20 April 2003
Satcoms
BMW North America Signs with HNS to Connect Dealer Network
HNS Signs Two New
Contracts Worth US$ 24M with GTech Corporation
SkyFrames to Integrate CyberGuard
Corp's Security Solutions Into Its Broadband Connectivity Service
Spacenet
Provides GTECH with VSAT Terminals for State Lottery Systems in Idaho and
California
Spacenet to Provide Dairy Queen with Broadband Internet
Access
Earth
Observation
DigitalGlobe Imagery Helps Management of Walrus
Populations
Israeli University to Buy Integral Systems' Skylight Satellite
Downlink System
NASA Takes a Look at Menacing Peruvian Glacier
RSI and Jeppesen to Improve Aviation
Safety by Mapping 289 Airports World-wide
SeaSpace Corporation Announces Key
Strategic Partnership
Navigation
ITT Industries Awarded US$ 31 Million Contract to
Modernise GPS Satellites
Safer Navigation Means More Helicopters Saving
Lives
Military
Space
Harris Corporation Completes Testing of Ka Band Antennas for
Wideband Gapfiller Satellite Program
Science
Ball Aerospace Selected by NASA for Next Medium-Class
Explorer Missions
Manned
Space
ESA Contracts With CNES for Automated Transfer Vehicle Control
Centre
Scaled Composites Unveils Sub-Orbital Spacecraft
Technology
Boeing Launches Orbital Space Plane Design
SSTL Wins Two Propulsion
Contracts
Swales Aerospace Demonstrates Low-Energy, Dry Planetary Drill
Instrument
Launch
Services
Herley Receives
US$ 3.05 Million in Contracts to Supply Launcher Tracking
Transponders
Launches
Launch Schedule
Business
EMS Technologies Signs NSSL as Master Distributor of
Fleet 55 Terminal
Intelsat Opens New Office for Customers in Middle East and North
Africa
XCOR Secures
US$ 187,500 Equity Investment
Products and Services
Consumer Do Want PVRs, But Only If The Price Is Right!
Loral Launches the
SkyReach Global IP-Based Solution
People
Connexion by Boeing Names Friedman Vice President of
Marketing
LiftPort Announces Appointment of Chief Operations
Officer
BMW North America Signs with HNS to Connect Dealer
Network
(15 April
2003) Hughes Network Systems (HNS) has announced a new multi-million dollar,
three-year contract with BMW of North America LLC to provide the leading auto
manufacturer and distributor with added value network services.
This agreement is a continuation of an original VSAT
contract signed in 1996 which has progressively expanded to meet BMW's growing
customer needs to simplify larger file transfers, interactive distance
learning, and multicast distribution of sales, service and maintenance related
content.
HNS
Signs Two New Contracts
Worth US$ 24M with GTech Corporation
(14 April 2003) Hughes Network Systems (HNS) has
signed two new technology and service contracts valued at US$ 24 million with
GTech Corporation, the world's leading provider of transaction processing
systems and services to the lottery industry.
Under a
seven-year technology contract, HNS will expand upon GTech's two dedicated
satellite hubs to support more than 9,300 new units of its DirecWay 4020
satellite terminals. The addition of these units brings the total count of
HNS-equipped GTech terminals to more than 16,300 since December 2002.
Along with the technology contract, GTech signed a new ten-year services
agreement with HNS.
The DirecWay 4020 series is designed for
enterprise users that need a fast, always-on broadband solution. It operates
from a self-hosted processor, eliminating the need for a dedicated host PC and
works independently of the networked computers, yielding overall greater
network reliability and robustness.
SkyFrames to Integrate CyberGuard Corp's Security Solutions Into
Its Broadband Connectivity Service
(15 April 2003) SkyFrames Inc will incorporate
information security solutions from CyberGuard Corporation, a leading
international provider of information security solutions to Global 2000
companies and governments world-wide, to enhance the security of satellite
broadband communications. CyberGuard's award winning firewall/VPN appliance
products and services protect the integrity of data and applications from
unauthorised access.
Satellite Broadband services are
inherently more secure than terrestrial communications. The
SkyFrames/CyberGuard offering enhances the security to the SkyFrames Broadband
offering. SkyFrames will integrate the CyberGuard product suite into its
satellite broadband product portfolio.
SkyFrames' proprietary Patent
Pending VOS (Virtual Onboard Switch) system was designed to provide highly
secure, high- speed data and voice transmission for government agencies and
institutions where security is of the utmost importance.
