Разношерстные новости

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1084747608

Turkey + Mitsubishi Electric... Communicating Well (Satellites)

[SatNews] Two more satellites are planned to join the two already aloft.

Turkey plans to launch two more communication satellites by 2014, Turkey's transportation minister said on Monday. The county signed a $571 million deal with Japanese technology firm Mitsubishi Electric MELCO to procure and launch Turksat 4A and Turksat 4B. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkey also started efforts for production of another satellite, Turksat 5A, by Turkish engineers in a strategic cooperation with the Japanese firm. Currently, Turkey operates two communication satellites, Turksat 2A and Turksat 3A. Last year, another Turkish satellite — Turksat 1C — had "retired" 14 years after it was launched into space.

Yildirim said Turkey decided to launch new satellites due to rising demand and capacity in Turksat, Turkey's satellite operator. Yildirim said new satellites would help increase Turkey's satellite capacity by three fold. He added that the deal would also set the ground for a cooperation between Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Turkish Space Agency, which is expected to be established next year. Turksat 4A and Turksat 4B will have a lifespan of 30 years. Turkey plans to place Turksat 4A into orbit by the last quarter of 2013. Turksat 4B will be launched in 2014. Turkey also has plans to launch its first intelligence satellite next year. The spy satellite was named "Gokturk" and it is now under construction by Turkish engineers. (Source: TurkishPress.com)

Artistic rendition of Turksat-4A

P.S. В связи с событиями в Японии планы видимо изменятся.
P.P.S. А на чем должен уйти разведчик "Гоктюрк"

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=2025890023

Boeing ...A-O-Ka- x 3 Pass Preliminary Design Review

[SatNews] It's always good news when projects are successfully nearing completion.

Today Boeing [NYSE] announced that it has completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the Inmarsat-5 spacecraft and hosted payloads. Boeing is building three Ka-band satellites to add to Inmarsat's current mobile satellite services fleet.

The PDR was a comprehensive review that validated Boeing's design approach to the physical and functional requirements of the spacecraft. The review is the first step toward confirming that the satellites will operate effectively on orbit. The first spacecraft is expected to launch in 2013.

"Boeing's unmatched commercial satellite heritage and Ka-band satellite communications experience allowed us to rapidly conduct a successful PDR that met Inmarsat's requirements," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. "The satellite design is sound, and the PDR demonstrates progress toward developing these high-power Ka-band satellites to deliver streaming data and communications wherever and whenever needed."

Successful completion of the PDR allows Boeing to proceed to the Critical Design Review (CDR), the final step before the company begins to assemble the satellite. The CDR is expected to be completed this fall.

Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, signed a contract with Boeing in August 2010 for three 702HP spacecraft to provide its new Ka-band global and high-capacity satellite services. The new satellites will join Inmarsat's fleet of 11 geostationary satellites that provide a wide range of voice and data services through an established global network of distributors and service providers.

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1566877729
Orbital Sciences... Blow 'Em Up Real Good (Missile)

[SatNews] Nothing truly enjoys being the target of an explosive device — save for those vehicles specifically designed to test the accuracy of missiles. Based on the Pegasus space launch vehicle, Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) major new contract by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to supply this craft as Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) target vehicles for use in future tests of missile defense systems. The seven-year contract, which covers development and production of as many as 22 target rockets and related systems over the 2011-2018 period, has a firm value of approximately $230 million for the first eight vehicles to be delivered by 2015, with up to $870 million in contract options for 14 additional vehicles, countermeasures equipment, modeling and simulation support, logistics activities and launch services to be provided from 2012 to 2018. The company's IRBM target is a multi-stage vehicle that will be air-launched from a standard C-17 cargo aircraft via a parachute extraction system, providing MDA with increased flexibility in testing its Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).
The original Pegasus technology has spawned numerous derivative launch vehicles that have supported U.S. Government and commercial satellite customers for over two decades. It was adapted to create the Taurus and Minotaur space launch vehicle programs, as well as the launch platform for NASA's Hyper-X hypersonic research missions. In addition, significant flight-proven elements of Pegasus were incorporated into the company's Orbital Boost Vehicle missile defense interceptor to reduce development timelines and assure high levels of reliability, the same attributes that will now be applied to the IRBM targets program. More than 150 Pegasus-derived space and suborbital launchers are expected to be produced over a 30-year period from 1988 to 2017.


