MICROCOM'S SPACE NEWSFEED 10 November 2002<br />Space Industry News from Around the World<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Brought to you 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. July 2002 issue now available. Also available online - get a temporary password to review the Handbook by sending a blank email to review@microcomsystems.co.uk.<br /><br />Check out 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 book reviews http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk<br /><br />Jobs in Space: space industry recruitment http://www.space-jobs.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />CONTENTS<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SATCOMS:<br />First e-mail Sent Directly From a Commercial Airliner via a High-speed Internet Connection<br />HNS and Central Transport Keep on Truckin<br />HNS Provides Korea Telecom with Broadband Network<br />ViaSat to Develop SkyLink Broadband Equipment for Executive Aircraft<br /><br />EARTH OBSERVATION:<br />Alcatel to Provide Weather Satellite Ground Stations in Africa for PUMA Project<br />SeaSpace Corporation Announces Major Contract Awards From New Customers<br /><br />NAVIGATION:<br />NovAtel Awarded Contract for Galileo Interoperability Study<br />Trimble and Spraying Systems Take Agricultural Automation to the Next Level<br /><br />MILITARY SPACE:<br />USAF Awards RSI with Data Acquisition Contract for Eagle Vision Program<br /><br />LAUNCH SERVICES:<br />Arianespace to Launch Fourth Indonesian Satellite<br />Atlas V to Launch Hellas Sat<br /><br />BUSINESS:<br />ESA Appoints Ogilvy Brand Relations to Help Market ISS Assets<br /><br />PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:<br />Analytical Graphics Releases STK/Scheduler<br /><br />PEOPLE:<br />New Deputy Director, Expendable Launch Vehicles & Payload Carriers Program at KSC<br />Riegler Named NASA Ames' Director Of Astrobiology, Space<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SMi's Fourth Annual Global MILSATCOM 2002<br />25 & 26th November 2002, Heathrow Airport, London<br />for more info and to enrol: www.smi-online.co.uk/gmsc.asp<br /><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 /><br />SATCOMS<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />First e-mail Sent Directly From a Commercial Airliner via a High-speed Internet Connection<br /><br />(5 November 2002) Lufthansa and Boeing have announced that the first e-mail sent via a broadband Internet connection from onboard a scheduled commercial airliner, successfully reached its recipient.<br /><br />On Friday, October 25, 2002 aboard the Lufthansa 747-400, "Sachsen-Anhalt," members of the Lufthansa and Connexion by Boeing project team simultaneously activated the onboard system and the satellite network for the first time and sent the transmission. The long-haul aircraft with the registration D-ABTE was cruising over the North Atlantic south of Greenland at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). With a speed of 910 km/h, flight LH 418 was on its regular route from Frankfurt to Washington, DC.<br /><br />During the flight, a standard laptop computer was connected to the system via a secure, firewall-protected Internet connection, a virtual private network or VPN, to the Lufthansa corporate intranet.<br /><br />Commencing with the Lufthansa service demonstration, airline passengers will be able to choose from a multitude of personalised real-time services, including Internet and firewall-protected intranet access, e-commerce, entertainment content, transmission and receipt of data, shopping, travel and destination information.<br /><br />In the meantime, Lufthansa FlyNet - the working title of the Lufthansa service - has successfully completed the first series of internal tests. All components and functions of the system operated trouble-free, allowing the sending and receipt of e-mails with large text and photo files. Moreover, the Lufthansa portal, developed jointly with Tomorrow Focus AG and presenting news along with stock prices, weather and travel information, has successfully finished its first successful test. In the weeks to come, several more sophisticated tests are scheduled to guarantee reliable and robust operations.<br /><br />Commercial passengers flying the "Sachsen-Anhalt" aircraft will be able to begin using the system on January 15, 2003. For three months all passengers can use Lufthansa FlyNet with their own laptops or rental laptops onboard without charge on trans-Atlantic flights between Frankfurt and Washington Dulles (LH 418 and LH 419). Lufthansa has intentionally selected two daytime flights to gain as much information as possible about passenger use of the service.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />HNS and Central Transport Keep on Truckin<br /><br />(4 November 2002) Hughes Network Systems (HNS) Inc has announced today a new agreement with long-time HNS customer Central Transport International Inc, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier specialising in regional, national and international transportation services. Under the terms of the agreement, HNS will upgrade Central Transport's VSAT communications network to broadband using HNS' DirecWay enterprise broadband-by-satellite service solutions.