16 November 2003
Satcoms
HNS Secures US$ 25M Broadband Contract with Ethiopia Telecom
Integral
Systems Wins NASA DASS Antenna Contract
Norsat Supplies Equipment for Broadband Project in
China
PlayStream Partners with Fisher Pathways for Live Web Casting
Singapore
Airlines Selects Connexion by Boeing for In-Flight Connectivity
Earth
Observation
Lockheed Martin to Perform Advanced Architecture Study for NOAA'S
GOES-R Program
Monitoring Sub-centimetre Land Motion with
Radarsat-1
Navigation
Long Beach Uses GPS Vehicle Tracking System to Help Manage Vehicle
Fleets
Technology
BAE
Systems Modernises Radiation Hardening Capability
South Korea Selects MTS for
Satellite Test System
Launch
Services
LaBarge Awarded
Atlas V Contract
NASA Exercises Delta II Contract Option For STEREO
Launches
Zhongxing-20
Launch Schedule
Business
Liberty Media Completes Acquisition of Liberty Satellite
and Technology
PanAmSat Expands Global Satellite/Fibre Hybrid Network
SpaceDev Auctioning
Microsatellite Mission On eBay
Speedus Announces Globalstar Offer
StarBand Communications Cleared to
Exit Bankruptcy
Products and Services
Iowa Thin Film Technologies Announces PowerFilm
Photovoltaics Products
Telenor Launches Fleet F55
People
Andrew Corporation Appoints VP and GM Satellite
Communications
Leadership Change at SeaSpace Corporation
NASA Names New Stennis Space
Center Director and Deputy Director
Rudolphi Named NASA Space Shuttle Propulsion Manager
Warren Brown Joins
iDirect Technologies
HNS Secures US$ 25M Broadband Contract with Ethiopia Telecom
(13 November 2003)
Hughes Network Systems Inc (HNS) will supply Ethiopia Telecommunications
Corporation (ETC) with a comprehensive DirecWay broadband satellite network.
One of the first projects under this US$ 25 million contract is a national
distance learning network, SchoolNet, connecting schools across Ethiopia.
In addition to linking Ethiopian schools, ETC will utilise
the DirecWay network to provide a wide range of value-added applications,
including video conferencing, distance learning, Internet/intranet access and
VoIP voice solutions, to a variety of government, private enterprise and
financial customers.
Ato Tesfaye Biru, managing director of Ethiopia
Telecommunications Corporation said "Satellite is the only solution that allows
us to provide digital, always-on, reliable service no matter where our
customers are. The DirecWay broadband satellite solution allows Ethiopia to
expand its national commitment to provide quality education to all our students
by reaching our 28.7 million school age children nation-wide with the latest in
educational tools."
Given the limited municipal infrastructure that
exists in some areas of Ethiopia, many of the remote terminals will be powered
by solar energy, capitalising on a resource that is abundant in
Ethiopia-sunshine.
Network installation began in June and is scheduled
for completion by year end 2004.
(source: Hughes Network
Systems)
Integral
Systems Wins NASA DASS
Antenna Contract
(10 November 2003) NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
has awarded the DASS (Distress Alerting Satellite System) Antenna System
contract to Integral Systems Inc's Antenna Systems Division. The competitively
won award includes delivery of four 4.27m full motion tracking antennas for
receiving rescue beacon signals that are relayed through GPS and low earth
orbiting weather satellites. The DASS Antenna Systems are fully automated and
will be located on the roof of Building 28 at Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Maryland.
DASS is a national program that
will use GPS satellites to relay distress signals from maritime, aviation, and
land-based beacons. The DASS Local User Terminal being developed at GSFC will
initially support the proof-of-concept phase for the DASS System Development
and will become part of the operational system.
(source: Integral
Systems)
Norsat Supplies Equipment for Broadband Project in China
(11 November 2003)
Dynamic Engineers Inc purchased an additional 350 Norsat VSAT transceivers as
Phase-2 of an ongoing project totalling US$ 1.5M dollars to date. The
transceivers are being used as part of a program to deliver broadband
communications to remote regions in China.
Dynamic
Engineers is a privately owned international electronic component distributor
specialising in RF communication packages that first started employing the
Norsat transceivers in their broadband VSAT terminals in 2001.