Orbital L1011 with Pegasus, photo courtesy of Orbital Sciences.


Orbital Science's Pegasus under construction. Photo courtesy of Orbital Sciences.

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=168078117

SSTL... Making Muster (SATCOM)

[SatNews] Payloads being delivered by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) for Europe's future satellite navigation system have passed an important milestone.

The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) has been successfully passed, with the Company having proved to a panel including the European Space Agency (ESA) that they demonstrated a sufficient level of design maturity. SSTL is teamed with OHB System of Bremen, Germany for the provision of the first 14 satellites in the Full Operational Capability (FOC) phase of Europe's new Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which will provide accurate and resilient navigation services globally. OHB is the prime contractor and builder of the spacecraft platform and SSTL is responsible for delivering the satellites' navigation payloads which form the heart of the navigation system.

 Each FOC payload will comprise a number of subsystems that will combine to generate the navigation messages broadcast by the satellites directly to a user's receiver on Earth. Each payload comprises numerous subsystems from specialist European suppliers including two types of atomic clocks, signal generators, high power amplifiers and antennas. The first of these subsystems are being delivered to SSTL now. Production schedules for the FOC payloads are extremely challenging to all parties involved. The delivery of the first payload is scheduled for late 2011, after which a production line will be started and the subsequent payloads will be delivered at 6-week intervals.

SSTL will shortly commence work on the Engineering Model Payload, which will provide early evidence of the FOC payload's capabilities in support of the satellite Critical Design Review (CDR) which is scheduled for later summer 2011. A secure cleanroom in SSTL's new technical facility, due for completion in May, will be used to test and integrate this Engineering Model and the FOC payloads.


GNSS, artistic rendition

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1388155770


DigitalGlobe And Lockheed Martin... World Awaits WorldView-3 Launch

 [SatNews] DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI) and Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services are joining forces.

The result — DigitalGlobe a content provider of high-resolution Earth imagery solutions, has contracted with Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services for the launch of WorldView-3.

In addition, WorldView-3 being the third WorldView-class satellite in DigitalGlobe's constellation. The satellite is scheduled for launch in 2014 and features the same technologies that have helped DigitalGlobe amass the largest high definition satellite image library in the world. The satellite will speed up the daily process of collecting, analyzing and delivering imagery and information to customers.

"The need for up-to-date satellite imagery and the insights it provides to our government and commercial customers grows every day," saidDigitalGlobe Chairman and CEO, Jill Smith. "We are significantly enhancing our commercial satellite constellation with WorldView-3, and are delighted to name Lockheed Martin and its United Launch Alliance subcontractor as our launch services partners. Their teams have consistently demonstrated the highest degree of reliability on many important space missions. We are confident that our own mission with them will be a success."

WorldView-3 will be launched on a Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services-provided Atlas V rocket into a sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg AFB, California, and will be operational approximately 90 days after launch. With WorldView-3 in orbit, the DigitalGlobe constellation will be capable of collecting more than 1 billion square kilometers per year.

WorldView-3 will be the third DigitalGlobe satellite to feature Control Moment Gyros (CMG), which makes DigitalGlobe's satellites more agile so that they can collect imagery of larger areas faster and with greater flexibility. It will also be the second satellite to feature 8-band multi-spectral technology, which allows DigitalGlobe to collect more data from images; automatically extract more information from them; and deliver deeper insight to customers. Both technologies are currently available exclusively within the DigitalGlobe constellation.

DigitalGlobe continues to expect that its total capital spending program associated with EnhancedView, including the launch of WorldView-3 and expanded ground infrastructure, will be approximately $650 million between 2010 and 2014.

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1488631782

Astrium... Piecing It All Together (Satellite)

[SatNews] Final assembly lies just ahead...

