international communication services and
Internet access services to companies and organisations world-wide, based on
satellite technologies. Today, Gilat Satcom maintains approximately 2,500 sites
in private communication networks for leading organisations in Israel,
including among others health services organisations, National Sports betting
and Lottery, universities, financial institutes and government institutions.
Gilat Satcom also operates international communication services, point to point
satellite links and Internet backbone connectivity over satellite for
information carriers, financial institutes and more, as well as satellite
infrastructure for the e-Learning industry.
Northrop Grumman to Acquire TRW for US$ 60 Per Share in Stock
(1 July
2002) Northrop Grumman Corporation and TRW Inc have entered into a definitive
merger agreement. The combination will position Northrop Grumman as the USA's
second largest defence contractor with projected annual revenues of more than
US$ 26 billion and approximately 123,000 employees.
Under the terms of the agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of
directors of both companies, Northrop Grumman will acquire TRW for US$ 60 per
share in common stock in a transaction valued at approximately US$ 7.8 billion,
plus the assumption of TRW's net debt at the time of closing.
The
exact exchange ratio will be determined by dividing US$ 60 by the average of
the reported closing sale prices per share of Northrop Grumman common stock on
the New York Stock Exchange for the five consecutive trading days ending on and
including the second trading day prior to the closing of the merger. The
exchange ratio will not be less than 0.4348 or more than 0.5357 of a Northrop
Grumman share.
After completion of the merger, Northrop Grumman plans
to separate TRW's automotive business, either through a sale or a spin-off of
the business to shareholders. TRW's previously announced agreement to sell its
Aeronautical Systems business to Goodrich Corporation for US$ 1.5 billion
continue unaffected by the merger announcement.
Following the close of
the transaction, TRW's defence business, similar to the Litton and Newport News
businesses, will be initially operated as a separate Northrop Grumman sector,
reporting to the office of the chairman. Northrop Grumman will work to quickly
integrate the operations of TRW's defence business operations. Northrop Grumman
foresees little change in employment levels in the defence business as a result
of this transaction.
The transaction is subject to the approval of
shareholders of both companies and to review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act as
well as other governmental and regulatory agencies in the US and Europe. The
companies expect to complete the transaction in the fourth quarter of
2002.
Skycasters Releases New Satellite-Powered Broadband
Solution For Hosted Applications
(1 July 2002) Skycasters LLC
and Satellite-ASP.com have announced immediate availability of a new
cost-effective broadband service supporting Application Service Provider
products, that allows an always-on high-speed satellite internet connection to
be delivered anywhere in the USA regardless of location and does not rely on
local telephone company lines.
The solution was
developed to assist the Application Service Provider (ASP) industry in creating
new opportunities with customers who have locations outside of the reach of DSL
or Cable Modem service. It is available through ASP organisations who establish
partnering relationships with Satellite-ASP.com and can also be provided
directly to end users. The broadband satellite service includes full Internet
access.
The service enables broadband satellite delivery of
thin-client solutions, VPNs, secure-HTTP or other internet enabled technology
requiring high-speed always-on connectivity. The service is priced comparably
to DSL service. Current installations include hundreds of government and
Fortune 1000 corporate locations, often in hard to reach areas. The service is
available as a private-labelled wholesale offering bundled with existing ASP
services, or ASP partners can receive commissions for referring customers for a
direct relationship. Business customers can also order the service directly
from Satellite-ASP.com.
Satellite-ASP.com is a privately-held
organisation focused on wholesale and partner solutions in the ASP industry.
The Satellite-ASP.com service is powered by Skycasters, a leading US-based
low-cost satellite Internet provider serving North America and the Caribbean.
Satellite-ASP.com is a Value Added Reseller of the Skycasters service.
The turn-key satellite service is provided by installing inexpensive outdoor
satellite equipment which includes a small (less than 1 meter) 2-way
send/receive dish transceiver, along with small-footprint indoor satellite
modem equipment. Depending on configuration, the indoor equipment connects
directly to a computer network or to an individual computer. Various connection
speeds from 384 kb/s to 1 Mb/s are available.
UBS Warburg Names Aryeh Bourkoff Cable and Satellite
Analyst for Equity and High Yield Research
(1 July 2002) UBS Warburg has
announced that Aryeh Bourkoff, head of high yield cable and telecommunications
research for UBS Warburg, will be adding coverage of cable and satellite
stocks, while maintaining high yield coverage of the cable and satellite
sector. He will work out of both the New York and Stamford offices and report
jointly to Steve Ruggiero, head of Global High Yield Research, and to Raul
Esquivel, head of US Equity Research.
In his high yield
position, Mr Bourkoff has focused on domestic and European cable and
telecommunications companies. For the past three years he has been recognised
as a member of Institutional Investor's Fixed-Income All-America Research Team.
He ranked number one in Media/Cable & Satellite on both the 2000 and 2001
Teams, and in 2001 he also ranked number one in
Telecommunications/Wireline.
Prior to joining UBS Warburg, Mr Bourkoff
was the senior cable and telecommunications high yield research analyst at CIBC
World Markets Corp. Before that he was a member of the High Yield Research
group at Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. Mr Bourkoff holds a bachelor's degree in
economics from the University of California at San Diego.