Spacenet
Provides GTECH with
VSAT Terminals for State Lottery Systems in Idaho and California
(14 April 2003) Gilat
subsidiary Spacenet Inc has received purchase orders from lottery services
provider GTECH Corporation for 1,250 Gilat Skystar Advantage broadband VSAT
terminals to be used in lottery networks in Idaho and California.
The orders include provision of 500 terminals for expanding
GTECH's IP-based California state lottery VSAT network and 750 terminals for
the deployment of GTECH's new Idaho state lottery VSAT network. When completed,
GTECH's new Idaho network will also enable retailers to sell and renew state
fishing licenses, as well as enabling other future applications.
In
the past several months, Gilat has received purchase orders from GTECH to use
its Skystar Advantage VSAT platform at more than 17,000 sites US-wide. Since
1991, Gilat and its subsidiaries have provided GTECH with more than 29,000 VSAT
terminals for use by government-authorised lotteries world-wide.
GTECH
was the first lottery services provider to use satellite communications in an
online lottery system, and has since proven that VSAT networks are an
affordable, reliable, easily deployable platform for any lottery
location.
Spacenet to Provide Dairy Queen with Broadband Internet Access
(15 April 2003)
Spacenet Inc has been selected by International Dairy Queen Inc (IDQ) as its
exclusive provider of satellite-based broadband connectivity for its restaurant
brands, including Dairy Queen/Brazier restaurants, throughout the United
States.
IDQ is making Spacenet's Connexstar CX-500
satellite broadband service available to thousands of its US franchisees to
support Internet connectivity, credit authorisation and technical support for
Radiant point-of-sale (POS) systems. Radiant POS systems will be installed at
all of IDQ's new "DQ Grill & Chill" restaurants, as well as Dairy Queen
units that wish to upgrade their existing POS systems.
DigitalGlobe Imagery Helps Management of Walrus Populations
(16 April 2003)
DigitalGlobe's high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery is being used to
support a significant wildlife observation study in Bristol Bay and the Bering
Sea, Alaska. The imagery, purchased by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for the
Marine Mammals Management Office, is proving to be an effective and reliable
tool for tracking the populations of the Pacific walrus - a widely distributed
species that spends winters in the Bering Sea's pack ice and spring in the
Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska.
The agency's
traditional data collection methods required extensive hazardous survey work
involving ice-breaking ships, long-range aircraft and excursions to remote and
isolated locations. Using QuickBird imagery, the organisation hopes to census
the population more safely and reliably, while relying less on traditional
survey methods.
In addition, the 60-centimeter resolution of the
imagery allows the team to view individual walrus. Despite the size of the
animals, which often reach nearly ten feet in length and 3,700 pounds, this is
the first space-borne solution that is able to show individual walrus, thereby
providing more effective data than ever before.
The US Fish and
Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving,
protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the
95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540
national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special
management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery
resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces
Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages
migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries,
conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign
governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid
program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on
fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
The
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management (MMM) Office, located
in Anchorage, Alaska, is responsible for management of Pacific walrus, polar
bears, and sea otters in Alaska. MMM works in co-operation with State, Federal,
and International partners, as well as Alaska Native organisations, for the
conservation and wise use of these species.
AeroMap US is a
full-service mapping sciences firm with expertise in aerial photography,
photogrammetry, remote sensing, satellite image processing, GIS services,
geodetic surveying, photo laboratory processing, digital orthophotos,
topographic mapping, and custom software development. The company is a member
of the Aero-Metric family of companies and has been in business in Alaska since
1960.
Israeli University to Buy Integral Systems' Skylight Satellite
Downlink System
(15
April 2003) Integral Systems Inc has announced that the Jacob Blaustein
Institute for Desert Research, part of Ben Gurion University in Israel, has
purchased a complete Skylight Direct Broadcast Ground Terminal for receiving
and processing satellite Earth science data. The real-time data will be used
for environmental monitoring of dust, floods, air and water pollution, fires,
earthquakes, and other natural hazards over the Middle East region.
The project is part of a long-term collaboration between the
University and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to establish a "super-site" for
assessing various satellite-derived data products.
Skylight
incorporates the most recently released NASA science algorithms for a variety
of science data products, including fire detection maps, volcano eruption
alerts, atmospheric profiles, and other data products. The highly automated
system tracks, downlinks, and processes data from the MODIS Earth imaging
instrument aboard the two NASA Earth Observation System (EOS) satellites, Terra
and Aqua. Its data products can be searched for, distributed, and analysed
entirely through a sophisticated web interface. With Ben Gurion University's
system, real-time images will be transmitted to NASA's MODIS Land Rapid
Response system, which has been developed to provide rapid access to MODIS data
globally. The complete system will be delivered in late June.