(source: Norsat International)
PlayStream Partners with Fisher Pathways for Live Web Casting
(12 November 2003)
PlayStream, a leading streaming media service provider, has partnered with
Fisher Pathways, the largest video switching hub in the Pacific Northwest, to
offer satellite and fibre connection services to enhance its live Web cast
service offering.
Customers with content originating
from satellite or through one of the popular fibre connection services, Vyvx or
Sonic Telecom, are now able to deliver this content over the Internet in all
major popular streaming media formats. Previously, PlayStream had only offered
connection services via teleconferencing or the Web. The alliance with Fisher
Pathways expands PlayStream's connection service offering for live Web casts,
which will empower many industries with an easier way to implement streaming
media technologies into their communication strategies.
PlayStream's
location in Fisher Plaza, one of the Northwest's most advanced communications
and connectivity hub, enables PlayStream to directly tie-in via fibre with
other telecommunication carriers to expand its streaming media service
offerings. The alliance with Fisher Pathways is one more benefit of
PlayStream's relocation into this modern high tech facility.
Live Web
cast events delivered using one of these connection services will benefit from
PlayStream's distributed network which enhances performance and
reliability.
PlayStream provides content delivery services for over
2,000 businesses and consumers world-wide. PlayStream's proprietary media
linking technology empowers customers with rich capabilities to play, manage
and monitor audio, video, and multimedia content over the Internet. What is
unique about PlayStream's services is that they integrate the Industry's most
popular media formats with PlayStream's proprietary technology and robust
online management tools, to provide customers with a powerful level of
simplicity and rich features for delivering media over the Web.
Fisher
Pathways is the largest video switching hub in the Pacific Northwest with a
fully redundant, owned and operated teleport providing unmatched global
connectivity. Fisher Pathways' distribution capabilities include domestic and
international fibre, and satellite. Fisher Pathways is a broad-based service
provider to broadcast, telecommunications and enterprise customers alike.
Fisher Pathways is located at Fisher Plaza. This state-of-the-art facility was
engineered from the ground up to specialise in carrier neutral data centre
hosting and service provider co-location.
(source:
PlayStream)
Singapore Airlines Selects Connexion by Boeing for In-Flight
Connectivity
(11
November 2003) Singapore Airlines (SIA) has selected Connexion by Boeing as its
provider of choice for high-speed Internet-based communications on board. The
letter of intent agreement calls for the Connexion by Boeing mobile information
service to be installed on 40 of SIA's long-haul jetliners with an undisclosed
number of options for additional service installations.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
This technology
will enable SIA's customers to tap into broadband services that will allow them
to surf the Internet, send and receive emails and view up to 12 broadcast
television channels.
Installation of the service is expected to begin
by the third quarter of 2004 and launched on commercial services shortly
thereafter.
SIA plans to offer the Connexion by Boeing broadband
service on all long- haul flights. SIA's in-flight entertainment system -
KrisWorld - offers over 200 entertainment options that include 29 blockbuster
movies, more than 60 hours of short features, up to 150 CD albums and 12 audio
channels, over 30 games from the Nintendo Game Boy series, interactive
multi-player games like mahjong, and news from around the world. As of 1
November, SIA's operating fleet includes passenger aircraft consisting of 30
Boeing 747 and 51 Boeing 777 airliners.
(source: Connexion by
Boeing)
Lockheed
Martin to Perform
Advanced Architecture Study for NOAA'S GOES-R Program
(13 November 2003) Lockheed Martin has been
awarded a US$ 2.5 million contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to execute an End-to-End Architecture Study of the
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) program.
The Architecture Study covers work in four task areas: Space
and Launch, C3, Product Generation and Distribution, and End-to-End
Integration. Its purpose is to assist NOAA in identifying system architecture
alternatives, refining known designs, uncovering innovative, integrated
architectures, and leveraging potential opportunistic technologies that may
provide increased weather and environmental forecasting capabilities at
increased mission cost savings.
At the conclusion of these studies,
NOAA will modify its requirement for the GOES-R space, launch, command and
control, and data production segments to help reduce future design,
development, cost and schedule risks. The study results will ensure that viable
architectural options are available to integrate the meteorological data
acquired from space remote sensors, with the ground acquisition systems, and
link it to the ultimate products delivered to the users.