The Alphasat I-XL communications module was today mated with the Alphabus platform, enabling the huge satellite to take shape and enter its final assembly and test phase at the Astrium facilities in Toulouse, France. Built by Astrium for European operator Inmarsat, Alphasat I-XL carries a new generation of advanced geomobile communications payload in L-band that will augment Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service, enabling communications across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East with increased capacity. Alphasat I-XL features a new generation digital signal processor for the payload, and a 12 metre aperture antenna reflector. Alphasat I-XL also carries technology demonstration payloads for the European Space Agency.

Alphasat I-XL uses the protoflight model of new European Alphabus, which has been jointly developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space with ESA and CNES support to address the upper range of the communications satellite market. The Alphabus platform is qualified and now available on the commercial market to accommodate missions up to 18 kW of payload power, with ongoing developments to extend the range up to 22 kW. Weighing more than 6,000kg, Alphasat I-XL is planned for delivery end of 2012 and launch by Ariane 5.


Alphasat I-XL, image courtesy of Astrium

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1397711675

March 21, 2011

Arianespace Stats Show Double Sats (Launch)

Arianespace's manifest is unique with double entries for parallel launches.

The Spaceport in French Guiana once again is hosting two parallel Ariane 5 mission campaigns in support of Arianespace's busy launch manifest for 2011.

Payload integration for the company's next heavy-lift mission is now underway with the installation of Yahsat Y1A on the launcher's dual-passenger dispenser system.

During activity inside the Final Assembly Building at Europe's Spaceport, the Yahsat Y1A satellite was mounted atop the SYLDA dispenser structure — where it will ride as the upper passenger in the launcher's payload "stack."

With a liftoff mass of 6,000 kg., Yahsat Y1A will be utilized by the Al Yah Satellite Communications Company to provide customized relay services for the government and commercial sectors in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Southwest Asia.

This satellite was built by an industrial team of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space which have co-prime contractor responsibilities.

Yahsat Y1A will be launched along with the Intelsat New Dawn telecommunications satellite during the Ariane 5 mission on March 30, Arianespace's second flight of 2011.  Intelsat New Dawn is to be integrated on Ariane 5's core cryogenic stage next week, followed by the installation of Yahsat Y1A and its SYLDA dispenser over it, completing the two-satellite payload "stack."

Also at the Spaceport, the third Ariane 5 for launch by Arianespace this year is beginning to take shape with the assembly start-up of this heavy-lift vehicle, which is to orbit a dual-satellite payload during the month of May.

In a process that has been performed 57 previous times at the Spaceport, the Ariane 5's core cryogenic stage was removed from its protective shipping container and positioned over one of two operational mobile launch tables for the workhorse vehicle.

This clears the way for integration of the Ariane 5's two solid propellant boosters, followed by installation of its cryogenic upper stage and vehicle equipment bay — all of which will occur inside the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building.

Once the basic build-up has been completed, the Ariane 5 will be ready for transfer to the Final Assembly Building where its ST-2 and GSAT-8 satellite payloads will be integrated.

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=234101850

March 21, 2011

Globalstar... Good To Go (SATCOM)

Just ahead is activation of ground and mobile stations in North Americva...

Globalstar, Inc., (Nasdaq:GSAT), a provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to businesses, governments, and consumers, has announced that the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted Globalstar authority to operate its second-generation (2G) satellites within the United States. This authority will become effective once Globalstar completes registering the constellation with France, which is expected to occur in the near future. Globalstar successfully launched the first six satellites of its 2G constellation on October 19, 2010. Four of these satellites are now operational and providing revenue bearing services, with the remaining two satellites from the first launch expected to reach their operational planes shortly. As permitted by the Commission's decision, once the French registration process is completed, Globalstar will immediately activate its ground and mobile stations in North America to begin communicating with the new satellites, thereby improving coverage availability for Globalstar voice and duplex data customers in the United States, Canada, Northern Mexico, Puerto Rico and the surrounding regions. The four new operational satellites have previously been providing improved coverage for Globalstar customers throughout the remainder of the Company's global coverage footprint. Last week Globalstar announced it had taken delivery of six new 2G satellites, which the Company expects to launch in May. Globalstar plans to conduct two additional launches of six satellites per launch within 60 to 90 days following the previous launch. All three launches will use the highly reliable Soyuz launch vehicle, and each will be conducted from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.


