Microcom's Space Newsfeed 9 November 2003<br />Space Industry News from Around the World<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Published by Microcom Systems Ltd, consultants in satellite communications since 1985. http://www.microcomsystems.co.uk<br /><br />Publishers of the Handbook of Satellite Services in Europe, the definitive guide to European satellite communications: http://www.microcomsystems.co.uk/pubs/ssie.html. Also available online - get a temporary password to review the Handbook by sending a blank email to review@satelliteonthenet.co.uk.<br /><br />Other web resources from Microcom Systems:<br /><br />Satellite Industry Links: the largest free satellite and space industry directory on the web http://www.satellite-links.co.uk<br /><br />Satellite on the Net: white papers, industry events, launch information and space bookshop http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk<br /><br />Jobs in Space: space industry recruitment http://www.space-jobs.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Advertise on Microcom's websites and reach over 20,000 space and satellite industry professionals each month. http://www.spacenewsfeed.co.uk/ratecard.html<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Contents<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Satcoms:<br />Kingston Brings One of Brazil's Largest TV Channels to Europe<br />March Networks and Telesat Team Up on Telehealth<br />Satellite Security Systems Demonstrates Shut Down of Tanker Truck<br />SkyFrames and Motorola to Bring VoIP, Satellite, and Wireless Data Technology to US Troops in Iraq<br />US Government Agency Purchases Two Norsat NewsLink Terminals<br /><br />Earth Observation:<br />Harris Corporation Awarded Contract for NOAA's IJPS Services<br /><br />Military Space:<br />German Army Designates KVH M100 Tactical Navigation System as Standard Product<br />Raytheon and Harris Receives US Navy AEHF Contracts<br /><br />Science:<br />NASA Selects Explorer Mission Proposals For Feasibility Studies<br />The Affordable Cosmic Vision<br /><br />Manned Space:<br />Boeing Establishes Orbital Space Program Office<br />NASA Awards Space Station Cargo Mission Contract<br />NASA Conducts Successful Pad Abort Demonstration<br /><br />Launch Services:<br />Atlas V to Launch Wideband Gapfiller Satellites in 2005<br />ESA and Rosaviakosmos Sign Up for Two Foton Flights<br /><br />Launches:<br />FSW<br /><br />Business:<br />Conexant and GlobespanVirata Announce Plan to Merge<br />DigitalGlobe Acquires eMap International<br />Encore Networks Continues Its Expansion<br />Globalstar Files Company Sale Process with Court<br />Orbimage's Reorganisation Plan Confirmed<br />SES Global Issues Eur 500 Million Eurobond<br /><br />Products and Services:<br />Dexar Launches DirecWay Broadband Services<br /><br />People:<br />Stephen Rich Appointed VP and GM of Astra African Region<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SMi's Global MILSATCOM<br />24th and 25th November 2003<br />Radisson SAS, Portman Hotel, London<br /><br />SMi's Fifth Annual Global MILSATCOM Conference brings together an international line-up of speakers to analyse current requirements and projects along with future developments in the field of Military Satellite Communications. For further details and to download a conference brochure and registration form, please visit: www.smi-online.co.uk/milsatcom3.asp<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Bolton Associates - Corporate Strategies applies 21st. Century thinking for the Earth Observation, SatCom and Environment Industries that penetrate new markets using creative commercial Risk models and innovation.<br /><br />Visit us at http://www.BoltonAssociates.com and/or download our Power Point presentation http://www.microcomsystems.co.uk/ads/EOConsult.ppt [131Kb]<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Space Bookshop - books for space professionals.<br />http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk/bookshop.html<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Satcoms<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Kingston Brings One of Brazil's Largest TV Channels to Europe<br /><br />(5 November 2003) Kingston inmedia has been selected to take Record TV network, Brazil's second largest TV and entertainment network (linked to 80 stations in 26 states), to Hispanic communities across Europe for the first time via its Direct to Home (DTH) services.<br /><br />Kingston will downlink the channel from Hispasat 1C and then turn it around onto Astra 2B for European distribution.<br /><br />(source: Kingston inmedia)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />March Networks and Telesat Team Up on Telehealth<br /><br />(3 November 2003) March Networks and Telesat are combining their technology and expertise to deliver video-enabled telehealth services over Canada's satellite communications networks. The Cdn$ 1.5 million project, which will bring highly advanced telehealth applications to commercial trials by the fall of 2004, is being cost-shared by the Canadian Space Agency through the European Space Agency, March Networks and Telesat.<br /><br />The new partnership will broaden the delivery of health care in remote communities, where there is a chronic shortage of healthcare professionals. By enabling remote visits using highly-advanced video applications, telehealth via satellite can significantly reduce travel time, expenses and anxiety for both healthcare providers and their patients.<br /><br />March Networks' managed telehealth application enables remote nursing visits and vital sign monitoring through fully interactive voice, video and data transmission. The project will develop the technology to allow delivery of remote healthcare services over Telesat's Anik F2 satellite, scheduled for launch in the 2nd quarter of 2004. Anik F2 features a new Ka band spot-beam technology that will enable high-speed, direct-to-user multimedia interactive services throughout North America.<br /><br />March Networks is a recognised innovator of broadband-based networked video applications designed for physical security, video-enabled telehealth and managed video services. The company is applying its integrated hardware and software components for Telehealth to address current and future healthcare delivery challenges. A secure web-based application, a Video Services Gateway and a Health Monitoring Kit combine to enable applications such as vital sign and medication monitoring, offline and exceptions reporting, remote collaboration and client teaching. Through its partners, March Networks Managed Telehealth Applications are delivered to multiple constituents over wireless and conventional network communications.