1 June 2003
Satcoms
Lufthansa and Boeing Sign Broadband Service Agreement
SES Americom to
Expand DigitalC Platform on AMC-10 & AMC-11 Satellites
ViaSat Provides LinkStar Network to
IP Access International for Multiemedia in Australia
Earth
Observation
Satellite Imagery Improves Agriculture Techniques
Navigation
First EGNOS Signal in Space
Galileo Becomes a Reality for
Europe
Science
New Destination for
Rosetta, Europe's Comet Chaser
Scientists Eager to Get On Board ExoMars
Manned
Space
NASA Opens Applications for New Astronaut Class
SAIC Wins NASA Orbital Space Plane
Contract
Technology
Uni-Solar
Awarded US$ 11.5 Million Contract by USAF Research Laboratory
Launch
Services
Securing
Europe's Access to Space, Now and For the Future
Launches
Beidou 1C
Launch Schedule
Business
California Amplifier Announces Restructuring
Actions
Products and Services
Actel Introduces 1553B Bus Controller Core for Military,
Space and Avionics Markets
Actel's Space FPGAs Break 1-Million Gate Barrier
Square Peg
Communications Extends Physical Layer Tester Product Line To Inmarsat
BGAN
People
Allen Flynt Named AMES Deputy Center Director
DigitalGlobe Names New
President
Steve Doering Named EVA Project Office Acting
Manager
Lufthansa and Boeing Sign Broadband Service Agreement
(27 May 2003) Lufthansa
and Boeing have signed a definitive service agreement that solidifies the
European air carrier's position as the launch customer for the Connexion by
Boeing mobile information service and a leader in bringing broadband
connectivity to passengers in flight.
The agreement
calls for the Connexion by Boeing service to be installed on Lufthansa's fleet
of approximately 80 long-haul aircraft, including Boeing 747-400 and Airbus
A330 and A340 aircraft, beginning in early 2004.
While financial terms
of the service agreement were not disclosed, executives from both companies
believe the advent of high-speed connectivity will be a significant benefit for
airline passengers and for airline operators world-wide.
In
preparation for the commercial service introduction, Connexion by Boeing and
Lufthansa are working on a host of payment options that will allow passengers
to enjoy full access to the Internet including the use of Miles and More bonus
miles or payment of a nominal service access fee.
In addition to the
agreement with Lufthansa, Connexion by Boeing also signed an agreement with
Lufthansa Technik AG to support the installation of the mobile information
service on the Lufthansa fleet. Based on the terms of the agreement, Lufthansa
Technik will support Connexion by Boeing in the design, planning and
installation of the service and also produce a corresponding installation kit
and supporting service bulletins that will be provided to the Boeing team.
(source: Connexion by Boeing)
SES
Americom to Expand
DigitalC Platform on AMC-10 & AMC-11 Satellites
(28 May 2003) SES Americom has announced the
planned expansion of its DigitalC cable programming distribution service to its
premier cable neighbourhood, aboard the AMC-10 and AMC-11 satellites, in early
2004. By offering DigitalC aboard these next generation spacecraft, small and
large programmers can take advantage of cost-effective, customised solutions to
improve their programming delivery capabilities, regardless of digital
platform, bandwidth, format requirements or geographic location.
SES Americom's premier cable neighbourhood, which currently
reaches every cable household aboard the Satcom C-3 and C-4 satellites, will
get a boost in power, redundancy, and reach once it moves to the AMC-10 and
AMC-11 C band satellites at orbital slots 135° and 131° W. More than
half of the capacity aboard the two state-of-the-art spacecraft is already
under contract 10 months before launch.
Each transponder aboard AMC-10
and AMC-11 will have 20 watt SSPAs, an increase over predecessors Satcom C-3
and C-4. In addition, a higher level of on-board redundancy plus an in-orbit
protection satellite, AMC-7, currently operating at 137° W., will provide
an enhanced level of protection for programming services.