Globalstar constellation, artistic rendition

[Salo]

http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/brazil-and-china-carry-out-joint-tests-on-cbers-3-satellite-before-its-launch-this-year.html

[color=orange:3fa3e9b491]Brazil and China carry out joint tests on Cbers-3 satellite before its launch this year[/size]

Posted on 29 March 2011 by admin

2011-03-29 (China Military News cited from macauhub.com.mo) -- pecialists from Brazil and China carried out electromagnetic compatibility tests between the Cbers-3 satellite and the reception and image recording station of the National Space Research Institute (INPE/MCT), located in Cuiab

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/launch/110415-nro-sat-closed-gap.html

Fri, 15 April, 2011
NRO Satellite Launched in January Closed Capability Gap[/size]
By Turner Brinton

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The successful launch of a U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite April 14 capped an eight-month campaign involving six launches, including one in January that the agency's top official said narrowed a projected nine-month gap in a key capability to 33 days.

    In the most recent mission, the classified NRO L-38 satellite was successfully carried to orbit by an Atlas 5 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., according to an April 14 NRO press release. The NRO will conduct its next launch in 2012.

    Some of the NRO's legacy satellite systems have been on orbit for more than 20 years, and the office in recent years has struggled with program failures and cancellations. The recent torrent of successful launches is proof that the organization has not "lost its recipe" for building, launching and operating the nation's spy satellites, NRO Director Bruce Carlson said April 14 at the National Space Symposium here.

    "I will tell you this particular campaign has closed a couple of gaps,"he said. "One of them was estimated to be nine months long and because of some brilliant work on the tail end of a dying satellite, all done on the ground, and the hard work that was done on the launch end, we shortened that predicted nine-month gap to 33 days."

    Carlson was referring to January's launch of NRO L-49, which was the first of a Delta 4 Heavy rocket from the West Coast. The NRO put the satellite under contract in 2005 and was able to complete development two years earlier and for $2 billion less than originally estimated, Carlson said.

    "The first cost estimate by a joint [Office of the Secretary of Defense] and intelligence community cost group showed that it would cost X amount of dollars and take seven years," Carlson said. "The organization said, 'No, we've got to do it in five, and we'll take $2 billion off that.' That's exactly what they did."

    Specific budgets for NRO programs are classified.

    The satellite "started producing faster than any of those who were around at the time thought it would to help fill that critical gap I talked about. The next one in that series is coming along," he said.

    Carlson did not identify the capability the L-49 mission delivers. But the NRO in 2005 started building two new electro-optical imaging satellites after another high-profile effort was canceled.

    Boeing Defense, Space & Security of St. Louis was building optical and radar satellites for the NRO's so-called Future Imagery Architecture (FIA), but after years of delays and billions of dollars spent, the agency canceled the optical portion of that program. At the same time, the NRO tapped Denver-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems — the longtime incumbent that was unseated by Boeing in the FIA competition — to build two optical satellites based on legacy technology and hardware.

    Meanwhile, Congress is still debating a new optical satellite imaging plan proposed in 2009 by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Under what is known informally as the two-plus-two plan, the NRO would contract with Lockheed Martin to build two multibillion-dollar imaging satellites with 2.4-meter apertures, while the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency would purchase the imagery equivalent of two 1.1-meter-aperture satellites from U.S. commercial imagery firms.

    The NRO is making progress to reduce risk on the Next Generation Optical system and would deliver the capability on time and on schedule, Carlson said.

    "We have established a number of milestones and we're making those milestones,"he said. "We're closing the technology gaps that will be required to put that satellite into orbit on time or even ahead of on time.

    "Not only are we reducing the risks as we go along, we're bringing the costs down. That's the way you develop satellites."

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/110422-thaicom5-service-restored.html

Fri, 22 April, 2011
Thaicom 5 Service Restored after Temporary Outage[/size]
By Peter B. de Selding

    PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Thaicom of Thailand on April 22 said its Thaicom 5 satellite suffered a four-hour service outage April 21 due to an apparent electrostatic discharge and that the satellite has been returned to full service.