<br /><br />(source: March Networks)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Satellite Security Systems Demonstrates Shut Down of Tanker Truck<br /><br />(3 November 2003) Satellite Security Systems (S3), a global provider of asset security and logistics control, in co-operation with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and InterState Oil Company, dramatically demonstrated the first wireless remote shutdown of a fully loaded moving petrochemical tanker truck.<br /><br />From S3's headquarters in San Diego - 530 miles from the demonstration site - satellite communications were used to disable the truck in seconds, proving S3's GlobalGuard and FleetGuard a viable solution to the challenge of controlling rogue hazardous waste vehicles that could pose a threat to homeland security.<br /><br />The event, conducted on CHP Academy grounds in Sacramento and administered by the CHP, addresses ongoing concerns about the affordability of effective security technology, stealthiness of such a security device, and how GPS monitoring can be incorporated safely into law enforcement protocol.<br /><br />The need to secure trucks carrying hazardous-waste or petrochemical products is of paramount concern to trucking companies, California Independent Oil Marketing Association (CIOMA) members, and State and Federal departments. While the California state government may be voting as early as January on Assembly Bill (AB) 575 (requiring truck disabling devices, global positioning or other "location reporting systems" on hazardous material hauliers), the CHP has been tasked with researching various technologies to support these regulatory initiatives.<br /><br />InterState Oil Company is one enterprise focused on day-to-day homeland security needs. A full service, multi-line wholesale distributor of petroleum and related products, the company recently deployed S3's GlobalGuard and FleetGuard to its entire fleet of trucks.<br /><br />FleetGuard is a desktop application that works with GlobalGuard to view, command, and control each vehicle in an entire fleet at once. GlobalGuard is a security communications system, based on ReFLEX technology and Global Positioning System (GPS), providing up-to-the-minute vehicle location and control of fixed and mobile assets.<br /><br />The communications backbone for the GlobalGuard system is the Motorola ReFLEX satellite communications system. The ReFLEX system is a secure, two-way messaging infrastructure that stretches across North America (US, Canada, and Mexico) and is also available throughout Europe and Asia. Compared with competing data networks, ReFLEX's capabilities provide a wide range of crucial technical and economic advantages. S3 adds the government's GPS data to keep decision makers fully aware of operational circumstances. Lastly, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week Monitoring and Support Center (MSC) is staffed with trained professionals to respond immediately to emergency situations.<br /><br />Satellite Security Systems' GlobalGuard technology secures, tracks, and controls assets throughout the US, Mexico, and Canada for clients including military, government, police, and the consumer market. With GlobalGuard, users can communicate with, monitor, track, analyse and control the movement of virtually any object in transit. The integration of Motorola's two-way satellite communications, on-board CPU and an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) make it possible for GlobalGuard users to send data back and forth from a central command unit or monitoring centre while being continually alerted to new or dynamic changes.<br /><br />(source: Satellite Security Systems)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SkyFrames and Motorola to Bring VoIP, Satellite, and Wireless Data Technology to US Troops in Iraq<br /><br />(5 November 2003) SkyFrames Inc, a provider of low-cost, highly secure satellite broadband Internet services, and Motorola's Canopy Wireless Broadband Group have teamed to provide Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and high-speed Internet connectivity to US troops in Iraq so that military personnel will be able to easily communicate with their loved ones.<br /><br />The entire project is focused on the delivery of a VoIP, wireless, satellite communications architecture solely for the purposes of troops contacting their family members and friends in the United States. Currently, telephone services can be over 200 miles away from the forward locations of troops in Iraq.<br /><br />The Motorola Canopy solution will be used as the backhaul in delivering high-speed data connectivity.<br /><br />The requirements that troops requested for non-secure communications with their friends and families include 45 VoIP lines, wireless connectivity to 60 laptops, and satellite communications capability to help units based in forward locations.<br /><br />(source: SkyFrames)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />US Government Agency Purchases Two Norsat NewsLink Terminals<br /><br />(3 November 2003) A US Government Agency purchased two Norsat NewsLink portable satellite terminals to provide satellite communications that enable information related to overseas events to be made available for dissemination back in the United States. The terminals were purchased through Norsat reseller, Satellite Engineering Group Inc, for immediate deployment in Iraq.<br /><br />Norsat NewsLink will enable this Government Agency to offer broadcast-quality video satellite connectivity in a very compact, portable terminal that packs into just three airline checkable cases. The Norsat NewsLink, which supports industry standard MPEG-2/DVB-S broadcasting, is built rugged to accommodate the severe operating environments typical of overseas deployments. Norsat NewsLink is also extremely easy-to-use and can be set up and operational in the field in minutes by non-technical personnel.