Data from
NOAA's GOES spacecraft provide short-term advance weather warning products to
the commercial, educational, and public sectors to protect lives, property and
the environment, and to foster economic growth and promote educational
research. The future GOES-R mission is expected to improve the quality and
timeliness of its forecasts, expanding the safety and economic security of the
public.
(source: Lockheed Martin)
Monitoring Sub-centimetre Land Motion with Radarsat-1
(10 November 2003)
Using data collected from Radarsat-1, Tele-Rilevamento Europa (T.R.E.) of Italy
is creating Differential and Permanent Scatterer InSAR (Interferometric
Synthetic Aperture Radar) land motion products for end-clients in Italy. These
products map small-scale movement at the Earth's surface - in the order of
millimetre accuracy - and reveal areas prone to land slippage, flooding,
subsidence, and volcano or earthquake activity.
This
T.R.E. InSAR project was finalised through Eurimage, the Italian Radarsat-1
distributor. In total, 2000 Radarsat-1 images are being collected over Italy to
create an InSAR database of the entire country. In addition, InSAR data will be
repeatedly collected over major Italian urban areas for monitoring purposes.
This will be the first interferometric data set of Radarsat-1 images at a
national level. To date, over 1200 Radarsat-1 images have been acquired.
With it's 24-day repeat cycle, Radarsat-1 collects the same image over the
same location every 24 days. This type of data collection is required for InSAR
work. The frequency of the satellite orbit provides the client with far more
images than currently available from other radar satellites such as ERS or
Envisat which operate on 35-day repeat cycles.
In addition, Radarsat-1
is currently the only viable commercial satellite to collect data that is
suitable for InSAR applications. In March 2001, the Canadian Space Agency
(CSA), who owns and operates Radarsat-1, implemented a new procedure whereby
the orbit of the satellite is maintained at +/- 2 km. This strict orbit
configuration ensures that the data collected by Radarsat-1 can be used to
create InSAR products.
To produce INSAR products, two images of the
same area are acquired within 1 or more orbit cycles of each other. The
satellite must be maintained in a tight orbit so that the geographic location
of the second scene doesn't shift horizontally from that of the first. By
removing elevation from the phase difference between the two images, subtle
changes in land or object movement can be detected. TRE uses a more advanced
form of InSAR (Differential and Permanent Scatterer InSAR) which produce highly
accurate results.
(source: Radarsat International)
Long
Beach Uses GPS Vehicle
Tracking System to Help Manage Vehicle Fleets
(12 November 2003) Radio Satellite
Integrators Inc (RSI) has completed the initial phase of a multi-agency
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for the City of Long Beach. To better
manage department vehicles throughout the entire city, Long Beach turned to RSI
to design this one-of-a-kind, city wide vehicle tracking solution.
The first phase of the system has been installed for Long
Beach Energy - the newly formed merger of the Long Beach Gas and Electric
Department and the Public Works Department. The vehicle tracking system is
currently operating in nearly 100 vehicles for Solid Waste Collection and
Street Sweeper vehicles and will be expanded to parking enforcement, Long Beach
Unified School District, and Long Beach Fire Departments in the near future.
Each agency will track their own fleet on individual interfaces to the AVL
system, but will utilise the same central backbone. This arrangement will
effectively provide the city with multiple AVL systems but drastically lower
"per vehicle costs" by sharing infrastructure. Also unique to this AVL system
is the use of the 220MHz radio frequency, which will provide the communications
network for the system.
(source: Radio Satellite
Integrators)
BAE
Systems Modernises
Radiation Hardening Capability
(11 November 2003) The first 0.25 micron
radiation-hardened transistor has been fabricated at BAE Systems newly upgraded
microelectronics fabrication facility at Manassas, Virginia.
Previously, BAE Systems produced the RAD6000 processor chip.
It contained more than one million transistors. With the foundry upgrade, BAE
Systems will be building the RAD750 processor chip which will contain more than
11 million transistors.
US national security is increasingly dependent
on space systems. Communications networks, surveillance capabilities and
navigation systems rely heavily on satellites. A new generation of BAE Systems
radiation-hardened electronics - more than ten times more capable than
predecessors - will help to ensure that satellites launched over the next
decade can both survive the rigors of space and meet the needs of national
defence.