    The company said Thaicom 5, a Thales Alenia Space-built Spacebus 3000A model launched in May 2006, automatically placed itself into safe mode, pointing itself toward the sun to maintain electrical power, when the outage occurred mid-afternoon Thailand time. Thaicom 5 operates at 78.5 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit.

    "Thaicom 5 is not damaged in any way," Thaicom said in a statement, adding that an "electrostatic discharge cannot be predicted in advance, and its occurrence is quite rare."

    An electrostatic discharge was also cited for the in-orbit failure of the Galaxy 15 satellite owned by Intelsat of Luxembourg and Washington. In that case, the satellite remained electrically active, with its broadcast payload continuing to function, even as it could not respond to ground commands and began an eight-month, uncontrolled drift along the geostationary arc. It has since been brought back under control.

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=416173256

May 08, 2011

SSTL... A Proper Grounding (Satellites)

Key groundstation equipment has now been installed in support of existing — and future — U.K. space missions...

As part of the Astrium-led Earth Observation (EO) Hub project at the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) in Harwell, small satellite pioneer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has completed the installation of key groundstation equipment. This comprehensive new system provides everything needed to plan mission operations, communicate with the satellites and downlink the images and other information for a broad spectrum of missions. It will initially be used to operate the SSTL-built TechDemoSat-1 satellite, which is being developed through a grant from the U.K.'s Technology Strategy Board (TSB), and planned to be launched next year.

Satellites are tasked from the Mission Operation Centre using the Mission Planning System (MPS). For example, for an imaging mission, a user can program where and when an image should be acquired days — or even weeks — in advance. This "tasking" of the spacecraft and the subsequent image acquisition is highly automated helping to reduce the cost of the operations. After the missions are planned, the Spacecraft Operations Centre will track the satellites as they orbit Earth, automatically managing each satellite as it passes. The highly automated systems orientate the antenna, download telemetry data and provide spacecraft control and analysis functions to operator workstations.

SSTL's Ground Systems Group integrated the SSTL heritage designed equipment with Astrium's hardware and also to some existing RAL Space groundstation hardware, which included a fibre optic link to the 12m S-band antenna. An SSTL Image Capture System (ICS) is also installed and is ready to decode high speed data downloads from the satellite once the antenna is upgraded to support X-band communications. The ISIC ground station has been qualified using both the UK-DMC and UK-DMC2 satellites, validating the telemetry monitoring and spacecraft command capabilities of the system. Images from the UK-DMC have also been successfully downloaded and processed to extract valuable information on the Earth's environment.

Artistic rendition of TechDemoSat-1, courtesy of SSTL

UK-DMC2, photo courtesy of SSTL

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=518077348

May 10, 2011

Astro Aerospace... Reflector Rollout (Spacecraft)

[SatNews] Astro Aerospace, a strategic business unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), has delivered its fourth deployable AstroMesh reflector to Astrium in Toulouse, France.

This latest reflector is for the Alphasat I-XL spacecraft that will provide commercial, broadband telecommunications services to Europe, Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. The 11-meter reflector is the latest in a line of AstroMesh deployable, large aperture reflectors, developed and built by Astro Aerospace. The company has supplied three, nine-meter deployable reflectors to Astrium for the Inmarsat-4 satellites since 2004. Built by Astrium as prime contractor and scheduled for delivery in 2012, Alphasat I-XL will carry both a commercial payload for Inmarsat and technology demonstration payloads for the European Space Agency. The spacecraft is based on the high-power Alphabus platform, jointly developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, for which it will be the first flight. Alphasat will join the Inmarsat-4 constellation providing worldwide coverage as part of Inmarsat's satellite-based Broadband Global Area Network.