NASA
Takes a Look at
Menacing Peruvian Glacier
(14 April 2003) An Earth-monitoring instrument aboard
NASA's Terra satellite is keeping a close eye on a potential glacial
disaster-in-the-making in Peru's spectacular, snow-capped Cordillera Blanca
(White Mountains), the highest range of the Peruvian Andes.
Data from NASA's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and
Reflection Radiometer (Aster) is assisting Peruvian government officials and
geologists in monitoring a glacier that feeds Lake Palcacocha, located high
above the city of Huaraz, 270 km north of Lima. An ominous crack has developed
in the glacier. Should the large glacier chunk break off and fall into the
lake, the ensuing flood could hurtle down the Cojup Valley into the Rio Santa
Valley below, reaching Huaraz and its population of 60,000 in less than 15
minutes.
Glacial flood-bursts, known by Peruvians as "aluviones,"
occur periodically when water is released abruptly from a previously ice-dammed
lake alongside, within, or above a glacier. The release can be caused by
various triggering events. These flood-bursts typically arrive with little or
no warning, carrying liquid mud, large rock boulders and blocks of ice.
The Rio Santa Valley is no stranger to such disasters. Since 1702, floods
caused by glaciological conditions have repeatedly caused death and destruction
in the region. One particularly devastating event in 1941 destroyed
approximately one-third of Huaraz, killing an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people.
Since then, the Peruvian government has emphasised control of the water level
in Lake Palcacocha and other lakes in the region that pose similar threats. The
efforts appear to have worked; since 1972, no destructive floods resulting from
the breakout of glacial lakes have occurred. Nevertheless, officials are still
monitoring the current situation closely.
Aster's broad spectral
coverage and high spectral resolution is ideally suited for monitoring dynamic
conditions and changes in Earth's landscape over time, including glacial
advances and retreats. Its 14 spectral bands measure from the visible to the
thermal infrared wavelength region, and it can "see" at a resolution of 15 to
90 meters.
Aster provides scientists in numerous disciplines with
critical information used for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic
conditions and changes over time. Example applications include monitoring
glacial advances and retreats and potentially active volcanoes; identifying
crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; evaluating
wetlands; monitoring thermal pollution and coral reef degradation; mapping
surface temperatures of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.
It can also image the same area as frequently as every other day in response to
urgent priorities.
Aster is one of five Earth-observing instruments
launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. Japan's Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry built the instrument. A joint US/Japan science team
is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data
products.
The Terra satellite is part of NASA's Earth Science
Enterprise, a program dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated
system and applying Earth system science to improve prediction of climate,
weather and natural hazards using the unique vantage point of space.
RSI and Jeppesen to Improve Aviation Safety by Mapping 289
Airports World-wide
(14 April 2003) Radarsat International (RSI) has
signed a deal with Jeppesen to provide a QuickBird-derived geographic
information database of nearly 300 airports around the world. The initial
airport database will serve to enhance flight crew situational awareness and to
help eliminate runway incursion accidents.
The five-year
contract calls for RSI to provide Jeppesen, a leading supplier of flight
information, with GIS-ready, QuickBird-derived image sets of all 289 airports
within the next 12 months. RSI and Jeppesen then have the option for RSI to
provide regular updates and to add new airports over the next four years.
Using multispectral, geo-corrected QuickBird satellite imagery, RSI will
digitise required features such as runways, taxiways, buildings and holding
points for each airport. Such detail can be a boon to cockpit systems that can
both enhance the safety of aircraft ground operations and offer economic value
to airlines by providing the most efficient route from touchdown to the
gate.
This multi-year agreement comes on the heels of another existing
RSI contract with Jeppesen to provide Radarsat-1 digital elevation models for
use in Jeppesen's world-wide terrain database. Jeppesen provides its terrain
data to its customers as a valuable base layer for Terrain Awareness and
Warning Systems (TAWS) and other advanced avionics systems that heighten a
pilot's situational awareness of terrain outside the aircraft.
SeaSpace Corporation Announces Key Strategic Partnership
(17 April 2003) The
Allied Defense Group Inc subsidiary SeaSpace Corporation, has entered into a
long- term collaborative agreement with the National Space Program Office
(NSPO), a non-profit organisation operating under the laws of Taiwan, ROC.
Under this agreement, SeaSpace and NSPO will collaborate
initially on projects of mutual interest, involving ROCSAT-1 and MODIS.