(source: SES
Americom)
ViaSat Provides LinkStar Network to IP Access International for
Multiemedia in Australia
(28 May 2003) ViaSat Inc has won a contract from IP
Access International for a fully redundant LinkStar hub to be deployed for
Multiemedia Ltd in Australia. IP Access International along with sister
companies Advanced Projects International and Kavera Software will be providing
an application distribution system for Multiemedia for service throughout
Australia and greater Asia.
Kavera software enables
users to buy service applications and bandwidth on a pay-as-you-use basis,
tracking service use so customers pay only for the service they need.
IP Access International (IPA), based in Petaluma, California, is part of the
Cornisica family of companies, which also includes Advanced Projects
International and Kavera. IPA was delivers high-performance, end-to-end
networking for wireless voice, video, and data over satellite.
(source: ViaSat)
Satellite Imagery Improves Agriculture Techniques
(28 May 2003) Bowles Farming, an agriculture
customer in Los Banos, California, is using 30 foot resolution SPOT satellite
imagery from DigitalGlobe for precision farming applications, land acquisition
assessment, and improved crop quality, asset and nutrition management. In
addition to providing the imagery, DigitalGlobe worked closely with Bowles
Farming to train company representatives on the use and interpretation of
digital satellite imagery.
Bowles Farming is a
12,000-acre family farm producing cotton, alfalfa and small grains crops. In
April 2002, Cannon Michael, business operations manager for the farm, noticed
that 45 acres within a 141-acre field of cotton were producing poor yields due
to leakage from an irrigation canal that was causing salt build-up in the
soil.
The initial proposed solution was to install tile along the
entire length of the canal to provide adequate drainage and divert excess
water. This solution would cost US$ 127,000 for the purchase of 9,700 feet of
tile and two pumps. After examining DigitalGlobe's AgroWatch maps produced from
SPOT imagery captured in August 2002, Cannon determined the size of the total
affected area was less than half of what he initially anticipated - 4,250 feet
rather than 9,700 feet. Once the actual extent of the drainage problem was
identified through satellite imagery, Cannon determined that he required only
4,250 feet of tile and one pump, saving the farm US$ 69,000 on materials alone.
The anticipated revenue increase on the yield is expected to be US$ 17,150
after the first year.
Bowles Farming views precision agriculture and
other new technologies as a way to achieve production goals while maintaining a
commitment to providing high-quality crops at lower production costs. In
addition to identifying trouble areas, the company is using AgroWatch maps to
optimise the number of acres farmed. The short-term use of these information
products includes understanding field variations, identifying opportunities and
implementing remediation where possible. In the long-term, Bowles Farming will
use the imagery to improve crop quality, nutrition and asset management, as
well as assess land acquisitions.
AgroWatch products are produced from
satellite imagery by DigitalGlobe to meet information needs of the agricultural
community. The AgroWatch Green Vegetation Index aids growers and consultants in
making quicker and quantitative scouting and land management decisions.
ScoutAide shows the absolute amount of vegetation change and is most valuable
for identifying problem areas where the crop is changing faster than expected
or validating the result of changing production practices. The AgroWatch Soil
Zone map provides users insight into the influence of surface soil
characteristics on vegetation health. Combined, these maps are critical for
improving production practices over time.
DigitalGlobe has exclusive
rights to sell SPOT satellite imagery products and services to customers in the
US agriculture and defence markets. SPOT products are used by government and
commercial clients in the agriculture market to provide very rapid and current
information on crop conditions both locally and world-wide for market
forecasting, disaster response and long-term planning.
(source:
DigitalGlobe)
First
EGNOS Signal in
Space
(26 May 2003)
After several years of initial definition, detailed design, production and
deployment activities, the EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
Service) system started its first signal transmission tests in April.
This system is Europe's first venture into satellite
navigation and by early next year will deliver the first European Satellite
Navigation service. It will augment the two military satellite navigation
systems now operating, the US GPS and Russian GLONASS, making them suitable for
many mass market applications such as car navigation, bus and truck fleet
management, but also for specific applications such as assisting blind people
when walking in an unknown area. In addition, after a certification process,
EGNOS will be used for safety-critical applications such as flying aircraft or
navigating ships through narrow channels.