When deployed in space, the Alphasat reflector forms a precision 45 x 38 foot (14 x 11 meter) radio frequency reflective antenna surface, which stows for launch into a compact package weighing about 135 pounds (61 Kg). Including launch support and deployment boom hardware, the total system weighs only 246 pounds (112 Kg). The reflector is a key part of the antenna system used by the spacecraft to provide broadband Internet communications. Enabled by the large reflector, the antenna system's sensitivity allows the use of mobile, laptop-size modems by users around the world. Once the Alphasat satellite reaches orbit, ground controllers will issue commands that control three hinge motors that unfold a 19 foot (6 meter) boom supporting the reflector above the satellite. Additional ground commands are sent to two motors that unfurl the reflector to its fully deployed size.
Technical staff at Astro Aerospace in Carpinteria, Calif., work on the AstroMesh reflector recently delivered to Astrium for its Alphasat I-XL spacecraft. This photo shows the reflector in its deployed configuration. (Northrop Grumman Photo)

This photo shows the reflector in its stowed configuration. (Northrop Grumman Photo)

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=723414020

May 10, 2011

Russian Satellite Communications Company + Eutelsat... New Neighborhood Resident (Satellite)

[SatNews] A new MOU has been signed by both companies for a SATCOM partnership...

The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), Russia's state satellite operator, and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will expand their longstanding strategic partnership in satellite communications. According to the MOU, a new satellite will be launched in 2015 to 36 degrees East, the most popular neighborhood for satellite TV in Russia. The new spacecraft will be designed to optimize capacity at a multi-satellite position, delivering new resources to both RSCC and Eutelsat for consumer broadcasting and multimedia services within a footprint of European Russia to the Urals. It will also carry a payload with a footprint over sub-Saharan Africa to provide long-term continuity for services currently supplied at 36 degrees East by W4, and capacity for further expansion. Financing of the new satellite will be ensured by Eutelsat, with the launch provided within the framework of the current Russian Federal Space Programme for 2006-2015. In-orbit operations will be managed by RSCC from its Dubna satellite centre.

The longstanding collaboration between the two companies goes back to 1994 when RSCC, representing the Russian Federation, joined the EUTELSAT intergovernmental organization in order to develop its international satellite resources. The opening of services at 36 degrees East began in 1997 with the positioning by Eutelsat of a first satellite to initiate digital TV broadcasting in Russia. This milestone was followed in 2000 by the launches of Eutelsat's W4 and SESAT 1 satellites, the latter marking the beginning of an industrial collaboration between French and Russian satellite manufacturing capabilities that was followed by the Express AM series of satellites. The most recent milestone at 36 degrees East was the entry into service in January 2010 of Eutelsat's powerful, high-capacity W7 satellite that replaced SESAT 1, and has more than doubled available resources.

[KrMolot]

Найдена причина аномального ускорения «Пионеров» (Membrana.ru)

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1466501565

May 12, 2011

Northrop Grumman + Applied Minds... Mayflower Garners Kudos (Satellite)

[SatNews] There's success revolving around the performance of a test microsatellite...

Artistic rendition of the Mayflower microsatellite

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Applied Minds, LLC have announced the success of a recent launch and orbit of a Mayflower test microsatellite. Data gathered from around the world was analyzed, showing all tested systems functioned correctly including a new, previously unproven advanced solar cell deployment system. While this first flight collected baseline design data, subsequent flights at higher altitudes will demonstrate unique propulsion, communication and orientation capabilities, and novel payloads.

"Microsatellites are an important part of our future in advancing and maturing technologies," said Paul Meyer, vice president and general manager of advanced programs and technology at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "We are pleased to be working with Applied Minds to develop the technologies that will make microsatellites successful, and make space mission participation more accessible to nontraditional partners."


This USC-built cubesat unit is part of Mayflower satellite in Earth orbit. Credit: SERC/CAERUS

The satellite, launched on Dec. 8, 2010, was the first commercial cubesat deployed into orbit by SpaceX. A cubesat is a type of miniaturized spacecraft used for research. Mayflower was launched on a Falcon 9 Dragon test mission and successfully injected into an elliptical orbit approximately 285 kilometers above Earth. The system was designed to test a set of microsatellite components in space. Following standard specifications, microsatellites easily combine with one another onto existing rockets, and only require low development costs, making space mission participation more accessible to those outside the industry. Mayflower and other microsatellites are being jointly developed by Applied Minds and Northrop Grumman, expanding the types of payloads on satellites, and consequently, the types of missions completed by satellites.