<br /><br />Central Transport will utilise HNS' DW2000 equipment to carry DirecWay satellite service to nearly 300 interstate trucking terminals across North America by end of 2002. Applications on the satellite network will electronically scan and transmit bills of lading and receipts of delivery, and print and transmit work orders and assignments for individual Central Transport drivers. The Central Transport data centre in Warren, Michigan, will be interconnected with the new DirecWay services hub in Southfield, a suburb of Detroit. The new state-of-the-art HNS facility is a shared access point in the national network, operated from the DirecWay Network Management and Control Center at the HNS' headquarters in Germantown.<br /><br />With DirecWay, Central Transport will be able to introduce user-friendly, Web-based and IP-based applications that use graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and client-server architecture. In addition to tracking Central Transport employee drivers and customer shipments, DirecWay will also enable every employee to connect to a central network for general office systems, such as e-mail and desktop applications.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />HNS Provides Korea Telecom with Broadband Network<br /><br />(4 November 2002) Hughes Network Systems Inc (HNS) is providing KT Corporation (Korea Telecom) with a broadband satellite network solution for the largest gas station chain in South Korea, owned by SK Corporation.<br /><br />Utilising HNS' broadband by satellite technology, standardised e-commerce applications are being linked to next-generation IP-based applications and made available to the almost 4,000 SK gas stations and LPG filling stations nation-wide. Applications include Internet/intranet, SAP applications, as well as credit cards and bonus point card processing.<br /><br />SK gas stations are the first in Korea to be interconnected via a broadband, two-way satellite system. The system was developed to provide Internet-based multimedia services to personal and small group users and is expected to vitalise SK's exclusive gas station web site for petroleum ordering, supply and purchasing. In addition, the speed of online credit card transactions has already improved and internal broadcasting and remote training are now available at company-owned gas stations.<br /><br />Mercury Corporation of Seoul, South Korea is under contract to install and maintain the satellite broadband network, which is expected to be completed by December of this year.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />ViaSat to Develop SkyLink Broadband Equipment for Executive Aircraft<br /><br />(4 November 2002) ViaSat Inc has been awarded a contract by ARINC Incorporated for initial development of the Airborne Integrated Satellite Communications Terminal for the SkyLink business jet communication system.<br /><br />SkyLink is a broadband in-flight communications service for use on larger business aircraft. It is designed to offer extremely fast data rates, providing performance similar to high-speed Internet connections and corporate networks found in modern offices. The broadband satellite terminal will include an integrated transceiver/router and a tracking antenna subsystem developed in partnership with Rantec Microwave Systems of Calabassas, California.<br /><br />ARINC has previously announced that Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation has contracted to purchase SkyLink for installation on Gulfstream corporate jets, making Gulfstream the launch customer for the broadband satellite service.<br /><br />SkyLink will deliver digital data to aircraft at rates from 256 kb/s to 3 Mb/s, not only speeding data transmissions, but greatly increasing the possibilities for multimedia and other bandwidth hungry applications.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />EARTH OBSERVATION<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Alcatel to Provide Weather Satellite Ground Stations in Africa for PUMA Project<br /><br />(7 November 2002) Alcatel Space has been awarded a contract by the Meteorological Department of Kenya for the supply and installation of 47 receiving stations for Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) weather satellites in 45 African countries.<br /><br />The work is being carried out in the framework of the PUMA project (Preparation of the Use of MSG1 in Africa), launched in 1996 by Eumetsat (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) and the European Commission. It will signify a considerable step forward in weather forecasting for Africa and the Indian Ocean. The European Commission is providing funding via the European Development fund to deploy integrated receiving stations that will improve the accuracy and frequency of meteorological data in the region.<br /><br />Under the contract, Alcatel Space is responsible for the supply of all equipment, plus on-site installation of the ground stations and initial user training. VCS Engineering of Germany will provide some receiving and data processing hardware and software.<br /><br />Six test centres are to be delivered to Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Mauritius over the next six months. These centres will mainly be used to train future users for all countries involved. All stations should be installed within less than 20 months.