The 0.25 micron transistor was produced following the initial
stage of the Manassas foundry upgrade. The foundry renovation will be completed
in 2004 with the support of the US Defense Department's (DoD) Accelerated
Radiation Hardened Microelectronics Program. Initiated in 2001, the DoD program
ensures highly specialised, radiation hardened components will continue to be
available for future generations of US. space systems. The Defense Threat
Reduction Agency (DTRA), in partnership with the US Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL), manages the program.
The $91 million foundry
upgrade consists of two co-ordinated projects. The first, managed by DTRA,
establishes the complex semiconductor fabrication process. The second project,
managed by AFRL, upgrades the tools and equipment that run the processes and
physically fabricate the radiation hardened chips.
(source: BAe
Systems)
South
Korea Selects MTS for
Satellite Test System
(11 November 2003) The Korean Aerospace Research
Institute (KARI), which spearheads the South Korean national space program, has
selected MTS Systems Corp to provide test and data acquisition systems for
KARI's recently commissioned test facility. KARI's new state-of-the-art
acoustic and vibration certification test facility will host future launch
environment certification projects in Korea.
MTS' proven
suite of noise and vibration solutions will provide the foundation for the new
facilities' test system. The solutions provide the broadest range of
sophisticated high-performance data collection, structural dynamic analysis,
sound quality, acoustics and modal analysis functionality available today in a
single, integrated package.
MTS' test systems integrate best-in-class
data acquisition hardware from today's leading providers of electronics,
including National Instruments, Sony Precision Technology and VXI Technologies.
The core of the data acquisition instrumentation MTS will supply KARI is based
on National Instrument's PXI- 4472 product, an eight-channel dynamic signal
acquisition module for making high-accuracy frequency-domain measurements.
The Korean government has selected Space Technology (ST) as one of the six
national technologies (6T) and has drawn up the National Technology Road Map,
in which the ST is categorised as national strategic technology and for
elevating Korean national status on the global stage. The contributions and
activities at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute focus on research and
development of aircraft, artificial satellites and rockets, and also include
type certification of aircraft and quality assurance for space products.
(source: MTS Systems)
LaBarge Awarded Atlas V ContractB
(10 November 2003) Lockheed Martin has
awarded LaBarge Inc a US$ 6.6 million contract to produce complex wire
harnesses for the Atlas V launch vehicle. The Company anticipates options for
additional work.
For more than a decade, LaBarge has
made wire harnesses for the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which take into
orbit satellites for both government and commercial customers. The Atlas V is
Lockheed Martin's newest, most advanced launch vehicle.
Under the
terms of the contract, LaBarge will produce wire harnesses that transport
electronic signals between all the launch vehicle's systems, from the vehicle
computer to its payload portion, as well as ground control cables that send
communication signals between the rocket and mission control.
Production, which will take place in Berryville, Arkansas, is expected to begin
in January 2004 and continue through the end of 2006.
(source:
LaBarge)
NASA
Exercises Delta II
Contract Option For STEREO
(14 November 2003) NASA is exercising a contract
option for a Delta II vehicle to launch STEREO for the Office of Space Science
Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) Program. The spacecraft is planned for launch
Nov. 15, 2005, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida.
This firm-fixed-price option is covered under the NASA
Launch Services Contract awarded by the agency on June 16, 2000. The contract
is with Delta Launch Services Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing
Company.
The STEREO mission will provide revolutionary views of the
Sun-Earth system and contain two spacecraft. The first will lead and the second
will lag the Earth in its orbit. STEREO is designed to trace the flow of energy
and matter from the sun to the Earth; reveal the true three-dimensional
structure of enormous eruptions of matter from the sun, called coronal mass
ejections; and show why they happen. STEREO is also designed to provide unique
alerts for Earth-directed solar ejections.
(source: NASA)
Zhongxing-20
Launched: 15 November 2003
Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan
Province, southwest China
Launcher: Long March 3 A
Orbit: GEO, 103°
E
International Number: 2003-052A
Name: Zhongxing-20
Contractor:
China Academy of Space Technology, China Aerospace Science and Technology
Corp
Zhongxing-20 is a Chinese communications satellite.
