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S at M a g azi n e W o r l d wid e Sa t ellit e Ma g azi n e January 2010 In This Issue... Small Satellites Small Package, Huge Potential Executive Interviews Sir Martin Sweeting, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. David McCourt, Satellite Holdings, LLC Forrester, Gottlieb, NSR, Radford Insights, Focus, Case Studies and more....
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MASTHEAD CONTENTSVol. 7 No. 8 January 2010SatMagazine January 2010 EDITORIAL + PRODUCTIONSilvano Payne Publisher + Writer Hartley Lesse r Editorial Director Pattie Lesser Editor Chris Forrester Associate Editor Michael Fleck Contributing EditorEurope Susan Sheppard Contributing EditorAsia Richard Dutchik Contributing Editor Alan Gottlieb Contributing Editor Dan Makinster Contributing Writer Tony Radford Contributing WriterSALES & MARKETINGJill Durfee Sales Director / Asst. EditorDEVELOPMENTSimon Payne Development ManagerTHIS ISSUES AUTHORSVictor Barendse Baron Beneski Phil Davies Chris Forrester Alan Gottlieb Hartley Lesser Pattie Lesser Randa Relich Milliron Tim Nichols Tony Radford BEAM Small Satellites The Editors .............................................................................4 BEAM The SmallSat Market By Phil Davies, SSTL. .............................................................14 NewsBEAMS The Editors ...........................................................................17InSight European Pay Radio Begins To Motor! by Chris Forrester ................................................................32InSight The New Challenge At Sea by Alan Gottlieb, Gottlieb International ......................................43InSight NSR North America, The Waning Star ...........................................48InSight Chronicles Of SATCOM The Performance Appraisal by Tony Radford .......................52Focus Event SatExpo Europe 2010 ..........................................................55Case Study Breaking Down Barriers by Victor Barendse, Wired Ocean ....56Focus Taurus II Rocketing Ahead by Baron Beneski, Orbital Sciences ............59Focus Event Bigger + Better Than Ever The 26th National Space Symposium ...................................61Case Study All Aboard!The Kazakhstan Train Connection by SES WORLD SKIES .................67Executive Spotlight David McCourt, Skyware Global ............................................69Case Study Surviving The Deadliest Catch With SAILOR Onboard by Thrane & Thrane ..........................72Focus Interorbital + TubeSat TubeSat Preps For Neptune 30 by Randa Relich Milliron .......75Case Study Matching The Pace Of Aerospace by Tim Nichols, Siemens PLM Software .................................81 Published monthly by Satnews Publishers800 Siesta Way Sonoma, CA 95476 USA Phone: (707) 939-9306 Fax: (707) 838-9235 2010 Satnews PublishersWe reserve the right to edit all submitted materials to meet our content guidelines as well as for grammar and spelling consistency. Articles may be moved to an alternative issue to accommodate publication space requirements. Submission of content does not constitute acceptance of said material by SatNews Publishers. Edited materials may, or may not, be returned to author and/or company for review prior to publication. The views expressed in our various views or opinions of SatNews Publishers.Executive Spotlight Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, SSTL ......................................37
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SatMagazine January 20103 BEAM: editors
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Commercial and military/government interests continue to fuel additional developments, with the latter especially interested in smaller satellites due to their ability to become fully operational in a far shorter period of time than larger satellites, a most important condition for Our wish to you is for a most joyous and fruitful New Year. Our industry, although far from immune to the economic doldrums affect ing the global economies, has a resiliency we should all be most thankful for, and to that end, with the proper attitudes and earnest work, all should see a continuing recovery in 2010. SatNews Publishers is most thankful for your continued support and if we can do anything to assist you with your endeavors as far as content is concerned, please contact us and let us know of your interests. Thank you!With todays extremely cost sensitive market for SATCOM and MILSATCOM, its no wonder more focus and attention is being afforded to small satellites. Weight is the issue heavy, multifunction satellites require deliver them to their assigned orbits, and such is a most expensive proposition. Due to small satellites lower weights them is far less as, usually, multiple small satellites can be simultaneously propelled into orbit. Additionally, the piggy back method can also apply to small satellites, allowing them to ride along in launch vehicles as additional passengers for a large satellite payload. Another factor of lower cost for their manufacture. Many times, a variety of smaller satellites can be built using mass production techniques.There are, basically, four types of smaller satellite: mini, micro, nano and pico. The satellites wet mass, which includes the fuel for the spacecraft, from lightest to heaviest: 4 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010