<br /><br />(source: Norsat International)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Earth Observation<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Harris Corporation Awarded Contract for NOAA's IJPS Services<br /><br />(6 November 2003) Harris Corporation has been awarded a one-year contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide communications and network operations centre services for the Initial Joint Polar-orbiting Operational System (IJPS) program. The latest IJPS award follows the original US$ 3.2 million design and test contract awarded to Harris by Integral Systems Inc, announced in April 2003, and brings the total value of IJPS-related programs for Harris to US$ 4.2 million, with future options that could take the overall program value to nearly US$ 9 million by 2008.<br /><br />Under terms of the contract, HTSC's Omaha, Nebraska operation will provide communications services between the current National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS) Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) in Suitland, Maryland, and the centre for European meteorological satellite operations in Darmstadt, Germany. Harris also will utilise its Maritime Communications Services (MCS) network operations centre in Melbourne, Florida to configure and monitor the IJPS network.<br /><br />Harris has selected Sprint, a leader in global communications, as its team-mate for the IJPS Communications/Network Operations Center program. Harris Corporation has awarded Sprint a one-year contract to provide private line and frame relay services as well as Cisco router maintenance to support a key National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program, the Initial Joint Polar- orbiting Operational System (IJPS). The contract, with future options, could have a total value of nearly US$ 1.5 million.<br /><br />The purpose of the IJPS program is to facilitate the NESDIS POES ground system's support of future POES satellites, as well as the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Meteorological Operational (MetOp) series of satellites, which are scheduled to be launched beginning in 2005. Under the IJPS agreement, NOAA and EUMETSAT will share resources in a co-operative venture beneficial to both parties and to the world's meteorological community.<br /><br />(source: Harris Corporation, Sprint)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Military Space<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />German Army Designates KVH M100 Tactical Navigation System as Standard Product<br /><br />(6 November 2003) KVH Industries Inc has announced that the German Army has named the KVH M100 Ground Mobility Enhanced Navigation System (GMENS) a standard product in the German Army procurement system. With the new German designation "Navigationsanlage Kfz digitaler Kompass," the M100 has completed all formal testing and is now available for fielding by any German Army vehicle program with the need and the funding. The self-contained M100 provides precision heading, pointing, and navigation data, and was most recently used aboard many coalition vehicles deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The German Army's acceptance follows on the heels of a similar announcement by the US Army Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that named the M100 a standard US Army product.<br /><br />Variants of the M100 are already in use aboard a number of German Army vehicles, including the 4x4 WOLF class vehicles and antenna mast-equipped 15-ton trucks. It has also been successfully tested on the WIESEL 2 tracked light armoured vehicle.<br /><br />The M100 GMENS is a member of KVH's TACNAV family of tactical navigation systems. KVH's TACNAV and fibre optic gyro products offer every military vehicle and every force commander - whether in a command, support, or combat vehicle - 100% availability of position and other tactical data, even if the signals from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites are disrupted or jammed. TACNAV systems can include both inertial and magnetic field sensors, making it impossible to jam. During operations in Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Afghanistan, TACNAV's navigation capabilities were unaffected by harsh weather, and the system proved ideal for precision vehicle navigation in combat situations.<br /><br />In addition to its use by the German Army, the TACNAV product family has been fielded by both the US Army and Marine Corps as well as by many other allied countries, including Canada, Sweden, Britain, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy, making TACNAV the most widely fielded tactical navigation system in the industry.<br /><br />(source: KVH)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Raytheon and Harris Receives US Navy AEHF Contracts<br /><br />(6 November 2003) Raytheon Company and Harris Corporation have each received a US Navy contract for the first of a two-phase process to develop the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Multi-band Terminal (NMT), the Navy's most advanced satellite communication (SATCOM) system. The program's total value is expected to be about US$ 1.5 billion.<br /><br />NMT's first phase launches with a 30-month development period, during which Raytheon and Harris will each develop and build four AEHF SATCOM system prototypes. Each company will then test their prototypes against their competitor's in a simulated "fly off" to determine final production award for the NMT system. More than 300 NMT systems are scheduled for production through 2010 following award of the NMT engineering, manufacture and development (EMD) phase of the program which is to be awarded in June 2006.<br /><br />NMT will address three US Navy requirements-expansion of bandwidth availability, reduction of "top side real estate" and support to network-centric operations via FORCEnet. The use of multi-band terminals is designed to meet all three. The NMT SATCOM terminals will be installed on ship, shore, and submarine platforms.<br /><br />NMT will replace several existing SATCOM communication terminals and antennas. Additional benefits to the Navy include increased ship stealth through decreased ship signature, or "footprint." The reduction of numbers of terminals and antennas will further serve to reduce life cycle costs.<br /><br />NMT and its associated AEHF satellite constellation will offer four times more protected bandwidth and throughput than current systems can deliver. This improvement will allow naval commanders to "pull" more critical data from the war fighter information grid and "push" exponentially more data into the grid, than can be done today. NMT's heightened ability to move information will help sailors to become full participants in FORCEnet.