Liberty
Media Completes
Acquisition of Liberty Satellite and Technology
(12 November 2003) Liberty Media Corporation
has completed its acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of
Liberty Satellite and Technology Inc (LSAT) that it did not already own.
Each LSAT stockholder, other than Liberty Media, will
receive 0.2750 shares of Liberty Media Series A common stock for each share of
LSAT Series A or Series B common stock held. Liberty Media will issue
approximately 1.8 million shares of Liberty Media Series A common stock to the
LSAT shareholders.
The transaction was accomplished through a merger
of Liberty Satellite Acquisition Co., a newly formed controlled subsidiary of
Liberty Media, with and into LSAT, with LSAT as the surviving corporation in
the merger. The merger was taxable to the LSAT shareholders.
Liberty
Satellite and Technology, Inc., known as LSAT, pursues strategic opportunities
world-wide in the distribution of Internet data and other content via satellite
and related businesses. Through its majority-owned subsidiary, On Command
Corporation, LSAT is a leading provider of in-room movies, broadband access and
other entertainment and business services to the hotel industry. LSAT also
holds strategic ownership positions in a range of video programming,
satellite-delivered broadband distribution and satellite communication
businesses, including Wildblue Communications, Astrolink International, and Sky
Latin America. LSAT is a consolidated subsidiary of Liberty Media
Corporation.
(source: Liberty Media)
PanAmSat Expands Global Satellite/Fibre Hybrid Network
(13 November 2003)
PanAmSat Corporation has announced the acquisition of Sonic Telecom Ltd, a
provider of international high-definition multimedia transmission services and
business applications.
The all-cash transaction will
extend and enhance the reach of PanAmSat's 24-satellite global fleet and its
extensive fibre network throughout the US, Europe and Asia. As a result, the
integration of Sonic Telecom to the PanAmSat infrastructure will provide
customers with a seamless satellite/fibre network that will deliver video
content virtually to or from anywhere in the world in a cost-efficient, secure
manner with robust redundancy.
The Sonic Telecom acquisition is the
second phase of PanAmSat's hybrid satellite/fibre strategy. In April 2003,
PanAmSat entered into an agreement with Level 3 Communications Inc, to utilize
its 20,000-mile broadband fibre optic network and create a virtual teleport. By
connecting PanAmSat's satellite uplink facilities to one of the world's most
advanced terrestrial networks, customers are now able to access the fleet from
any Level 3 network location.
Sonic Telecom brings to PanAmSat its
customer base of multi-national broadcasters and corporate videoconferencing
users, related network management capabilities, a usage-based billing platform
and access to an established international fibre network. In addition, PanAmSat
gains access to an additional 20 points of presence (PoPs) around the world
that are complementary to its existing network. Situated across the US, Europe
and Asia, these co-location sites provide PanAmSat with an immediate expanded
presence in key markets.
Sonic Telecom and PanAmSat already share a
number of common customers including CNN, ABC, Reuters and the NFL. These
customers and many others will now enjoy access to a broader array of services
as well as a single point of contact for all their video distribution content
needs, whether in the air or on the ground. In addition, G2, PanAmSat's
government services division, will also be able to leverage PanAmSat's expanded
hybrid satellite/fibre network to support many defence and homeland security
applications.
(source: PanAmSat)
SpaceDev Auctioning Microsatellite Mission On eBay
(11 November 2003)
SpaceDev is auctioning a world exclusive private space mission on eBay. This
first of its kind eBay auction is being listed for the ten-day period of 8:00
pm (PST) Monday, November 10, through 8:00 pm (PST) Thursday, November
20th.
The SpaceDev space mission auction is at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2572382454&category=45046&rd=1
Most earth orbiting small satellite missions can cost US$ 25 million or
more, not including the launch. To demonstrate the affordability of private
space missions, SpaceDev has posted a “Buy it Now” price of US$ 9.5
million. The high bidder will win a spacecraft based on SpaceDev’s
Maneuvering and orbit Transfer Vehicle (MTV).
The high bidder has the
right to supply his or her own payload, to name the SpaceDev MTV satellite and
to name the mission. The winning bidder, which could be an individual, company
or government agency, can also be involved in the mission design, satellite
assembly and testing (including putting small personal items on the
spacecraft), can attend the launch, and can participate in on-orbit
operations.