<br /><br />MSG-1 data will considerably strengthen environmental monitoring throughout Africa with better and more timely information to help predict natural disasters, improve food security, and ensure more efficient water use and safer transport.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SeaSpace Corporation Announces Major Contract Awards From New Customers<br /><br />(8 November 2002) Allied Research Corporation's California-based subsidiary, SeaSpace Corporation, has received a series of orders totalling over US$ 1 million, including orders from new customers in Finland and Italy, as well as to add critical new capability to certain US Navy systems.<br /><br />SeaSpace is a leading worldwide supplier of TeraScan ground receiving stations and proprietary software used to process earth-sensing satellite data for customers needing timely and accurate weather and environmental information for critical missions.<br /><br />The new orders include three new multi-mission ground stations for receiving, processing, and routing information from weather and environmental satellites transmitting at X band, including NASA's EOS satellites, Terra and Aqua, and India's Oceansat. Two of the next generation X band TeraScan systems are for new customers, one for the Province of Benevento, Italy, and one for the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The third contract will add critical new capability to the US Navy's complement of TeraScan software and hardware products deployed near areas of potential conflict.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />NAVIGATION<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />NovAtel Awarded Contract for Galileo Interoperability Study<br /><br />(5 November 2002) NovAtel Inc has been awarded a Cdn$ 142,000 contract by Public Works & Government Services Canada for an Interoperability study on the receiver requirements for Galileo. Galileo is the European Union's state-of-the-art Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is expected to be fully operable by 2008 with up to 30 satellites orbiting the earth.<br /><br />This contract, sponsored in Canada by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), focuses principally on both GPS and Galileo receiver requirements and system performance. NovAtel will study the requirements for a combined GPS/Galileo receiver. The University of Calgary, also located in Calgary, Canada, will work under a subcontract to NovAtel to analyse the performance of the system using system constellation modelling techniques.<br /><br />Currently, NovAtel supplies GPS navigational receivers to national satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) including the US WAAS, the European EGNOS, Japanese MSAS, and Chinese SNAS. These complex receivers incorporate NovAtel's Narrow Correlator (tracking technology and MEDLL technologies, process WAAS signals from geostationary satellites, and include dual frequency L1/L2 signal reception.<br /><br />The University of Calgary, through its Department of Geomatics Engineering, is a world leading academic institution in satellite-based navigation and positioning research and training of highly qualified personnel. Research related to GPS began 20 years ago, while involvement with Galileo began in 2000.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Trimble and Spraying Systems Take Agricultural Automation to the Next Level<br /><br />(5 November 2002) Trimble and Spraying Systems Co have formed a strategic alliance to develop and market Global Positioning System (GPS) based assisted steering for agriculture application control systems.<br /><br />The integrated solution will be used to automatically guide sprayers, spreaders and combines while self-regulating the application of fertilisers, crop protection products or harvesting crops to increase efficiency. Financial terms were not disclosed.<br /><br />Spraying Systems produces and distributes products to manage precise application of fertiliser and crop protection products in agriculture internationally. The company is a world leader in providing complete application solutions from in-cab electronic consoles to smart spray nozzle tips. Adding Trimble's AgGPS Autopilot system to its array of technologies furthers Spraying Systems goal of developing and marketing solutions that automate many of the processes executed manually today on applicators and combines, and other related equipment.<br /><br />Trimble is a world leader in producing rugged and reliable GPS positioning, guidance and machine control for agriculture, construction and mining. In agriculture, automated steering is based on Trimble's proven AgGPS Autopilot system. The guidance system connects to a vehicle's steering system to automatically steer it in consistently straight rows for tilling, planting, spraying, cultivating and applying fertilisers. Automated steering saves time and money. It reduces driver fatigue, application skips and overlaps, minimises soil compaction, and increases capital equipment utilisation allowing around-the-clock operations. Most importantly, the system increases efficiency to lower the cost per acre.