<br /><br />Rockwell Collins Government Systems (RCGS) is Raytheon's NMT teammate. RCGS will lead the security certification process and provide essential hardware. The company has more than 20 years' experience in developing extremely high frequency communication terminals.<br /><br />FORCEnet is an operational construct and informational architecture that integrates warriors, sensors, networks, command & control, platforms, and weapons into a network-distributed combat force. It allows the war fighters to compose joint military engagement packs of combined forces to participate in military actions and responses "on the fly." In addition to the immediacy of its response, it is also scalable across the entire spectrum of conflict, from seabed to space, and from sea to land. Additionally, FORCEnet will enable rapid reconfiguration of joint forces to respond to the next tasking in a composed manner.<br /><br />(source: Raytheon, Harris Corporation)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Science<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />NASA Selects Explorer Mission Proposals For Feasibility Studies<br /><br />(4 November 2003) NASA recently selected candidate mission proposals that would study the universe, from Jupiter and the sun to black holes and dark matter. The proposals are candidates for missions in NASA's Explorer Program of lower cost, highly focused, rapid-development scientific spacecraft.<br /><br />Following detailed mission concept studies, NASA intends to select two of the mission proposals by fall 2004 for full development as Small Explorer (SMEX) missions. The two missions developed for flight will be launched in 2007 and 2008.<br /><br />NASA has also decided to fund as a "Mission of Opportunity" a balloon-borne experiment to detect high-energy neutrinos, ghostly particles that fill the universe.<br /><br />The selected proposals were judged to have the best science value among 36 submitted to NASA in February 2003. Each will receive US$ 450,000 (US$ 250,000 for the Mission of Opportunity) to conduct a five-month implementation feasibility study. The selected SMEX proposals are:<br /><br />* The Normal-incidence Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (NEXUS): a solar<br /> spectrometer with major advances in sensitivity and resolution to reveal<br /> the cause of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Joseph M. Davila<br /> of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) would lead NEXUS at a total<br /> mission cost to NASA of US$ 131 million.<br />* The Dark Universe Observatory (DUO): seven X-ray telescopes to measure<br /> the dark matter and dark energy that dominate the content of the universe<br /> with 100 times the sensitivity of previous X-ray studies. Richard E.<br /> Griffiths of Carnegie Mellon University would lead DUO at a total mission<br /> cost to NASA of US$ 132 million.<br />* The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX): a pair of cameras to image<br /> the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space with 100<br /> times the sensitivity of previous experiments. David J. McComas of the<br /> Southwest Research Institute would lead IBEX at a total mission cost to<br /> NASA of US$ 132 million.<br />* The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR): a telescope to carry<br /> out a census of black holes with 1000 times more sensitivity than<br /> previous experiments. NuSTAR would be lead by Fiona Anne Harrison of the<br /> California Institute of Technology at a total mission cost to NASA of<br /> US$ 132 million.<br />* The Jupiter Magnetospheric Explorer (JMEX): a telescope to study<br /> Jupiter's aurora and magnetosphere from Earth orbit. Nicholas M. Schneider<br /> of the University of Colorado would lead JMEX, at a total mission cost<br /> to NASA of US$ 133 million.<br /><br />NASA selected a long-duration balloon payload as the mission of opportunity. The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) would detect radio waves emitted when high-energy neutrinos interact in the Antarctic ice shelf. ANITA would be led by Peter W. Gorham of the University of Hawaii at a total mission cost to NASA of US$ 35 million.<br /><br />In addition, NASA selected a proposed mission for technology-development funding of the proposed instrument. Jean Swank ofGSFC will develop a polarisation sensitive X-ray detector. Swank will receive up to US$ 300,000 over the next two years for her study.<br /><br />The five selected SMEX proposals are vying to be the tenth and eleventh SMEX missions selected for full development. Recent selections include the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), launched in February 2002; the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), launched in April 2003; and the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere mission (AIM), to be launched in 2006. The Explorer Program, managed by GSFC for NASA's Office of Space Science, is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for physics and astronomy missions with small to mid-sized spacecraft.<br /><br />(source: NASA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />The Affordable Cosmic Vision<br /><br />(6 November 2003) At its 105th meeting, ESA's Science Programme Committee (SPC) has made important decisions concerning the Cosmic Vision programme. Due to the current financial exigencies and an outlook with no budget increase or other relief, the SPC was forced to cancel the Eddington mission and rescope the BepiColombo mission.<br /><br />Eddington had two aims, both remarkable and very pertinent to front-line astronomical interests. The first aim was to look for Earth-like planets outside our solar system - one of the key goals in the search to understand how life came to be, how we came to live where we do in the universe and whether there are other potential life supporting environments 'out there'. At the same time it was going to follow on the path blazed by the ESA-NASA mission SOHO had taken with the Sun of using astroseismology to look 'inside' stars. In the longer term, the loss of this one mission will not stop us pursuing the grand quests for which it is a step.<br /><br />The loss of the BepiColombo lander is also scientifically hard to take. ESA, in conjunction with the Japanese space agency, JAXA, will still put two orbiters around Mercury but the ‘ground truth’ provided by the lander is a big loss. However, to land on a planet so near the Sun is no small matter and was a bridge too far in present circumstances, and this chance for Europe to be first has probably been lost.