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Between 0.1 and 1 kg (0.22 to 2.2 pounds) picosatellite which includes its sub-genre, CUBESAT measuring 10x10x10 cm3 and a maximum mass of 1 kg) Between 1 and 10 kg (2.2 to 22 pounds) nanosatellite Between 10 and 100 kg (22 to 220 pounds) microsatellite Between 100 to 500 kg (220 to 1,100 pounds) minisatelliteSmall satellites also require a great deal of innovation, especially when it comes to the power driving the spacecraft for attitude control, propulsion, instrument use. Typical sources including butane, carbon dioxide (or a liquid electric power (solar or battery), with any number of new and unique propulsion systems being currently developed by a number of companies. Commercial and military/government interests continue to fuel additional developments, with the latter especially interested in smaller satellites due to their ability to become fully operational in a far shorter period of time than larger satellites, a satellites can also be replaced in far shorter time and a full constellation (or a swarm, when applied to nanos and picos) can be deployed with advanced technologies while maintaining cost restrictive budgets.Additionally, smaller satellites, once on orbit, present a unifying capability and can work harmoniously together to produce objectives. Where, previously, ground control stations were needed to order the satellites into various formations, now such can be done automatically with the smaller satellite far more responsive, timewise, to alter an objectives needs. Among the latest small satellite missions BeeSat, a pico satellite project of the Technical University of Berlin. The main objective of BeeSat was to prove the viability during on orbit wheels for pico satellite applications. BeeSat 6 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM editors
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Although there are currently several developers of CUBESATs, many of them lack a precise attitude control system, which is mandatory for more sophisticated applications as pointing capabilities are required. Having a precise attitude control system opens the gate to new potential and cost effective applications such as Earth observation, space new technologies. technologies and the advantage of forming swarms Oceansat 2 UWE 2or clusters of pico satellites will result in completely new applications at very low cost. BeeSat will demo the use of coinreaction wheels for attitude control of pico satellites in orbit as one of the key elements, on which TU Berlin is currently working. Further missions, with a focus on other key technologies, are also planned for the future. This pico satellite, launched aboard the Indian PSLV-CA launch vehicle on September 23rd, 2009, was one of several other small satellites: 7 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM editors
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Oceansat 2 (Indian Space Research (ISRO) 952 kg for EO)UWE 2 (University of Internet protocols in space, 1 kg)SwissCube 1 (oxygen emission observations at 100 km altitude, 1 kg, Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne)ITU-pSat1 (Istanbul Technical University, 1 kg, testing of an on-board passive stability system and to download 640x480 photos)Rubin 9 (ISRO, with 2 payloads, used for maritime AIS, developed by Luxspace + OHBSystems, 16 kg)This PSLV-CA launch aptly demonstrated the small satellites capabilities for multiple spacecraft occupancy within a single rocket. Upcoming in November of 2010 will be the maiden voyage of ESAs Vega solid-fueled rocket (designed to launch satellites in the 300 to 2,000 kg range) with the following passengers... AtmoCube, Trieste University, to weather, 1 kg e-st@r, cubesat developed by Politecnico di Torino, Italy, 1 kg Goliat, cubesat developed by the University of Bucharest, 1 kg The Laser Relativity Satellite (LARES) which will study the gravitational and engage in general relativity analysis, from Space, Italy PW-Sat1, which is a cubesat that is planning on from Poland, 1 kgROBUSTA, designed by the University of Montpellier II, which will examine the effects of space radiation on bipolar transistors, 1 kg SwissCube 1 ITU-pSat1 Rubin 9 Goliat Lares ROBUSTA 8 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM editors