When completed, EGNOS will
consist of three geostationary satellites and a network of ground stations that
will transmit signals containing information on the reliability and accuracy of
the positioning signals sent out by GPS and GLONASS. It will enable users in
Europe and beyond to determine their position within 2 m compared with about 20
m with GPS. Since 2000 a prototype of the system (the EGNOS System Test Bed,
ESTB) has been providing test signals, fully demonstrating its worth and
validity.
By spring 2004 the full network needed for this augmentation
system will have been deployed all around Europe and beyond. It will comprise
monitoring stations, called RIMSs (Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations),
and several Master Control Centres, the first of which is already installed in
Langen, Germany.
Altogether, nearly 40 stations will be deployed.
This installation phase includes the testing of all equipment. This
necessitates the availability of a signal in space and that is why the first
signal is so important.
EGNOS is a joint project of the European Space
Agency, the European Commission and Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for
the Safety of Air Navigation. It is Europe's contribution to the first stage of
the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and is a precursor to Galileo,
the full global satellite navigation system under development in Europe.
This "first signal in space" of the satellite system will be relayed from
the first EGNOS master control centre in Europe, located in the DFS air traffic
control centre in Langen, near Frankfurt, Germany.
(source:
ESA)
Galileo Becomes a Reality for Europe
(26 May 2003) The European Space Agency (ESA)
is now able to finalise the conditions for participation in the Galileo
navigation programme and to approve the Galileo Joint Undertaking foundation
act to be soon signed by ESA and the European Union.
The
agreement reached among ESA member states clears the way for the official
launch of the legal entity which will have the task of co-ordinating ESA and EU
involvement in Galileo, the European initiative to develop a global satellite
navigation system.
The Galileo Joint Undertaking, to be headquartered
in Brussels, has a key part to play in implementing the various phases of the
programme. This unique organisational structure will pave the way for the
entity that will in due course operate the Galileo system. It will be
responsible for the Galileo development and validation phase and also for
preparations for system deployment and operations.
The founding
members of the Galileo Joint Undertaking are the European Space Agency and the
European Union, represented by the European Commission.
Galileo will
complement the existing satellite navigation system, which presently relies
entirely on GPS, the American Global Positioning System. Developed by ESA and
the EU on the basis of equal co-funding, Galileo is designed to provide a
complete civil system. Scheduled to be operational by 2008, it will offer the
citizens of Europe and the world an accurate and secure satellite positioning
capability.
A broad range of applications will be supported by the
system : control of road, rail and sea traffic, synchronised data transmission
between computers, and many others. Projections point to very significant
economic benefits, with a return on investment of 4.6 and creation of over
140,000 jobs.
Galileo is the first instance of a project carried out
jointly by the European Space Agency and the European Union.
The
Galileo system will be built around 30 satellites (27 operational and 3 reserve
craft) occupying three circular earth orbits, inclined at 56° to the
Equator, at an altitude of 23,616 km. This configuration will provide excellent
coverage of the planet. Two Galileo control centres will be established in
Europe to control satellite operations and manage the navigation system.
(source: ESA)
New
Destination for
Rosetta, Europe's Comet Chaser
(28 May 2003) Comet-chasing mission Rosetta will now
set its sights on Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. During its meeting on 13-14th
May, ESA's Science Programme Committee decided Rosetta's new mission baseline.
The spacecraft will be launched in February 2004 from Kourou, French Guiana,
using an Ariane-5 G+ launcher. The rendezvous with the new target comet is
expected in November 2014.
The choice of a new comet has
required intensive efforts, including observations by telescopes such as the
Hubble Space Telescope and the ESO Very Large Telescope to ensure that as much
as possible is known about the new target. The cost of the Rosetta launch delay
is estimated at round 70 million Euros. The ESA Ministerial Council has
resolved the financial issue by approving financial flexibility at Agency
level.
Scientists will now investigate an alternative launch to this
comet, in February 2005, as a back-up plan. Rendezvous with the comet is
expected in November 2014.