The nominal payload is a camera that provides a view of
the launch separation on-orbit, a buyer-controlled camera on the spacecraft
looking back down on earth and into space 24 hours a day, or the buyer can
supply a SpaceDev-approved payload. The microsatellite camera can be operated
over the Internet by the winning bidder, similar to SpaceDev’s CHIPSat
microsat, which is the world’s first orbiting node on the Internet.
Specific terms are included in the eBay auction listing. Search eBay for
“SpaceDev.”
(source: SpaceDev)
Speedus
Announces Globalstar Offer
(14 November 2003) Speedus Corp has announced that it
has made a proposal to acquire all of the assets and operations of Globalstar.
Terms are confidential because of the competitive nature of the bankruptcy sale
process.
Globalstar is a leading provider of global
mobile satellite telecommunications services, offering both voice and data
services from virtually anywhere in over 100 countries around the world.
On February 15, 2002, Globalstar and certain of its subsidiaries filed
voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Globalstar and its
debtor subsidiaries remain in possession of their assets and properties and
continue to operate their businesses as debtors-in-possession.
In the
event that the proposal by Speedus Corp. is accepted, the closing of the
transaction would be subject to a number of conditions, including FCC and
Bankruptcy Court approval, and there is no assurance that the transaction would
close.
(source: Speedus)
StarBand Communications Cleared to Exit Bankruptcy
(13 November 2003)
StarBand has received approval from the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to
emerge from Chapter 11 protection. This is the final clearance required from
the bankruptcy court for StarBand to implement its reorganisation plan. The
effective date of the emergence should occur by the end of November.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on
May 31, 2002 following a major dispute with a strategic partner. Through
settlement of this dispute, renegotiations of key contracts, reductions in
staffing offset by increased automation, creation of a new sales force and
continued addition of new customers, StarBand is poised to emerge a stronger,
more financially stable company.
Despite the challenges of operating
while in Chapter 11, StarBand launched improved services such as the new
commercial-grade StarBand 480 Pro service with faster speeds, an integrated
4-port Ethernet router and compatibility with most operating systems, new
residential service plans with pricing as low as US$ 39.99 per month, and an
extended service protection plan providing post-manufacturer's warranty
hardware replacement and repair reimbursement.
The company's capital
structure has significantly improved with the conversion of approximately US$
113 million of bank debt to equity. In addition, approximately US$ 90 million
of debt to Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd will convert to equity and a US$ 14
million post-emergence note. Further, StarBand and Gilat have entered into a
new technology and hardware supply agreement providing for US$ 7.5 million in
additional financing.
(source: StarBand Communications)
Iowa Thin
Film Technologies
Announces PowerFilm Photovoltaics Products
(11 November 2003) Iowa Thin Film Technologies Inc has
announced the formal launch of its PowerFilm Air and Space Series products for
solar powering and recharging air and space vehicles.
PowerFilm is a disruptive technology for air and space power. It is
lightweight, durable, and low cost. It can reduce up to 90% the cost of
photovoltaics for air and space power.
Iowa Thin Film Technologies is
working with Lockheed Martin (LMT) on the Pentagon's High Altitude Airship
(HAA) program. A completed high altitude airship would be powered by
photovoltaics and used for US border control, and could be used to monitor
incoming enemy missiles and overseas combat zones. The prototype airship would
be stationed at 65,000 feet (12 miles) and is planned to be about 500 feet long
and 160 feet in diameter.
The company also has a development program
with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Kirtland Air Force Base to
continue to improve the low-cost, lightweight solar products for air and space
applications.
PowerFilm products are semiconductor devices deposited
on a paper-thin, durable, flexible polymer substrate. PowerFilm solar panels
are monolithically integrated which improves durability and reduces cost by
eliminating the need for costly and failure-prone manual connection of
individual solar cells. Modules are manufactured on the company's proprietary
roll-to-roll manufacturing technology platform. PowerFilm has a positive
environmental profile: amorphous silicon is the semiconductor absorber layer,
and it is cadmium-free. PowerFilm is manufactured and assembled in the USA.
Iowa Thin Film Technologies has supplied PowerFilm to NASA for several
projects, including the Mars Flyer prototype and fly-by-light demonstrations of
unmanned aerial vehicles.