ROCSAT-1 is a spacecraft that was launched by NSPO in 1999, and carries
advanced sensors and unique telecommunications equipment in low-earth orbit.
MODIS is NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, an instrument for
observing the earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere, now flying on two NASA
satellites: Terra and Aqua. SeaSpace and NSPO will share certain data sets and
processing software to improve their respective technologies in the rapidly
advancing arena of earth observation from low-earth orbit.
In addition
to its partnership with NSPO, SeaSpace reports the installation of its TeraScan
ground station at the University of Texas at Austin. SeaSpace was contracted by
the University of Texas to provide reception and processing of MODIS and other
advanced sensor data from NASA's Terra and Aqua earth observation
satellites.
SeaSpace has now installed a three-antenna solution for
the University's Center for Space Research. These combined TeraScan systems
acquire critical data that will be used by CSR's Mid-American Geospatial
Information Center (MAGIC), a regional geo-information system that will provide
environmental information for a broad range of educational, research, and
operational purposes for the state of Texas, as well as surrounding areas.
MAGIC offers simple and timely web-based access to many different types of
information, such as surface temperatures, vegetation, smoke and haze from
brush fires, and ocean parameters including the signatures of red tide
events.
Similar TeraScan ground stations operate in many other
countries around the world, including Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Italy,
Germany, Finland, China and Korea. They are used by a number of universities,
civil and military government agencies, and weather and ocean services
departments, to provide accurate and current information to monitor varying
aspects of the environment, including the impact of both natural and human
influences.
ITT
Industries Awarded US$
31 Million Contract to Modernise GPS Satellites
(17 April 2003) Boeing Integrated Defense
Systems has awarded ITT Industries Inc Aerospace/Communication Division (A/CD),
a contract with a potential value of up to US$ 31 Million to upgrade 12 Global
Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF satellites.
The GPS
IIFs will be modified with two new transmitters and associated power
amplifiers, modulators and converters to create a flexible power system that
can be used to resist jamming. Work on this contract will be performed at
A/CD's Clifton, New Jersey facility and is scheduled for completion in
2008.
The IIF modernisation program is similar to work being done by
ITT for eight GPS IIR flight systems. Both systems will use ITT's unique
implementation of multiplexing or mixing signals, to give additional signal
strength to GPS transmissions.
ITT Industries' advances in
communications technology enable the flexible power system to advance GPS
modernisation until the new GPS III constellation of satellites begins
operation.
Safer
Navigation Means More
Helicopters Saving Lives
(16 April 2003) Helicopter Emergency Services deal
with emergency evacuations and inter-hospital transport across Europe. Improved
navigation information from EGNOS could mean fewer cancelled flights due to
adverse weather.
Although most modern helicopters have
Instrumental Flight Rules (IFR) capability this is not used because IFR are not
adapted to helicopter flight characteristics. As a result almost all medical
operations are still performed under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). When visibility
is reduced, as in bad weather, the use of VFR creates a risk factor in
helicopter medical operations.
Any helicopter landing system must
support steep glide slopes and multiple legs but needs little or no ground
infrastructure. This rules out the conventional Instrument Landing system
meaning that systems relying on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
are required instead.
There are currently three options: GPS, EGNOS
and ground-based augmentation systems (GBAS). Of these, EGNOS is the most
appropriate for Europe because it delivers a high level of performance and
needs no local ground installation.
EGNOS (the European Geostationary
Navigation and Overlay Service) is a joint project of the European Space Agency
(ESA), the European Commission (EC) and Eurocontrol, the European Organisation
for the Safety of Air Navigation. It is designed to augment the two military
satellite navigation systems now operating (US GPS and Russian GLONASS) and is
paving the way for Galileo. The system, now in its testbed phase and
operational in 2004, already improves the accuracy of GPS positions from about
20m to 2m.
A very successful demonstration was organised by Eurocopter
last month as part of a programme to improve the ability of helicopters to fly
in adverse weather. These trials validated the use of EGNOS on HEMS
helicopters.
Eurocopter fitted an EGNOS Test Bed User Equipment (TBUE)
receiver onto an EC 155-HTT helicopter. This was coupled with the flight
management system (FMS) so that EGNOS-guided helicopter approaches could be
shown.
These trials demonstrated the good quality of the EGNOS signal
despite the adverse electromagnetic environment that is typical to helicopters
because of the rotating blades and other masking effects. The TBUE receiver
successfully enabled precise guidance, both in manual and automatic piloting
mode. The flight path simulated a medical mission, including approaches and
transition to hover before final landing.