<br /><br />The customer further benefits from the integration of automated steering technologies into electronic display consoles in the cab, such as the Mid-Tech Legacy 6000. The solution will streamline sophisticated product applications by eliminating unnecessary electronic equipment in the vehicle cab and simplifying the overall system operation. In a typical variable rate fertiliser application, the Legacy 6000 console removes the need for multiple displays, such as a dedicated computer and one or more rate controllers. Automated steering will also be integral to the same in-cab displays. All automatic metering processes of liquid and dry materials are accessible through the Legacy 6000 console, and maps are generated and displayed in real time to validate successful operation.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />MILITARY SPACE<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />USAF Awards RSI with Data Acquisition Contract for Eagle Vision Program<br /><br />(4 November 2002) Radarsat International, (RSI) has been awarded a one-year contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) Eagle Vision Program.<br /><br />The agreement, valued at US$ 777,000, enables the USAF to routinely receive Radarsat-1 imagery at its three Eagle Vision portable ground stations. With this award the Eagle Vision program will be able to continue providing all-weather imaging capability to the USAF's global military operations.<br /><br />Eagle Vision stations are deployable satellite receiving stations designed to collect commercial satellite imagery. At present, Eagle Vision 1 receives imagery from Landsat, SPOT, Radarsat-1 and IRS 1-C and 1-D and it is being upgraded to receive QuickBird.<br /><br />Radarsat-1's history with the Eagle Vision Program dates back to 1998 when the Program's first receiving station, based in Ramstein, Germany began acquiring Radarsat-1 imagery. Since then, the USAF has acquired two additional stations, located in Reno, Nevada, and Eastover, South Carolina, considerably augmenting the operations of the Eagle Vision Program.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />LAUNCH SERVICES<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Arianespace to Launch Fourth Indonesian Satellite<br /><br />(8 November 2002) Arianespace and Indonesian satellite operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia have signed a contract for the launch of the Telkom 2 telecommunications satellite.<br /><br />Telkom-2 will be launched by an Ariane 5 in the second half of 2004 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. It is the second satellite entrusted by Telkom to Arianespace after Telkom-1, which was successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on August 12, 1999, and the fourth in total for Indonesia, following the Palapa C-2 in 1996, Cakrawarta-1 in 1997 and Telkom-1.<br /><br />Telkom-2, to be manufactured by US-based Orbital Sciences Corporation based on its Star-2 platform which can go up to 2,300 kilograms in weight, will carry 24 C band transponders and will have a 15-year in-orbit life. The satellite, which will be placed at 118° E, will enable Telkom to replace its existing Palapa-B4 satellite. Its addition will bolster Telkom's coverage in Southern Asia and the Indian subcontinent, in addition to its current Indonesian capacity. It will be used for voice, video and data communications for the region.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Atlas V to Launch Hellas Sat<br /><br />(8 November 2002) International Launch Services (ILS) and Hellas-Sat, a Greek-Cypriot consortium, have signed a contract to launch the Hellas-Sat satellite on an Atlas V rocket early next year.<br /><br />Financial terms were not disclosed.<br /><br />Hellas-Sat Consortium Ltd, based in Nicosia, Cyprus, plans to offer voice, internet, video and broadcast services to European and Balkan markets. With the launch set for the first quarter of 2003, the satellite will be in service well before the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004.<br /><br />The satellite is a Eurostar E2000+ model built by Astrium.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />BUSINESS<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />ESA Appoints Ogilvy Brand Relations to Help Market ISS Assets<br /><br />(7 November 2002) The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Ogilvy Brand Relations in Brussels, Belgium, to help it develop a branding and communications strategy for the International Space Station (ISS). ESA's objective is to raise commercial demand for use of the European assets on the International Space Station.<br /><br />Ogilvy will help ESA develop the station's brand image and design a communications strategy to put the ISS in the public eye in Europe and to raise its potential among the European business community.<br /><br />Although the communications programme will focus on the R&D community, it will also reach out to newer kinds of space entrepreneurs, active in marketing, entertainment and tourism. The R&D effort will concentrate on health, biotechnology, environment, food, and new materials.<br /><br />The fact that most companies lack experience in the commercial exploitation of space, combined with the state of today's economy, will make this a complex and challenging programme.