(source: ESA)
Scientists Eager to Get On Board ExoMars
(26 May 2003) For centuries, mankind has
wondered whether alien life exists on another planet in our solar system. One
of the most promising places to discover signs of life beyond Earth is the
planet Mars, and scientists around the globe are clamouring for an opportunity
to participate in ExoMars, an exobiology mission which is being planned as part
of ESA's pioneering Aurora Programme.
Earlier this year,
ESA issued a call for ideas for the Pasteur instrument payload that will be
carried on the ExoMars rover. The response has been remarkable, with some 580
investigators from 30 countries expressing the desire to participate in this
exciting mission.
Over the next few months, the flood of proposals
will be subjected to a rigorous peer review in order to select the most
appropriate technologies to achieve the mission objectives. Working groups of
scientists from the teams that put forward the most promising proposals will
then be given the opportunity to define the composition of the Pasteur payload
that will eventually travel to Mars.
ExoMars, the first Flagship
mission in ESA’s long-term Aurora Programme, is currently scheduled for
launch in 2009.
The primary objective of ExoMars will be to search for
signs of life, past or present, on the Red Planet. Secondary objectives will be
to identify potential surface hazards to future human missions, to determine
the distribution of water on Mars and to measure the chemical composition of
the surface rocks.
These studies will be undertaken by a large (230
kg), high-mobility rover equipped with a comprehensive suite of scientific
instruments - the Pasteur payload. The instrument mass of this payload is
anticipated to be around 30 kg.
The final decision on ExoMars will be
taken at the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in late 2004.
(source:
ESA)
NASA
Opens Applications for
New Astronaut Class
(27 May 2003) NASA is accepting applications for
mission specialist and pilot astronaut candidates to join the 2004 Astronaut
Candidate Class.
Typically, successful applicants for
the mission specialist astronaut positions have significant qualifications in
engineering or science, while pilot candidates must have extensive experience
flying high-performance jet aircraft.
Following an intensive six-month
period of evaluation and interviews, the final selections will be announced in
early 2004. Astronaut candidates will report to the Johnson Space Center during
the summer of 2004 to begin the basic training program to prepare them for
future spaceflight assignments.
The application deadline is July 1,
2003. Applications received after July 1 will not be considered for the 2004
class but will remain on file for subsequent selection cycles.
The
Astronaut Candidate Class of 2004 also will include educator astronauts,
teachers who will join NASA's astronaut corps and encourage students to pursue
studies in math and science. The Educator Astronaut Program (EAP) was announced
in January, and applications closed April 30. More than 1,100 EAP applications
have been processed.
(source: NASA)
SAIC Wins NASA Orbital Space Plane Contract
(27 May 2003) Science
Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) Space, Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences (SEAS) Group has announced a four-year, US$ 48 million contract award
to provide professional and engineering services to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) on the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) project.
The OSP is a next generation system of space vehicles that
will be designed under the Space Launch Initiative program to safely and
efficiently transport crew to and from orbit and to provide crew rescue and
logistical support to the International Space Station. Under the terms of the
contract, technical services will be performed at the Johnson Space Center,
Orbital Space Plane Project Office, in Houston, Texas, by SAIC's Assurance
Engineering Operation (AEO).
SAIC will be responsible for providing
technical services in the areas of vehicle engineering, crew survival and
escape, and systems engineering. SAIC also will provide management services to
include schedules, configuration management, risk management, and financial
planning and cost control.
Members of the SAIC-led team include Muniz
Engineering Inc, headquartered in Houston, Texas; GeoControl Systems Inc,
Houston, Texas; W de Y Associates Inc, Houston, Texas; and Prairie View A&M
University, based in Prairie View, Texas.
(source: SAIC)
Uni-Solar Awarded US$ 11.5 Million Contract by USAF Research
Laboratory
(28 May
2003) United Solar Systems Corp (Uni-Solar), the world leader in thin-film
amorphous silicon solar technology and a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy
Conversion Devices Inc (ECD Ovonics) has been awarded an $11.5 million,
18-month contract to develop new solar cell technology to be used in space and
airship vehicles addressing defence and homeland security applications by the
US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. AFRL has an
option to fund the company an additional US$ 7.8 million.