EGNOS can deliver real
benefits to the Helicopter Emergency Services (HEMS) helicopters by bringing
helicopter IFR approaches to reality. There will be less noise at ground level,
and it should be safer to fly in adverse weather conditions. Crucially, a more
reliable service with fewer cancelled flights means more lives
saved.
Harris
Corporation Completes
Testing of Ka Band Antennas for Wideband Gapfiller Satellite Program
(15 April 2003) Harris
Corporation has successfully completed testing of the first of three ship-sets
of Ka band spot antennas that will be supplied to Boeing Satellite Systems Inc
as part of the US Department of Defense Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS)
program.
The WGS program will provide a high-capacity
satellite system, jointly funded by the US Air Force and the US Army, to
support the warfighter with far greater wideband communications capabilities
than those provided by current systems. WGS will serve as a bridge to the
Advanced Wideband Satellite system, a high-capacity tactical communications
system currently planned for implementation in the 2009 timeframe.
Under terms of the contract, Harris will deliver a total of 30 duplex Ka band
spot antennas for integration onto three WGS satellites. The steerable, solid
graphite offset antennas - 10 per satellite - will provide the critical
communications link to user terminals on the ground, enabling WGS satellites to
transmit and receive digital-quality voice, data and imagery.
Harris
also is providing WGS systems engineering support to Boeing under a separate
contract awarded in 2001. Harris is conducting inter-segment testing of the
earth terminal-to-satellite payload interface; supporting on-orbit
inter-segment testing to demonstrate the compatibility of the WGS payload with
the earth terminal infrastructure; and managing and co-ordinating the entire
WGS Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) program for all WGS team
members.
Ball
Aerospace Selected by
NASA for Next Medium-Class Explorer Missions
(15 April 2003) Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp
has been selected by NASA as a team member to develop the Widefield Infrared
Survey Explorer (WISE). WISE is a four-channel, super-cooled infrared telescope
designed to provide a full sky, infrared map that will help the James Web Space
Telescope identify which objects to observe following its scheduled launch in
2010.
Under contract to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Ball Aerospace will build the spacecraft and conduct mission operations for the
WISE program. A final decision to proceed to flight development on WISE will be
made in 2004, with a launch anticipated in 2008.
The Ball-built
spacecraft will be based on the company's RS300 spacecraft, a family of small,
low-cost remote-sensing buses. The spacecraft, which weighs less than 250
pounds, is an offshoot of Ball Aerospace's Deep Impact flight system. Ball
Aerospace has also been selected to build the NEXTSat spacecraft for the
Orbital Express Advanced Technology Program using the RS300.
WISE is
part of NASA's Explorer Program designed to provide frequent, low-cost access
to space for physics and astronomy missions with small to mid-sized spacecraft.
In addition to Ball Aerospace, other team members include Utah State
University's Space Dynamics Laboratory, Rockwell International, Lockheed
Martin, and SSG Corp. Dr Edward Wright of the University of California, Los
Angeles, is the Principal Investigator for WISE.
ESA
Contracts With CNES for
Automated Transfer Vehicle Control Centre
(14 April 2003) ESA has signed a contract with the
French space agency (CNES) for the development and operations of the Automated
Transfer Vehicle Control Centre in Toulouse, France.
The
main functions of the Centre will be to command and control the Automated
Transfer Vehicle (ATV). Under the contract CNES will take responsibility for
management of the Centre's development and prepare, co-ordinate and support all
ATV operations on behalf of ESA.
The ATV is an unmanned vehicle which
will be put into orbit from Kourou, French Guiana, by Europe's Ariane 5
launcher. It will supply the International Space Station with pressurised
cargo, water, air, nitrogen, oxygen and attitude control propellant. It will
also remove waste from the Station and periodically re-boost the Station to a
higher altitude to compensate for atmospheric drag. The first ATV is expected
to be launched in September 2004.
After launch, coming under the
responsibility of the Control Centre in Toulouse, the ATV will separate from
Ariane and, using its own navigation systems, make a three-day journey to the
International Space Station, where it will use its eye-like rendezvous sensors
to dock automatically. It will then remain an integral Station element for up
to six months.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle is being developed in
Europe by 1500 engineers from 10 European countries and 30 companies, with
EADS-LV as prime contractor. It and the Columbus laboratory are Europe's most
significant contributions to the International Space Station programme,
representing Europe as a key partner in this international co-operative
project.
Over the course of the Station's 10-year lifetime, it is
expected that ESA will build at least 8 Automated Transfer Vehicles.