Built at Applied Minds in 2010, Mayflower and a payload designed by the University of Southern California were integrated and tested at Northrop Grumman, and then integrated into the Falcon 9 Dragon test mission by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Communications from Mayflower were received at numerous locations around the world and collectively analyzed by NovaWorks, an innovation center for development and operations at Northrop Grumman. Mayflower is serving as the technology development forerunner for other space products at NovaWorks.

"This was an exciting mission for us, and we are proud to be SpaceX's first nongovernment customer," said Danny Hillis, co-founder of Applied Minds. "We hope to launch many more satellites with them in the future." Applied Minds invents, designs, creates and prototypes high technology products and services for a broad range of commercial and government applications including aerospace, transportation, education, architecture, distance collaboration, advanced visualization, electronics and software.

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=187419222

May 14, 2011

MDA + Thales Alenia Space... NEXT Up—Antennas (Satellite)

MDA recently announced a new contract with Thales Alenia Space...

The new MDA contract with Thales Alenia Space is worth approximately $40 million (CAD). Thales Alenia Space is the prime contractor designing and building the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation. The contract is for the MDA Communications group to provide a total of 486 high-performance Ka-band cross link and feeder link antennas for the Iridium NEXT satellites. The compact, yet high-performing, antennas developed for Iridium NEXT draw extensively from the technology and know-how developed by MDA on various other programs such as KA-SAT, Viasat-1, Jupiter-1, Hylas-2 and O3b. This clearly demonstrates how our superior technology can be leveraged to produce more competitive solutions.

The MDA antennas will enable Iridium NEXT satellites to communicate with their network gateways, and telemetry, tracking and command/control (TTAC) locations, as well as enable communication between satellites. Each Iridium NEXT satellite will be cross-linked to four other satellites, two in the same orbital plane and one in each adjacent plane. These links will create a dynamic network in space. Traffic will be routed among Iridium satellites without touching the ground, ensuring a reliable connection and nearly eliminating latency. Using MDA's latest Ka-band antenna technology, Iridium NEXT will enhance and eventually replace the world's farthest reaching communications network, Iridium. This contract award cements MDA's position as a leader in this market segment. The first Iridium NEXT satellites are scheduled to be launched in 2015.

Artistic rendition of Iridium NEXT

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=609505569

May 16, 2011

ISRO... SPOT Space Set (Launch)

[SatNews] The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has lined up the launch of an image capturing satellite for France in 2012.

The news was disseminated by Parivakkam Subramaniam Veeraraghavan, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), a unit of ISRO. "Because of our cost effective technology, many developed nations, including France and the U.S., are willing to launch their satellites with our system. Many smaller and mini satellite launching programs on commercial basis are in offing," Veeraraghavan said. Recently, the ISRO successfully placed Singapore's first experimental satellite in space. India has, so far, launched 27 foreign satellites and 60 India-made satellites. Currently, it costs $25,000 per kg to launch a satellite. The satellites can weigh 500 to 5,000 kg. Sometimes mini-satellites weighing 15-20 kg are bundled with the rocket and are placed in desired orbits. However, profit realization from a satellite launch is currently lower due to the high cost of fuel and one-time use of the rockets. Veeraraghvan said the ISRO is working on a project to develop reusable satellite launcher. "The reusable spacecraft would minimize the launch= cost by 90 percent. We have set 2030 as deadline to reach this goal," he said. Over the next five years, ISRO has plans to launch one ASTROSAT, which is a low cost version of Hubble Telescope, one GPS navigation satellite, plus a special satellite that can provide Internet services.

The French satellite SPOT (Satellite Pour l'observation de la Terre) is a high-resolution, optical imaging, Earth observation satellite system. Currently, SPOT 5 is working in space and is expected to be withdrawn by the end of 2013.

SPOT 6 satellite, artistic rendition

[Pol]

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1760502681

May 17, 2011

ISRO... R&D Ramp Up + A Trio Planned (Spacecraft + Launch)

The Indian Space Research Organisation plans to set up an advanced R&D center in the field of spacecraft technologies in Karnataka's Chitradurga and rocket sub-systems integration facility near the spaceport of Sriharikota in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said the space agency has acquired 530 acres of land in the science city in Chitradurga, where Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Defence Research and Development Organisation are also building their facilities. "We are developing it (land in the science city) for advanced research and development centre in the area of spacecraft technologies," he told a press conference here.