The contract builds upon the success of earlier contracts
with the Air Force and will fund research activities to develop
ultra-lightweight solar arrays as the next-generation solar power technology
for Air Force missions using advanced materials and innovative manufacturing
technology. It will be administered by the Advanced Space Power Generation
Group in the Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research
Laboratory.
Uni-Solar space photovoltaic (PV) products offer an
ultra-light, low- cost alternative to conventional space PV modules made of
crystalline silicon or gallium arsenide. The Uni-Solar triple-junction modules,
originally developed for terrestrial applications, are made of amorphous
silicon based thin-film alloys which are deposited on a 5-mil flexible
stainless steel substrate. By utilising a polymeric or a thinner stainless
substrate, new space cells will be developed that have a specific power density
greater than 600 watts per kilogram (W/kg). This is significantly higher than
what is currently available. A high specific power density is required for
airship application and, considering the high launching cost of satellites,
lightweight cells also are economically attractive for space application.
Furthermore, the radiation hardness and superior high-temperature performance
of amorphous silicon make it an attractive material for space application.
(source: Uni-Solar)
Securing Europe's Access to Space, Now and For the Future
(27 May 2003) Ministers
in charge of space affairs in Europe have agreed on steps to put Ariane 5 back
on track and set up development of future launchers within a reorganised
launcher sector, free funds for the International Space Station and strengthen
relations between ESA and the European Union, while Galileo has become a
reality for Europe.
The Ministers responsible for space
matters in ESA's fifteen Member States and Canada have held a one-day meeting
at the Agency's Paris headquarters. This was a follow-on from the ministerial
gathering that took place in November 2001 in Edinburgh, where they had taken a
number of important decisions on current programmes and new initiatives, with
the overarching ambition to place space at the service of European citizens.
Whereas the Edinburgh decisions had been implemented, new decisions were
required now to help ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of space,
especially in the field of launch systems, and that space is fully recognised
as a key to efficient implementation of major European policies in such areas
as transport, the environment, science, and security in the broadest sense.
The decisions taken are critical to safeguarding Europe's guaranteed
access to space. The Ministers have helped ESA restore the competitiveness of
Europe's launcher system, restructure its launcher sector and prepare the
future generation of launchers. In addition, they decided to unblock funds for
exploitation of the International Space Station and reaffirmed their commitment
to closer co-operation with the European Union.
In particular, the
Ministers decided to support Europe's commercial launch operator, Arianespace,
in the resumption of production of the "generic" version of Ariane 5 in order
to guarantee continuity in launcher operations. At the same time they decided
to support the qualification of the new and more powerful version (ECA, for a
10t lift-off capacity) by means of two flights in 2004 and to reduce production
costs further. In order to sustain Europe's guaranteed access to space, the
Ministers also agreed on a specific programme over the period 2005-2009 aimed
at intensifying the institutional use of Ariane 5.
In addition to this
first set of measures to overcome present difficulties in the launcher sector,
which is undergoing a severe world-wide crisis, structural measures have been
taken to secure the robustness of the overall European launcher sector,
demonstrating political will to strengthen the sector.
First, the
Ministers supported the need to reorganise the launcher sector so as to
establish a strong link between production and development. They also decided
to prepare for development of the next generation of launchers, thereby
improving Europe's competitiveness in the field, and to build up international
co-operation. This co-operation, initially with Russia, includes operation of
the Russian Soyuz launcher by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre,
Europe's spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, as from 2006.
Through the
decisions taken by the Ministers and the related exceptional and structural
measures, Europe's guaranteed access to space will be restored and its future
will be secured.
Another subject dealt with by the Ministers was
Europe's exploitation of the International Space Station. At the previous
Ministerial meeting, in Edinburgh, part of the funds necessary for European
exploitation of the Space Station had been blocked pending confirmation that
the American partner would honour commitments it had given previously, showing
that Europe was indeed willing to co-operate, but not at any price. The
Ministers now agreed to unblock a first part of the ISS Exploitation Programme
funds, to cover time-critical activities mainly related to the availability of
ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and to the European ISS ground segment.