Scaled
Composites Unveils
Sub-Orbital Spacecraft
(18 April 2003) Scaled Composites has revealed its
plans for a passenger carrying sub-orbital spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, after
completing two years of detailed development work. The project is privately
funded and has already substantially completed development of the necessary
flight hardware and support infrastructure.
SpaceShipOne
will be used for an attempt to win the US$ 10 million X Prize which will be won
by the first project to launch three people to 100 km, return them safely to
the ground and then repeat the flight within two weeks using the same
spacecraft.
The three-man SpaceShipOne will be air launched by being
dropped from a specially designed carrier gull-winged aircraft called White
Knight at an altitude of 15.25 km. White Knight has a wingspan of 25 m and is
powered by twin afterburning J85-GE-5 turbojets. It was designed by Scaled
Composites and has been flying since August 2002 having made some 20 flights so
far.
The spacecraft has wings and is powered by a hybrid rocket engine
burning solid fuel with a nitrous oxide oxidiser which boosts SpaceShipOne on a
sub-orbital ballistic trajectory which takes it to an altitude of 100 km.
Braking and control during re-entry depends on large, deployable feathers. Once
the stresses of re-entry are over and the craft has lost most of its speed, the
feathers are stowed and SpaceShipOne continues its flight configured as a
normal glider.
Boeing
Launches Orbital Space
Plane Design
(18
April 2003) Boeing (NYSE:BA) engineers are designing the Orbital Space Plane
(OSP) for NASA utilizing nearly 50 years of expertise in producing
spacecraft.
Boeing is one of three contractor teams
developing proposals for the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program for NASA which
includes the spacecraft, ground operations and all supporting technologies
needed to conduct missions to and from the International Space Station.
Boeing was awarded a US$ 45 million contract modification on the NASA
Space Launch Initiative program for work on the space plane. The modification
extends the current contract through July 2004.
The Orbital Space
Plane will be a multipurpose spacecraft that can perform crew rescue vehicle
and crew transfer vehicle missions for the space station. It will be compatible
with current expendable rockets and future reusable launch vehicles and will
seat four to six people.
Orbital Space Plane draws upon research
conducted with the X-37 built by Phantom Works, a business unit of Boeing. The
X-37 serves as a test bed for 40 airframe, propulsion and operational
technologies designed to make space transportation more affordable.
Under the Space Launch Initiative, Boeing will determine a technical and
program approach for a future OSP. The concept definition phase is scheduled to
last 16 months and includes a series of systems engineering trade studies. The
results will be more specific definitions and solutions based on requirements
set by NASA. This includes program elements, estimated life cycle cost for
various alternatives and vehicle design recommendations.
NASA is
expected to proceed with full-scale development of the OSP before the end of
2004. In addition to this contract effort, Boeing is preparing to compete for
the next phase of the program in 2004.
Boeing Phantom Works will
manage the Orbital Space Plane Phase A Program from facilities in Huntsville,
Alabama and will employ about 120 persons in Houston, Huntington Beach,
California, and the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
SSTL
Wins Two Propulsion
Contracts
(15 April
2003) SSTL has won two propulsion contracts - one to research resources for
Mars exploration and one to develop miniature rocket engines for small
satellites.
SSTL has won a contract with QinetiQ and
ESA's Aurora programme to research in-situ resource utilisation methods for
future Mars exploration.
The work will take place over the next six
months and cover the system level design of an In-situ Resource Utilisation
(ISRU) chemical factory for the production of, for example, rocket propellant
and life support consumables in future robotic and manned Mars missions. In
addition, it will look at novel methods for generating oxygen using carbon
nano-fibre technology. SSTL is also contributing to broader QinetiQ research
into future power systems for space exploration.
In a second contract
with QinetiQ and ESA, SSTL is to develop a high-performance micro-miniaturised
rocket engine for future small satellites. Additional partners are TNO's Prins
Maurits Laboratory in the Netherlands and the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala
University in Sweden.
The work will study the performance that can be
achieved with precision engineered, miniature conventional parts, in comparison
to MEMS systems, as well as the potential for micro-turbopumps. The partners
will also manufacture a small monopropellant demonstrator engine that will be
tested at SSTL's propulsion facility at Westcott, UK.
Swales
Aerospace Demonstrates
Low-Energy, Dry Planetary Drill Instrument
(15 April 2003) Swales Aerospace has successfully
demonstrated a low-energy dry drilling instrument which drilled 10-meters into
solid rock during a December 2002 field test funded by NASA.