<br /><br />The origins of the problems were recognised at the ESA Council, held in June 2003. Several sudden demands on finance occurred in the spring, the most obvious and public being the unforeseen Ariane 5 grounding in January. A loan of 100 million Euro was temporarily granted, that must be paid back out of present resources by the end of 2006.<br /><br />ESA's SPC were therefore caught in a vice. Immediate mission starts had to be severely limited and the overall envelope of the programme kept down.<br /><br />By making this decision, the SPC has brought down the scope of the Cosmic Vision programme to a level that necessarily reflects the financial conditions rather than the ambitions of the scientific community.<br /><br />A long and painful discussion during the SPC meeting resulted in the conclusion that only one new mission can be started at this time, namely LISA Pathfinder. The mission is the technical precursor to the world’s first gravitational wave astronomical observatory, LISA. The LISA mission itself (to be made in co-operation with the United States) is scheduled for launch in 2012.<br /><br />ESA's Cosmic Vision, set to last until 2012, is a living programme. It has to be able to constantly adapt to the available funding as well as respond to the expectations of the scientific community and to technological developments. Within these boundaries, the decisions made by the SPC try to maximise the outcome of Cosmic Vision across disciplines, keeping it at the same time challenging and affordable. Nonetheless, there are many European scientists with ambitions that exceed the programme’s ability to respond.<br /><br />(source: ESA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Manned Space<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Boeing Establishes Orbital Space Program Office<br /><br />(3 November 2003) Boeing has established an integrated Orbital Space Program office, headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, that will provide innovative solutions for NASA and support a robust future for human space flight.<br /><br />The Boeing Orbital Space Program office includes the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) and Alternate Access to Station (AAS) programs. The Orbital Space Program offers a synergistic approach to developing an integrated architecture sustaining the International Space Station and providing a foundation for the extension of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit. Boeing has designed and produced almost every major human spacecraft for NASA.<br /><br />The Orbital Space Plane and Alternate Access to Station programs are managed by NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville. Boeing Huntsville has a long legacy of providing technology solutions for our nation's space program. The establishment of the Orbital Space Program office in Huntsville is another example of Boeing's continued commitment to the local area and doing what is best for the NASA customer.<br /><br />The OSP is envisioned to be a multipurpose spacecraft that will perform crew rescue vehicle (CRV) and crew transfer vehicle (CTV) missions for the International Space Station. The OSP will be designed to be compatible with current expendable rockets and future reusable launch vehicles. Boeing Phantom Works is leading the Phase A study effort for OSP. AAS is a multi- year effort enabling commercial re-supply services for the ISS to supplement the Space Shuttle and other international ISS cargo delivery vehicles.<br /><br />(source: Boeing)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />NASA Awards Space Station Cargo Mission Contract<br /><br />(5 November 2003) NASA has awarded a contract with a potential value of US$ 165.8 million for support of International Space Station (ISS) Cargo Mission services to Lockheed Martin Space Operations of Houston.<br /><br />The ISS Cargo Mission contract is among the contracts being awarded as part of a restructuring of ISS contracts seeking to consolidate work, increase efficiency, increase accountability, and transition the program's contract strategy from development and construction of hardware to orbital operations.<br /><br />Work under the contract will provide services related to the planning, preparation and conduct of cargo missions to the International Space Station. The contract activities will include: cargo mission planning, cargo co-ordination, stowage integration, analytical integration, physical processing, decals, placards, graphics, on-orbit operations, sustaining engineering, management, and the integration of commercial cargo carriers and services.<br /><br />Options under the contract are available to provide stowage integration services to the Space Shuttle Program, NASA prepacked-cargo processing for the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle and NASA prepacked-cargo processing for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, which are planned to provide future logistics support to the ISS.<br /><br />The basic period of the cost-plus-award-fee contract is four years and nine months, with an estimated value of US$ 108.5 million. Two one-year extension options to the basic period are available and would bring the total contract value to US$ 165.8 million.<br /><br />Work on the contract will be performed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and its immediate surrounding areas, and other locations inside and outside the United States. Major subcontractors include United Space Alliance, Teledyne Brown Engineering and Bastion Technologies.<br /><br />(source: NASA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />NASA Conducts Successful Pad Abort Demonstration<br /><br />(6 November 2003) A launch pad abort test vehicle, being designed in support of NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program, proved stable in wind tunnel tests. The successful tests set the stage for engine test firings and parachute drop tests later this year.<br /><br />The Pad Abort Demonstration (PAD) Project is designed to demonstrate a crew rescue capability important to future space transportation systems. The PAD will be a full-scale, reusable system incorporating crew escape and survival systems, subsystems and components using proven technologies to help NASA achieve its goals of establishing safe, reliable and affordable access to space.<br /><br />The PAD vehicle, being designed by Lockheed Martin, demonstrated the stability and manoeuvrability under simulated conditions approximating escape from a catastrophic launch vehicle failure. The tests were conducted in September and October at Lockheed Martin's High Speed Wind Tunnel in Grand Prairie, Texas.