ISRO Satellite Centre Director T. K. Alex said that with annual production of satellites on the rise at ISRO, the space agency finds that the Bangalore centre is not sufficient. ISRO wants to add new research and production capacities in Chitradurga campus which would be used for its activities in the area of advanced communication and remote sensing. Radhakrishnan said ISRO, IISc, BARC and DRDO have decided to set up common facilities such as hospitals, schools and colleges in Chitradurga science city. He also said ISRO plans to set up near Sriharikota facilities for integration of sub-systems of rockets, currently being done by industries in different parts of the country.

Radhakrishnan said the idea is to bring sub-systems integration activities by industries and ISRO closer to the launch site at Sriharikota. Discussions are on with the Andhra Pradesh government as well as with industries to set up these proposed facilities on 250-300 acres of land near Sriharikota, he added. He said the idea is to take up integration activities closer to the launch site in a controlled quality environment which would result in "better reliability" and cut down on wastage of time and risks involved in bringing such systems from different parts of the country.

Radhakrishnan said ISRO is setting up a multi-mission ground segment for Earth observation satellites at Shadnagar near Hyderabad. He added that a national data base for emergency management for the country is also coming up there. A hypersonic wind-tunnel facility is in final stage of commissioning at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

Additionally, the ISRO is lining up three PSLV launches from Sriharikota spaceport by October this year, said Radhakrishnan last Friday. He said PSLV-C17 would launch GSAT-12, equipped with 12 extended C-band transponders, in July. PSLV-C18 and PSLV-C19 would launch Megha-tropiques, an Indo-French joint mission, and microwave remote-sensing satellite, RISAT-1, with synthetic aperture radar during September-October this year.

ISRO officials said India's GSAT-8 satellite is scheduled to be launched by European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane-5 rocket at 0207 hours (IST) on May 20th from French Guiana. Radhakrishnan said GSAT-8, one of the heaviest satellites built by ISRO, weighs 3100 kg at lift-off and is equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders which would augment direct-to-home services.

Meanwhile, ISRO officials said the Failure Analysis Committee, headed by former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair, set up by ISRO following the failure of the GSLV-F06 mission, and the Program Review and Strategy Committee, chaired by K. Kasturirangan, to look into the future of the GSLV programme, have submitted their reports. Reports of these committees are currently being reviewed by eminent national experts. Radhakrishnan said the Space Commission at its meeting scheduled on May 24 would look at the reviews. He refused to give a time-line for India's ambitious human space flight program, saying, "Now, with the state of GSLV (proposed to be used for this mission), first priority is to make the GSLV a reliable vehicle". The GSLV-F06, with GSAT-5P on board, failed on December 25 last year in a set-back to ISRO. Regarding the controversial Antrix-Devas deal (Antrix is the commercial arm of ISRO) Radhakrishnan reiterated that the Government has annulled the contract.

(Source: Press Trust of India)

[Salo]

http://www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=17005

ФГУП "Космическая связь" и компания "Евтелсат Коммьюникейшнс" станут партнерами по использованию ресурса спутника "KA-CAT"[/size]
:: 18.05.2011

Европейский спутниковый оператор компания "Евтелсат Коммьюникейшнс" /Eutelsat/  и ФГУП "Космическая связь"  /ГПКС/,  государственный оператор спутниковой связи России, объявили о  партнерстве по предоставлению услуг высокоскоростного доступа к сетям передачи данных в России с использованием нового спутника связи "КА-СAT",  принадлежащего компании Евтелсат.
Спутник "КА-СAT",   который был запущен в декабре 2010 года и в ближайшее время будет принят в коммерческую эксплуатацию,  представляет собой прорыв в общеевропейской спутниковой  отрасли, благодаря которому будет значительно увеличен объем  услуг  связи Tooway TM, оказываемых дочерней компанией Евтелсат"Skylogic".

Прайм-ТАСС