Timely availability of the ATV will help to make up for a reduced Shuttle fleet
after the Columbia accident. The Ministers also addressed the relationship
between ESA and the European Union, which has become a regular feature of the
meetings at ministerial level. The first Resolution adopted at the Edinburgh
meeting in November 2001 had reflected a very positive outcome with respect to
this relationship, calling in particular for a framework agreement to formalise
co-operation between the two organisations. Since then, this subject has
received attention at the highest political level, as seen in the co-operation
between the European Commission and ESA on drafting the Green Paper on European
Space Policy and also in the possible inclusion of space matters in the revised
mandate of the European Union, currently under consideration by the European
Convention.
New steps have therefore been taken towards a closer
relationship between ESA and the Union. The Ministers expressed their wish to
see it deepened and developed further, and urged the Agency to complete, before
the end of 2003, the framework agreement to form the basis on which ESA and the
EU will work together permanently.
In addition, the Ministers noted
that Europe is now in a position to finalise the conditions for participation
in the Galileo navigation programme. The agreement reached among ESA Member
States clears the way for the official launch of the Joint Undertaking between
ESA and the European Union, the legal entity that will have the task of
co-ordinating their co-operation on Galileo, the European initiative to develop
a global satellite navigation system.
On the space science programme,
the Ministers welcomed ESA's Science Programme Committee's decision on
Rosetta's new mission baseline: the spacecraft will be launched in February
2004 from Kourou, French Guiana, using an Ariane 5 launcher. The rendezvous
with the new target comet, Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is expected in November
2014.
The cost of the Rosetta launch delay has created a cash-flow
problem for the science programme, which is currently operating under tight
budgetary restrictions, but this problem will now be resolved by the ESA
Council, through approval of financial flexibility at Agency level.
(source: ESA)
Beidou
1C
Launched: 24 May 2003
Site: Xichang, Sichuan province, China
Launcher: Long March 3A
Orbit:
GEO
International Number: 2003-021A
Name: Beidou 1C
Beidou 1C
is a Chinese navigational satellite. It is the third and final satellite
launched for the system. The previous two satellites were launched in late
2000.
California Amplifier Announces Restructuring Actions
(30 May 2003) California Amplifier Inc has announced
that it has taken certain restructuring actions in response to a substantial
reduction in orders from the primary customers of its Satellite business
unit.
In response to this downturn in its Satellite business, during
the fiscal 2004 first quarter ending May 31, 2003, the Company reduced its
workforce by approximately 50%, which reductions included approximately 225
contract workers. After giving effect to these reductions, the Company has
approximately 285 employees. In addition, the Company is in the process of
consolidating its two satellite dish antenna manufacturing operations in
Wisconsin into a single facility.
The Company has been advised by
these Satellite customers that the principal reason for the order reductions is
because the customers have accumulated excess inventory levels. The Company
believes this situation will adversely affect its sales and results of
operations for at least the first two quarters of fiscal 2004. The Company
believes that this significant decline in Satellite product orders is a
temporary condition. However, the Company is currently evaluating other
potential restructuring actions that it may undertake in the event the downturn
in its Satellite business persists longer than is currently expected.
(source: California Amplifier)
Actel
Introduces 1553B Bus
Controller Core for Military, Space and Avionics Markets
(26 May 2003) Actel
Corporation has developed a MIL-STD-1553B bus controller core for space,
avionics and military applications in which high-reliability and system
redundancy are essential.
Designed for use with Actel's
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), including the new space-qualified
RTAX-S products the Core1553BBC intellectual property (IP) core is the only
single-chip, FPGA-based, radiation-tolerant MIL-STD-1553B bus controller
currently available. The second core in Actel's MIL-STD-1553B product offering,
the Actel solution speeds time to market and reduces design and assembly costs
when compared with available fixed-semiconductor 1553B products that require
separate board components. The company also introduced a fully validated
Core1553BBC evaluation board to help simplify design execution and test.