Two industry teams participated in the NASA field tests in
December at the privately owned Desert Rose Silica Mine located about 120 miles
from Phoenix. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed the test and Mars
scientists at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University and
members of an independent review board of terrestrial drilling experts provided
objective witnessing and advice.
During the December field test, the
Swales team was the only team that successfully achieved the NASA drilling goal
of 10 meters in depth into abrasive red silica sandstone rock.
A key
factor in the success of the Swales system is the minimal amount of energy
required to power the drill. Industry sources agree that most drilling systems
are inherently energy inefficient because of their design and operational
approach. Swales accomplished all of the required test objectives during the
field test expending only 78 to 120 Watts of power.
Over the past
three decades, spacecraft have discovered the possible presence of liquid water
on Mars, either in its ancient past or preserved in the subsurface today.
Drilling and finding water on the planet is key to scientists determining
whether any microscopic life forms could have existed. In addition, water is
key to any future plan to possibly launch a human mission to the planet, since
water is essential for life and can be separated into oxygen and hydrogen and
later combined to release energy that could power fuel cells batteries
essential to a human station on the planet.
Swales first started work
on planetary drill concepts in late 1998 at its laboratory in Pasadena,
California. Laboratory successes included drilling twelve inches into solid
rock in 1999 and reaching depths of seven and twelve feet in 2001 before
meeting the current NASA goal of 10-meters in 2002.
Herley Receives US$ 3.05 Million in Contracts to Supply Launcher
Tracking Transponders
(15 April 2003) Herley Industries Inc has received
contract awards totalling US$ 3.05 million to supply tracking transponders for
space launch vehicles. Herley's space transponders are used to track the flight
characteristics of the launch vehicle.
Herley has a long
and successful history supplying a variety of transponders to the space launch
community. Every space launch vehicle that is launched from either the east or
west coast of the United States carries one of its transponders.
EMS
Technologies Signs NSSL
as Master Distributor of Fleet 55 Terminal
(17 April 2003) EMS Technologies Inc has announced the
signing of an agreement with NSSL Ltd. The leading UK Inmarsat service
provider, NSSL provides service to a wide range of customers, including the
world-wide shipping, energy, government, news and corporate sectors. NSSL will
sell EMS Technologies' new Fleet 55 Inmarsat maritime satellite terminal. The
Fleet 55, which provides 64 kb/s ISDN and MPDS connectivity to vessels of all
sizes, has received a strong positive response from the maritime community
since its launch earlier this year.
NSSL brings strong
representation for the Fleet 55 Inmarsat maritime satellite terminal to the UK,
Ireland, and Northern Europe in the government and maritime sectors, as well as
to commercial fishing and the North Sea oil and gas sector. In addition to its
strong base in the UK, NSSL has an extensive dealer network extending across
the globe.
NSSL provides world-wide mobile satellite communications
solutions to customers in the Marine, Energy, Offshore, Media, Government and
Corporate sectors. The company bases its service offering on choice,
flexibility and value. As one of the largest Inmarsat service providers in the
world, NSSL can offer the widest selection of terminal equipment and airtime
tariffs, backed by 24 hours a day, 365 days after sales support.
Intelsat
Opens New Office for
Customers in Middle East and North Africa
(18 April 2003) Intelsat has opened an additional
field office located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The expansion of offices
to this region means that Intelsat now successfully operates 13 customer
service centres world-wide.
Intelsat UAE, as the office
in Dubai is known, serves customers in North Africa in addition to those
residing in the Gulf region, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar,
Oman, and the UAE. Samir El Battah, Regional Director, Middle East and North
Africa, heads the local office operations in Dubai and will respond directly to
customer requests and inquiries for all Intelsat services.
Intelsat
UAE can be contacted directly at: Building 11, Offices 411 and 412; Dubai
Internet City (DIC); P.O. Box 500207; Dubai - UAE or by calling +9714 390 1515.
The office can also be reached by sending an email to
[email protected].
Intelsat also operates offices in
Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, China (Hong Kong), France, Germany, India, Norway,
Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
XCOR Secures US$ 187,500 Equity Investment
(16 April 2003) XCOR
Aerospace announced today it has successfully acquired an additional US$
187,500 in equity investments. This round of investment qualifies the company
for a Department of Defense program that matches private capital four to one up
to US$ 750,000. The funds will be used for development of rocket engine pump
technology.
XCOR is privately funded and its current
investors include a former venture capitalist, software industry leaders, and
other private investors.
The company will now focus on securing a
combination of government contracts and additional private investment to
continue development of a suborbital vehicle for space tourism, microgravity
research and microsatellite launches. XCOR Aerospace is also expanding its
operations and moving into a 10,000 square foot facility located on the Mojave
Airport flight line. The new facility consolidates operations which were spread
between several locations.