(source: Iowa Thin Film
Technologies)
Telenor Launches Fleet F55
(11 November 2003) Telenor Satellite Services has
announced the commercial launch of Telenor Fleet F55, the first high-speed data
solution available for coastal and regional vessels and large yachts.
The company also announced that it plans to commercially
launch the third member of the Inmarsat Fleet family, Fleet F33, by the end of
November.
The two new services provide small to medium-sized vessels a
powerful communications solution incorporating global voice and a range of data
and fax services.
Telenor Fleet F55 service offers maritime customers
high-speed data communications, at up to 64 kb/s, in smaller equipment suitable
for smaller vessels. F55 service provides users the flexibility of mobile ISDN
and Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS), where users pay for the amount of
information sent and received rather than for the amount of airtime.
Fleet F55 delivers fast e-mail, Internet and intranet access, image and video
communications, along with the added service benefit of "always on"
connectivity and immediate communications for users opting to use the mobile
packet data service.
Telenor's Fleet F33 brings the benefit of global
voice and advanced data communications to leisure boats, fishing vessels, and
other small vessels that before were unable to enjoy a complete array of
satellite communications due to equipment size and weight. In addition to
global digital calling, Fleet F33 provides a variety of data services at speeds
up to 9.6kbps and Telenor and Inmarsat plan to offer mobile packet data service
for F33 in the future.
Telenor has also enhanced its Fleet F77 service
by adding a new cost-effective 9.6 data and fax capability to its mix of
offerings.
Telenor was among the first Inmarsat service providers to
commercially offer Fleet F77 service in April 2002.
(source:
Telenor)
Andrew Corporation Appoints VP and GM Satellite
Communications
(11
November 2003) Joan M Byrnes has joined Andrew Corporation in the newly created
role of Vice President and General Manager, Satellite Communications. In this
position, she will be responsible for managing Andrew Corporation's global
satellite communications lines of business.
Byrnes was
the former Chief Operating Officer at Loral Skynet, a division of Loral Space
& Communications, where she had responsibility for marketing, sales,
business operations, and profitability for Loral Skynet's product lines.
Prior to the acquisition of AT&T Skynet Satellite Services by Loral
Space & Communications, Joan held a number of senior positions within
AT&T, including leadership roles in strategic planning and business
development, product management, business network sales, and network
operations.
Joan serves on the board of directors of the Society for
Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), a non-profit satellite
association dedicated to providing a forum for increasing awareness and
professionalism in the satellite industry, and is their current chairman. She
is also on the advisory board for SATCON, a conference board focusing
exclusively on applications of satellite technology for existing and emerging
growth segments.
Byrnes holds a BA degree in English from Montclair
State University and an MBA from Rutgers University.
(source: Andrew
Corporation)
Leadership Change at SeaSpace Corporation
(13 November 2003) The Allied Defense Group
Inc has announces the appointment of Bruce Waddell as President of SeaSpace
Corporation, and the planned retirement of current President, Linda Bernstein.
SeaSpace manufactures TeraScan hardware and software products that provide
customers with timely and accurate satellite-derived weather and environmental
information. The transition is effective December 1, 2003.
Mr. Waddell has been Allied's Vice President for Strategic
Planning and Corporate Development since January 2001 and is a former Director.
Previously, he was an executive with GE and Avery Dennison. He led the effort
to bring SeaSpace into the Allied organization in 2002.
Linda
Bernstein, current President of SeaSpace Corporation, will retire after a
distinguished sixteen-year career with the firm, as she requested when Allied
acquired SeaSpace in July of 2002. SeaSpace founder Dr. Robert L. Bernstein
will remain as Chief Technical Officer as planned.
(source: Allied
Defense Group)
NASA
Names New Stennis Space
Center Director and Deputy Director
(12 November 2003) NASA has announced the appointment
of US Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V as the Director, John C. Stennis
Space Center (SSC) effective January 5, 2004 and David Throckmorton as Deputy
Director, effective December 1, 2003.
Donaldson was the
Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC), one of the 30
agencies onsite as part of the "federal city" at SSC. He was selected for rear
admiral (lower half) in February 2000 and took command of NMOC in November
2000. In April 2001, he was designated Hydrographer of the Navy by the Chief of
Naval Operations, representing US naval interests internationally.