The second core in Actel's MIL-STD-1553B product offering, the Core1553BBC
is a complete dual-redundant bus controller that can interface to standard
external transceivers. Actel's new bus controller solution provides low-power
operation at 12, 16, 20 and 24 MHz. Delivering a complete solution, Actel
provides everything needed to incorporate a 1553B bus controller into a system
design, including an evaluation board, development tools, documentation and
software.
Since reliability is essential for this application, the
core has been thoroughly verified in simulation and on a certified
MIL-STD-1553B evaluation board. Programmed with both CorePCI and Core1553BBC
functionality, the Core1553BBC evaluation board is a PCI add-in card with a
dual-coaxial connection, which allows the personal computer to communicate via
the 1553B bus. Included on the evaluation board are an Actel FPGA, synchronous
SRAM memory, a 1553B transceiver, two 1553B transformers and a serial port.
Pricing for the Core1553BBC is US$ 9,995 for a single-use netlist. The
Core1553BBC evaluation board is priced at US$ 1,800 and is expected to be
available in June 2003.
(source: Actel Corporation)
Actel's
Space FPGAs Break
1-Million Gate Barrier
(26 May 2003) Actel Corporation has unveiled its
next-generation, radiation-tolerant RTAX-S field-programmable gate array (FPGA)
offerings.
With densities up to 2-million equivalent
system gates (approximately 250,000 ASIC equivalent gates), the new
space-optimised, high-density, single-chip devices offer key features, such as
hardened registers that offer practical single-event upset (SEU) immunity and,
for the first time, usable error-corrected onboard RAM. These features position
the RTAX-S family as the only viable radiation-tolerant alternative to
application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that meets the density,
performance and radiation-resistance requirements of many satellite
applications. Actel's RTAX-S devices will allow the company to aggressively
target bus and payload applications in low-, mid- and geosynchronous-earth
orbit satellites.
The RTAX-S devices offer inherent single-event
latchup (SEL) immunity; >37MeV-cm2/mg SEU capability; and total ionising
dose (TID) performance in excess of 200 Krads. The family also features
embedded RAM with an upset rate of less than 1E-10 errors/bit-day with error
detection and correction (EDAC). With 2-million system gates, the largest
device in the family, the RTAX2000S, contains support for up to 288k bits of
embedded SRAM; 684 user I/Os; and 10,752 SEU-hardened registers.
Based
on Actel's AX architecture and scalable platform, the RTAX-S devices include
several key architectural advancements: an embedded FIFO controller; a fully
fracturable SuperCluster that allows high logic module utilisation; a core tile
structure that provides tighter clock skew across the device; and a flexible
clock structure with eight global clocks available equally across the chip,
eliminating the need for clock floorplanning and easing design migration.
To complement the high densities and performance of the RTAX-S family,
Actel offers a new MIL-STD-1553B bus controller intellectual property (IP)
core, the company's second MIL-STD-1553B offering. The Core1553BBC is a
complete dual-redundant bus controller that can interface to standard external
transceivers. Actel's new bus controller solution provides low-power operation
at 12, 16, 20 and 24 MHz. Delivering a complete solution, Actel provides
everything needed to incorporate a 1553B bus controller into a system design,
including an evaluation board, development tools, documentation and
software.
To enable board-level functional verification and simulation
of production-qualified solutions, Actel is offering RTAX-S prototyping
capability via hardware adapters that leverage the company's commercial
Axcelerator FPGAs, which are also based on the AX architecture. Additionally,
Actel's RTAX-S prototyping solution includes software support for error
detection and correction IP, which mitigates SEUs in the user memory.
The RTAX-S family is supported by the Actel Libero integrated design
environment and Actel Designer tool suite, which includes place and route,
timing analysis and memory generation functionality. Additional support for the
family is provided by hird-party tools from Model Technology, Mentor Graphics,
Synplicity, Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys.
Prototyping
capability for the first members of the RTAX-S family, the RTAX1000S and
RTAX2000S, which offer 1-million and 2-million equivalent system gates,
respectively, is currently available with production scheduled to begin in 2H
2004.