<br /><br />Maintaining stability, without a complex attitude control system, will ensure a safe transition to recovery under a parachute cluster. The PAD flight profile consists of a powered phase lasting five seconds, reaching six to eight times the force of normal gravity and simulating separation from the launch system after a pad mishap. The powered phase is followed by an unpowered glide from Mach 0.9 (660 mph) down to Mach 0.3 (220 mph), when the parachute system deploys.<br /><br />NASA awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin in November 2002 to design and build a crew escape and survivability system demonstrator and to establish a flexible test bed for use in support of the OSP. The PAD Project is a pathfinder for integrating a crew escape capability into spacecraft design, something that has not been done since the Apollo program.<br /><br />For the initial flight test in mid-2005, the PAD will consist of a representative crew escape module mounted on the pusher propulsion module. A flared structure attached to the propulsion module provides the necessary aerodynamic stability. Flight tests will use instrumented mannequins to measure the environments a human crew would experience.<br /><br />The PAD project is managed at JSC. The OSP Program is managed from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.<br /><br />The OSP program will support US International Space Station requirements for crew rescue, crew transport, and contingency cargo. The vehicle will initially launch on an expendable launch vehicle, to provide rescue capability for no fewer than four Station crewmembers, as early as 2008. Crew transfer to and from the Space Station is planned as soon as practical but no later than 2012.<br /><br />(source: NASA, Lockheed Martin)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Launch Services<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Atlas V to Launch Wideband Gapfiller Satellites in 2005<br /><br />(3 November 2003) The US Air Force has authorised International Launch Services (ILS) to begin integrating the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite #3 (WGS-3) with the Atlas V rocket, as the second mission ordered from the company under the government's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.<br /><br />WGS-3 is planned for launch in early 2006 on the Atlas V vehicle built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT). In February, the Air Force authorised ILS to begin integration of WGS-2, now set for launch in late 2005. In July, under a separate contract, NASA ordered an Atlas V launch for the 2006 Pluto New Horizons mission, for a total of three Atlas V sales to the US government this year.<br /><br />ILS, a Lockheed Martin joint venture, has been assigned 17 government missions under the Air Force's EELV program. Funding for the WGS missions is contained in the 2004 Defense Authorization Act.<br /><br />Both WGS missions will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Wideband Gapfiller Satellites program, like the EELV program, is managed by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. The satellites are designed to augment defence communications services currently provided by the Defense Satellite Communications System and the Global Broadcasting Service, as well as provide a new high-capacity, two-way Ka band service in support of the USA's deployed forces.<br /><br />(source: International Launch Services)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />ESA and Rosaviakosmos Sign Up for Two Foton Flights<br /><br />(4 November 2003) A procurement order for two unmanned Foton capsule flights was recently (21 October) signed at the European Space Agency's Moscow Office by ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight, Mr Jörg Feustel-Büechl, and Mr V I Kozlov, Head of the Automatic Vehicle and Ground Control Department at Rosaviakosmos. The outcome of a year of extensive negotiations, this order will cover the Foton-M2 and -M3 missions, which will have 660 kg of ESA-supplied scientific payloads onboard.<br /><br />The order binds ESA, Rosaviakosmos and two Russian partner companies (KBOM in Moscow, TsSKB-Progress in Samara) for at least the next three years, with a first launch scheduled for May 2005 and the second for autumn 2006.<br /><br />This will provide reflight opportunities for almost the entire experiment programme originally assigned to Foton-M1 but lost when that launch failed on 15 October 2002. It will also reinstate a substantial part of ESA's scientific objectives for the STS-107 mission unfulfilled following the Columbia Shuttle accident in February with the tragic loss of its crew, experiment samples and science/technology experiments.<br /><br />Foton capsules, which first flew in 1985, are based on the design of the Russian Vostok capsule, in which Yuri Gagarin was put into orbit in 1961. But whereas the original Vostok design has been developed for manned missions into the Soyuz spacecraft, it has been very largely maintained for the unmanned Foton, which is primarily used for physics and materials science experimentation. The typical length of a Foton mission is 15 days. The recoverable capsule is launched on a Soyuz-U and returned to Earth at the end of their mission, landing with the aid of a parachute system.<br /><br />The Foton-M2 payload will include experiments in fluid physics (FluidPac, SCCO), exobiology (Biopan), five material science experiments to be processed in Russia's Polizon automatic furnace and further such experiments in the DLR's Agat furnace, a technology experiment (Favorite) and the Autonomous experiments (Photo-Ii, Biofilter). Two further experiments will be embedded in the spacecraft's heat shield, one concerning re-entry technology (Keramik), the other meteoritic science (Stone).<br /><br />ESA's Education Office will be co-ordinating the operational aspects of a number of additional experiments on Foton-M2, which have come about through co-operation involving the Samara State Aerospace University and many West European academic institutes. The University will also be offering to provide all the scientific and technical teams with near-real time data on the spacecraft's orbital attitude and residual accelerations.