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />PRODUCTS AND SERVICES<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Analytical Graphics Releases STK/Scheduler<br /><br />(6 November 2002) Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI) and business partner Orbit Logic Incorporated have announced the release of STK/Scheduler, commercially available software that enables spacecraft engineers and operators to schedule all aspects of operations. STK/Scheduler uses tasks, resources, and events generated by AGI's Satellite Tool Kit (STK) to rapidly produce scheduling solutions based on configurable figures of merit.<br /><br />This new scheduling software is applicable to a variety of tasks throughout the aerospace industry including satellite and ground station scheduling; system architecture design; missile defence evaluation; astronomical observation planning; and consumable resource sizing.<br /><br />Basic STK applications include calculating and visualising a vehicle's position and attitude, analysing its field of view, and determining acquisition times. STK functionality can be extended with add-on modules that support specialised tasks including 3-D battlespace visualisation, communications link analysis, collision avoidance, manoeuvre planning, real- time data interfacing, high-fidelity missile modelling, GIS analysis, attitude simulation, orbit determination, and coverage assessment.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />PEOPLE<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />New Deputy Director, Expendable Launch Vehicles & Payload Carriers Program at KSC<br /><br />(4 November 2002) Ramon Lugo III has been appointed deputy director of the Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV) & Payload Carriers Program at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), effective November 10, 2002.<br /><br />In this capacity, Lugo will serve as the ELV and Payload Carriers Program strategic interface to the Space Transportation System (STS) programs and the International Space Station (ISS). He will work with the US Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and other government agencies to establish beneficial partnerships and will be the contact for strategic contract outsourcing and industrial base issues, and for the assessment of business cases. He will be the program interface to KSC on processing facilities and institutional issues affecting KSC's launch services capabilities.<br /><br />Lugo currently serves as executive director of the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Management Office (CCSMO). He has also served in numerous positions at KSC in Space Shuttle, payloads, ELV and installation operations. His first role at KSC was as an engineer in the construction and modification branch, responsible for construction modifications to Launch Complex 39A in preparation for the first Space Shuttle launch.<br /><br />Since then, Lugo has served in several managerial roles, to include chief, Business Office, Joint Performance Management Office (JPMO) which preceded the CCSMO, deputy director, Expendable Launch Vehicle Services, manager, Facilities and Support Equipment Division, Space Station Project Office and acting director, Expendable Launch Vehicle Services. From May 1994-Feb. 1995, he served a dual assignment at Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas and NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC working on Space Station redesign.<br /><br />Susan Kroskey, currently serving as deputy director of CCSMO, will assume the role of acting executive director until further notice.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Riegler Named NASA Ames' Director Of Astrobiology, Space<br /><br />(7 November 2002) Dr Guenther Riegler, a senior executive from the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, has been named director of astrobiology and space research at NASA Ames Research Center.<br /><br />Riegler, who previously served as the executive director for science in NASA's Office of Space Science, will assume his news duties at NASA Ames in January. He succeeds Estelle Condon, who served as the acting director of astrobiology and space research at NASA Ames and recently was named an associate centre director.<br /><br />In his new capacity at NASA Ames, Riegler will direct the centre's extensive research in the fields of astrobiology (the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and destiny of life in the universe) and lead the centre's major research activities in space, Earth and life sciences.<br /><br />As the agency's executive director of the Office of Space Science, Riegler was responsible for oversight of the science requirements, management and performance of all of NASA's space science missions. He previously served as the director of the Research Program Management Division at NASA Headquarters. The division is responsible for science requirements, management and performance of all space science missions.<br /><br />Riegler joined NASA Headquarters in 1987 from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he was responsible for astrophysics mission operations and data analysis programs. Since 1995, Riegler has served as the chief scientist for the research division of the Office of Space Science. He also assumed responsibility for mission operations and data analysis management for most of NASA's operating space science missions.<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. 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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