(source: Actel Corporation)
Square
Peg Communications
Extends Physical Layer Tester Product Line To Inmarsat BGAN
(27 May 2003) Square
Peg Communications Inc (SPCI) has extended its Physical Layer Tester (PLT)
product line to support equipment being developed for the Inmarsat Broadband
Global Area Network (BGAN) service.
BGAN will allow
Inmarsat to deliver Internet and intranet content and solutions,
video-on-demand, video conferencing, e-mail, LAN access at speeds up to 432
kb/s as well as voice communications to approximately 70% of the world’s
surface via notebook or palm top computers. A variety of terminal types,
ranging from fixed-mounted to notebook (A4) size or pocket (A5) size will be
supported.
SPCI’s equipment supports the testing and
qualification of both User Terminal (UT) and Radio Access Node (RAN)
implementations. It includes a comprehensive satellite channel simulator, which
enables the introduction of impairments into the transmitted signal, and signal
analysis software, which allows the performance of the transmitter under test
to be automatically compared with SDM specifications. It also includes fully
compliant modulators and demodulators for physical layer evaluation and
over-the-air testing.
Square Peg currently manufactures Physical Layer
Testers for all of the modern Inmarsat networks, including mini-M, Global Area
Network Mobile ISDN and Mobile Packet Data, Inmarsat-Aero, Fleet F77/F55 and
Swift64.
(source: Square Peg Communications)
Allen
Flynt Named AMES Deputy
Center Director
(30
May 2003) G Allen Flynt has been named deputy director at NASA's Ames Research
Center, Moffett Field, California, effective August 3. Flynt comes to Ames from
the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston where he served as manager of
the Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Project Office.
As
Manager of JSC's EVA Project Office, Flynt developed hardware, integration
standards, capabilities, services, techniques, templates, and other information
necessary to provide spacewalking services to the Space Shuttle and
International Space Station programs. More recently, Flynt was among the senior
NASA officials tasked to help direct debris recovery efforts for the Space
Shuttle Columbia in Lufkin, Texas.
Flynt began his NASA career in 1986
as an analyst in the National Space Transportation System program control
office at JSC. He next worked as an analyst in the Orbiter Project Office
before moving on to serve in the Space Shuttle program control arena. He
managed the extra-vehicular activity mobility unit project from 1992 until 1995
and has held various leadership and management roles in the International Space
Station Program and EVA Project offices.
Flynt holds a bachelor's
degree in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University, College
Station.
(source: NASA AMES)
DigitalGlobe Names New President
(27 May 2003) DigitalGlobe has announced that Henry
Dubois has been promoted to serve as president, in addition to his role as COO
and CFO, for DigitalGlobe. Herb Satterlee remains as CEO and chairman of the
board.
Dubois joined DigitalGlobe in September 1999 as
CFO and COO, responsible for all financial and commercial business aspects of
the company. Dubois has over 18 years of experience in strategic, financial and
operational management. Previously, Dubois led a telecommunications and
multimedia company in Indonesia as CEO and CFO, led strategic planning and
business development functions for Asian conglomerates, provided strategic and
operational consulting advice as a consultant for Booz, Allen, Hamilton (BAH),
established and managed financial and administrative operations for BAH's
offices in Asia, managed accounting units and handled internal audit
assignments for Exxon Corporation.
(source: DigitalGlobe)
Steve
Doering Named EVA
Project Office Acting Manager
(30 May 2003) Steve Doering has been named acting
manager of the Extravehicular Activities Project Office at the Johnson Space
Center.
Doering replaces Allen Flynt, who has accepted
an assignment as deputy director of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field,
California. The EVA Project Office at JSC oversees all areas of spacewalk
activity, including planning, training, integration and operations. The office
also oversees the development of spacesuits, spacewalking systems, support
equipment and advanced spacesuit technology.
A 20-year veteran
aerospace engineer, Doering began his career at JSC as a flight activities
flight controller in Mission Control. He has supported human space flight in a
variety of positions as both a contractor and civil servant, including
subsequent flight control positions within Mission Control overseeing
environmental control and life support and EVA systems. Doering has served as
deputy manager of the EVA Project Office since 2001.
(source: NASA
JSC)