<br /><br />The preliminary Foton-M3 payload definition is planned to include various experiments in biology (Biobox, Kubik, Eristo/Osteo), exobiology (Biopan), fluid physics (SCCO, Gradflex), protein crystallisation, material science (Polizon), new re-entry technology (YES-2), plus other Autonomous experiments.<br /><br />Following the signing of this procurement order, these Foton missions will undergo various review phases involving ESA prior to launch. These have been made more extensive, in order to provide improved safeguards against setbacks such as the Foton-M1 accident. The reviews will cover issues such as operations and safety and will also extend to the three-stage Soyuz-U launcher.<br /><br />(source: ESA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Launches<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />FSW<br /><br />Launched: 3 November 2003<br />Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center, China<br />Launcher: Long March 2D<br />Orbit: LEO, apogee: 313 km, perigee: 182 km: inclination: 63.0°<br />International Number: 2003-051A<br />Name: FSW<br /><br />This Chinese scientific satellite is reported to carry an Earth resources payload for land surveying and mapping. It is expected to re-enter some 18 days after launch, returning the imagery it has collected.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Business<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Conexant and GlobespanVirata Announce Plan to Merge<br /><br />(3 November 2003) Conexant Systems Inc and GlobespanVirata Inc have announced the signing of a definitive agreement to combine the two companies in a strategic merger. The combined company will possess the world's most complete and most advanced portfolio of semiconductor solutions targeting the broadband digital home.<br /><br />Armando Geday will serve as chief executive officer of the company and Matt Rhodes will be president. Dwight Decker will assume the role of chairman.<br /><br />The board of directors of the combined company will have 12 members, with Conexant designating seven directors, including Decker, and GlobespanVirata designating Geday and four others.<br /><br />Based on the market values of the individual companies on October 31, 2003, the merged company would be valued at approximately US$ 2.8 billion, and it would have an annual revenue run-rate of approximately US$ 1.2 billion. The combined company will retain the Conexant name and its stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq national market under the ticker symbol "CNXT." The merged company will employ approximately 2,400 people world-wide and will be headquartered in Red Bank, New Jersey at GlobespanVirata's current headquarters.<br /><br />Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, GlobespanVirata shareholders will receive 1.198 shares of Conexant common stock for each share of GlobespanVirata stock. Based on the fully diluted share counts for the two companies as of market close on Friday, October 31, 2003, current Conexant shareholders will own 62.75% and current GlobespanVirata shareholders will own 37.25% of the combined company's shares. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of calendar 2004.<br /><br />(source: Conexant Systems)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />DigitalGlobe Acquires eMap International<br /><br />(3 November 2003) DigitalGlobe, operator of the high resolution QuickBird Earth imaging satellite, has completed definitive negotiations to acquire eMap International (eMap), a Reddick, Florida based geo-spatial consulting practice specialising in geospatial planning, design and integration.<br /><br />eMap International will become a wholly owned subsidiary of DigitalGlobe with David Nale, founder, certified photogrammetrist, mapping scientist and professional land surveyor, serving as president.<br /><br />Formed in 1999, eMap identified that the spatial data marketplace would benefit from professional services dedicated to bringing together people and organisations with technologies and processes for business results. eMap's hallmark concept is that spatial data should be applied to business process requirements in ways wherein results are both predictable and measurable. This approach ensures that investments are appropriate to the need and that they both can and will be sustained at high levels of integrity, reliability and performance.<br /><br />(source: DigitalGlobe)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Encore Networks Continues Its Expansion<br /><br />(3 November 2003) Encore Networks, a leading developer of integrated IP+Legacy Virtual Private Network (VPN) security solutions, has signed a reseller agreement with IsoTropic Networks. IsoTropic will sell, service and install Encore's complete line of IP+Legacy BANDIT VPN security appliances in their broadband satellite networks, systems and solutions.<br /><br />IsoTropic, headquartered in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, specialises in the transmission of audio, video, real-time financial information, and time sensitive data over private end-to-end satellite networks. From simple point-to-multipoint satellite broadcast services, Internet, and Frame Relay via satellite through complex turn-key VSAT bi-directional full mesh networks, IsoTropic is a recognised leader in the convergence of the telecommunications and broadcast industries.<br /><br />Encore Network's BANDIT is a uniquely versatile IP+Legacy VPN product line that provides satellite data networks support for IPsec VPN, stateful inspection firewall, IP routing and QoS, legacy data protocols, and Selective Layer Encryption (SLE). The BANDIT, with the innovative SLE functionality, enables satellite users to run critical applications over IP and to realise the benefits of broadband IP VPNs without the performance degradation associated with satellite circuits. Also, the ability to perform SLE to IPsec tunnel switching and termination, allows satellite operators to offer their customers both end-to-end on-net and off-net IP VPN solutions off the same platform.<br /><br />IsoTropic Networks Inc specialises in the provision of private end-to-end satellite networks, systems and WANs for commerce, industry, and the media internationally. The Company is experienced in the transmission of audio, video, real-time financial information, security, and time sensitive data, paging, radio formats etc. IsoTropic's product portfolio centres on the convergence and evolution of the telecommunications and broadcast industries that address ISP Backbone Services, Web Casting, and Public Internet Services.