Consumers Do Want PVRs, But Only If The Price Is Right!
(14 April 2003)
Bluedelta Design Limited, designers of innovative consumer devices, are
claiming there sales prove that consumers do want a Personal Video Recorder
(PVR) at home, but only if the price is right and it works with their existing
equipment.
The Phantom, Bluedelta's PVR works by
enabling a consumer's existing VHS recorder to communicate with a Sky digital
satellite receiver. Once fitted, all the consumer has to do is select the
programmes he/she wants to record via the Sky Electronic Programme Guide, set
to Autoview and programming is complete. All the consumer then has to do is
place a VHS tape in the recorder - Phantom does the rest.
Priced at
under £30, retail outlets already seeing high sales.
Phantom is
a retro fit device. No electrical tools are needed to install Phantom and the
installation time is only minutes.
Loral Launches the SkyReach Global IP-Based Solution
(11 April 2003) Loral
Skynet has introduced SkyReach, a group of Internet protocol (IP)-based
services that provide secure private networks and high-speed Internet access
using Skynet's established global infrastructure.
Using
very small aperture terminal (VSAT) and fibre infrastructure, teleports and
network operating centres in North America, Europe and Asia, SkyReach will
deliver a wide-range of one-way and two-way IP services around the world.
Flexible, scaleable and easily deployed, SkyReach gives organisations an
instant global wide area network (WAN), Internet access and cost-effective IP
applications.
SkyReach provides:
Connexion by Boeing Names Friedman Vice President of Marketing
(17 April 2003)
Connexion by Boeing has announced that David Friedman has been named vice
president of marketing for the mobile information services provider that brings
high-speed Internet and intranet connectivity to travellers.
Friedman most recently was an independent consultant, and
associated with The Northridge Group, where he provided strategic counsel to
small to midsize companies and venture capital organisations. Previously he
served as the vice president of marketing for US Cellular, where he was the
chief architect of marketing strategy. In that capacity Friedman had
responsibility for advertising and branding, product development, e-business,
distribution and customer relationship marketing.
In his new position,
Friedman will be responsible for developing marketing and business strategies,
promotions, collateral and market campaigns; competitor, product and market
analysis, pricing strategies, strategic alliances and trade shows. He reports
directly to Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson.
Friedman holds
a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from New York City College, a
master's degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University and a
master's of business administration with an emphasis in economics from George
Washington University.
LiftPort Announces Appointment of Chief Operations Officer
(16 April 2003)
LiftPort Inc, the space elevator company, has announced the appointment of
Christopher J Petrella as the company' chief operations officer.
A former Democratic Candidate for Governor of Nevada,
Petrella will be responsible for day-to-day operations of LiftPort as well as
political development for the space elevator.
Petrella brings with him
more than 15 years of experience successfully managing large teams of technical
people, including teams from GE Government Services and his own campaign staff.
Among the positions Petrella has held prior to LiftPort include: director of
business development for TVBannerads Inc; president and co-founder of VATM Inc,
a Nevada-based company that developed software applications for set top boxes;
and owner of FTB/EXIMA, a German-based telecommunications company that he
ultimately sold to AT&T Deutschland. Petrella was also the Las Vegas
Chamber of Commerce "Marketing Biz Guide Consultant" for large companies
relocating to Southern Nevada. His client list included Blimpi Subs and Silver
State Bank.
Prior to his business career, Petrella served in the
United States Army, where he developed a secure one-way method for gathering
human intelligence (HUMINT) and wrote Anti-terrorism Standard Operating
Procedure used in Desert Shield/Storm.
In the political arena,
Petrella was on the 1996 committee representing Nevada for the White House
Consul on Small Business Affairs 2000.
Petrella studied computer
science. He has also two patents pending for Computer User Interface and video
Transmission of Advertisements.
Headquartered in Bremerton,
Washington, LiftPort Inc is a privately held company dedicated to the
development of the first elevator to space. The company was founded by Michael
Laine, the president and co-founder of HighLift Systems, the Seattle-based
research company that received a grant from NASA to investigate building an
elevator to space. As proposed by LiftPort, the space elevator will consist of
a carbon nanotube composite ribbon stretching some 62,000 miles from earth to
space. The elevator will be anchored to an offshore sea platform near the
equator in the Pacific Ocean, and to a small counterweight in space. Mechanical
lifters will move up and down the ribbon, carrying such items as satellites,
solar power systems and, eventually, people into space.