The
deputy director at Stennis, Michael Rudolphi, has been interim director since
May 2003. Rudolphi will move to the Marshall Space Flight Center where he will
serve as manager of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office.
Donaldson
graduated in 1975 from the US Naval Academy. He holds bachelor's and master's
degrees in Physical Oceanography and Meteorology from the Naval Academy and a
Master of Science degree in National Strategic Studies from the National War
College, Washington.
Throckmorton was the NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center (MSFC) engineering directorate deputy director. He led a large,
multidisciplinary workforce engaged in engineering design, analyses,
development, and test in support of the broad array of NASA space flight
programs.
Throckmorton joined the MSFC staff in December 2000 as
Deputy Manager of the Structures, Mechanics and Thermal Department. Previously,
he was Manager, Space Transportation Programs Office, at NASA's Langley
Research Center (LaRC). He was responsible for LaRC space
transportation-related technology development activities and program
co-ordination within NASA, Department of Defense and industry
organisations.
He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace
Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and a Master of Science Degree
in Aerospace Engineering from the George Washington University, Washington. He
has authored or co-authored more than 50 technical publications on the subjects
of aerothermodynamics testing techniques and entry vehicle aerothermodynamics
environment definition.
(source: NASA)
Rudolphi Named NASA Space Shuttle Propulsion Manager
(12 November 2003)
NASA's Space Shuttle Program Manager, William Parsons has announced that
Michael Rudolphi has been named manager of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office
at NASA' s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Albama, effective
December 1, 2003.
Rudolphi replaces Alex McCool, who is
serving as a Special Advisor to MSFC Director David King. Rudolphi served as
the Interim Director at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) since July 2003,
managing NASA's rocket propulsion test capabilities and Earth Science
applications.
In his new position, Rudolphi assumes responsibility for
the manufacture, assembly and operation of the primary Space Shuttle propulsion
elements: the main engines, external tank, solid rocket boosters and reusable
solid rocket motors.
Rudolphi began his career with NASA at the
Marshall Center in 1988 as Facility Manager for the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor
Project. He managed the design, construction and operation of an ultra-modern
rocket manufacturing facility. In 1995 he took a special assignment in the MSFC
Resident Office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. He returned to MSFC in 1996 as
Chief Engineer of the Solid Rocket Booster Project. He later served as Solid
Rocket Booster Project Manager and as Manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket
Motor Project prior to becoming Deputy Director at SSC.
Rudolphi
received a bachelor's of science degree in civil engineering in 1971 and a
master's of science degree in civil and structural engineering in 1975 from the
University of Tennessee.
(source: NASA)
Warren Brown Joins iDirect Technologies
(10 November 2003)
iDirect Technologies, a privately held company that designs, develops, and
markets bi-directional satellite-based broadband access solutions, has
recruited Warren Brown, a veteran of The Boeing Company and McDonnell Douglas,
and most recently director of marketing and corporate communications for
Iridium Satellite LLC, to be its vice president of marketing and corporate
communications.
Mr. Brown brings to his new post more
than 20 years of corporate awareness and business communications experience,
including extensive global branding and marketing achievements with Fortune 25
companies as well as start-up ventures.
Brown was responsible for
establishing Iridium Satellite as a provider of global mobile satellite voice,
paging and data solutions with complete coverage of the earth's oceans, airways
and polar regions. By driving the development and execution of Iridium's
marketing, image and awareness strategies, he played a critical role in
attracting the necessary customer attention and garnering the proper exposure
to help Iridium Satellite reach a financial milestone of cash break-even less
than three years after the company was re-launched out of bankruptcy under new
structure and ownership.
Prior to joining Iridium, he had an extensive
career with The Boeing Company where he was the director of advertising and
international public relations. He was a key individual in the launch of
multiple product and corporate awareness campaigns for The Boeing Company after
its merger with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. He has also worked as the executive
vice president and board member for Inflightonline, an aviation-based
communications start-up company and also spent several years in senior level
positions within the advertising industry.
Brown holds a bachelor's
degree in advertising design from California State University - Long Beach, as
well as an MBA in Business Communications from Almeda University.
(source: iDirect)