<br /><br />(source: Encore Networks)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Globalstar Files Company Sale Process with Court<br /><br />(3 November 2003) Globalstar LP has filed a motion with the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to allow Globalstar to sell the company's assets and operations to a new investor in a private sale transaction.<br /><br />This confirms the private sale plan that Globalstar described last week as part of its announcement that ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Limited (ICO) might not complete its own plan to acquire Globalstar.<br /><br />Globalstar will entertain offers from all interested parties received by November 10, 2003.<br /><br />During the course of the current sale process, Globalstar's day-to-day business operations are continuing as usual, and the company hopes to complete the sale of its assets and services to a new investor in the near future, followed by the completion of its Chapter 11 process.<br /><br />(source: Globalstar)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Orbimage's Reorganisation Plan Confirmed<br /><br />(3 November 2003) Orbital Imaging Corporation (Orbimage) has announced that its final plan of reorganisation under Section 1129 of the US Bankruptcy Code was confirmed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.<br /><br />The Confirmation Order was signed by Judge Robert G. Mayer on October 24, 2003. The final Effective Date for the plan, and Orbimage's emergence from Chapter 11, is now anticipated to occur in the near future.<br /><br />Orbimage is a leading global provider of Earth imagery products and services, with a constellation of digital remote sensing satellites and a world-wide integrated image receiving, processing and distribution network. The company currently operates the OrbView-2 ocean and land multispectral imaging satellite that was launched in 1997, and the new OrbView-3 high- resolution satellite launched on June 26, 2003 which will soon offer one-meter panchromatic and four-meter multispectral digital imagery on a global basis.<br /><br />(source: Orbital Imaging Corporation)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SES Global Issues Eur 500 Million Eurobond<br /><br />(5 November 2003) SES Global SA has issued its inaugural benchmark eurobond. The five-year, Eur 500 million transaction was well received by the market, being more than six times oversubscribed when the book closed on Monday evening. The issue was subsequently priced at 80 basis points over mid-swaps. The bookrunners were Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, and Société Générale.<br /><br />The proceeds of the issue are being used to repay the remaining drawings under the syndicated loan facility which was established in 2001 for the purpose of funding the acquisition of GE Americom.<br /><br />(source: SES Global)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Products and Services<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Dexar Launches DirecWay Broadband Services<br /><br />(4 November 2003) Dexar Multimedia ve Telecommunications Inc, the telecommunications subsidiary of Zorlu-Vestel Group of Turkey, began offering Hughes Network Systems' DirecWay broadband by satellite services from its Teleport in Istanbul in early September 2003.<br /><br />Dexar is providing high-speed Internet access to consumers, SOHOs, and enterprises throughout Turkey, Europe, and many parts of the Middle East. In addition, Dexar will be developing distance-learning applications to be offered over the DirecWay system.<br /><br />Dexar began using technology from Hughes Network Systems (HNS) in 1998 when it deployed SCPC (single channel per carrier), TRES broadband on demand, TES Quantum rural telephony, PES enterprise VSAT networks, and DirecPC one-way broadband satellite Internet access.<br /><br />(source: Hughes Network Systems Europe)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />People<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Stephen Rich Appointed VP and GM of Astra African Region<br /><br />(4 November 2003) Stephen Rich has been appointed Vice President & General Manager responsible for the African region of SES Astra. The appointment took effect on November 1st, 2003. Stephen Rich reports to Alexander Oudendijk, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing of SES Astra.<br /><br />Steve Rich joins SES Astra from the satellite operator PanAmSat, where he held the position of Regional Vice President - EMEA for PanAmSat Africa Ltd since 1998.<br /><br />Prior to joining PanAmSat (1997 - 1998), Steve gained extensive professional experience as Chief Engineer and Founder Member of ELCOR, an established satellite network over Africa for rural telephony. From 1991 - 1997, he served as Technical Director and General Manager within Plessey South Africa Limited where he managed the design, market development and sales of VSAT networks.<br /><br />Steve, a South African national aged 49, holds a Bachelor degree in Science, Electrical Engineering from the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa.<br /><br />(source: SES Astra)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Press releases should be sent to: newsfeed@microcomsystems.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Microcom makes no charge for this service and makes no payments for the use of material. Microcom makes no warranties about the quality of this free service and accepts no liability for mistakes and errors. Use of this service is taken as confirmation of acceptance of these conditions.<br /><br />If you require further information contact Microcom by email: info@microcomsystems.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />This newsletter, and archives dating back to January 2000, can be viewed on the web at http://www.spacenewsfeed.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />To subscribe to this email newsletter go to: http://www.spacenewsfeed.co.uk/subscribe.html. You can also unsubscribe from the same page.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Copyright 2003 Microcom Systems Ltd. All rights reserved.<br /><br />Microcom's Space Newsfeed may be freely distributed on condition that it is distributed complete, not edited in any way, and that no fee is charged. All copies must contain this copyright notice.<br /><br />Microcom Systems Ltd<br />PO Box 21<br />Haverhill<br />Suffolk CB9 0NZ<br />United Kingdom<br /><br />info@microcomsystems.co.uk<br />http://www.microcomsystems.co.uk