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SwissCube 2, a cubesat with a ground segment for satellite monitoring and control, 1 kg XaTcobeo, built by the University of Viga, Spain, with 2 payloads, one to measure the other for a SRAD, with a test of a new solar panel deployment systemOUFTI-1 and UNICubeSat are also planned passengersYoull readily note the degree of involvement in small satellite development by higher learning institutions, as the lower cost factors allow for universities to engage students and grads in spatial research without incurring enormous research and manufacturing costs. arena, as is evidenced by an award just made to Orbital Sciences Corporation, that being a Phase 2 contract, from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Arlington, design for System F6 (Future Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying Spacecraft). The Phase 2 award to Orbital came as a result of a downselect by DARPA from among several companies that participated in the programs Phase 1 study contracts in 2008 and 2009. The Phase 2 contract is valued at US$74.6 million over one-year. The objective of the System F6 program is to develop and demonstrate the basic building blocks of a radically new space architecture in which traditional large, multi-functional monolithic spacecraft are replaced by clusters of wireless interconnected spacecraft modules. Each of these modules performs a subset of the tasks performed by a large classical spacecraft and works XaTcobeotogether in a cluster to provide the same overall effective mission capability. By allowing the various functions of a spacecraft to be developed and launched separately, this type of fractionated deployment, and ultimately greater survivability, including selective replacement of damaged or obsolete elements of a complex spacecraft. In the next phase of the System F6 program, Orbital will be responsible for the detailed design and ground testing of the new technologies, architectures and programmatic concepts required to successfully fractionate a space system. These include wireless data communications, cluster systems, rapidly relocatable ground systems, and value-centric design methodologies. The companys program partners include IBM and NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Phase 2 will include development of the detailed design of the spacecraft modules, ground elements and launch options; a hardware-in-the-loop test-bed ground demonstration with new technology prototypes; and release of an F6 Developers Kit, which will allow third-parties to design compatible fractionated modules, a new and radical concept in spacecraft systems. All software source code, interfaces, standards and operating systems will be available to everyone, including the public. This will allow any interested third parties to develop modules compatible with the existing spacecraft network. These modules can launch and connect to the already deployed cluster, allowing them to leverage resources available in the network. The eventual goal is to provide an open source compatibility platform where any new satellite of a worldwide interconnected system, similar in fashion as to how the Internet functions here on Earth. 10 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM editors
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For additional proof as to the interest in small satellites, lets take a look at NASA. The agency has just partnered with Dynetics and the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation, or VCSI, and has successfully completed environmental testing of the Fast, Affordable Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSATHSV01. A NASA team built this small, low-cost satellite why name it FASTSAT? Its certainly not because it travels fast. Its because it was built in a hurry. The FASTSAT team built this prototype in a mere 10months for the relatively thrifty sum of US$4 million dollars. Thats unheard of, says Marshall Space Flight Centers Edward Sandy Montgomery, to build frame and for that amount of money. But that was part of our experiment to see if it could be done. The full name says it all: Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology SATellite. FASTSATHSV01 is a unique platform that can carry multiple small instruments or experiments to low-Earth orbit on a wide range of expendable launch vehicles for a fraction of the cost traditionally required for such missions. The satellite or bus will carry six small payloads, including three technology demonstration experiments and three atmospheric research instruments. FASTSAT is 39.5 inches in diameter not much larger than the dreaded exercise ball. It is hexagonally shaped and weighs 90 kg without a payload. A payload up to 50 kg can hitch a ride. These dimensions place FASTSAT squarely in the microsatellite category. Recently completed has been the environmental satellite can withstand the rigors of liftoff and the extreme thermal conditions of space. Over the past month, engineers at the Marshall Center subjected the spacecraft to the vibration levels resident with a launch, electromagnetic emissions, and thermal vacuum conditions of space. To be included is Nanosail D, a technology experiment that will demo deployment of a compact solar sail boom system from FASTSAT. FASTSATHSV01 11 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM Editors
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Nanosail D was built, and is managed by, the Marshall Center with support from NASAs Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The other two technology experiments include the Threat Detection System and the Miniature Star Tracker, both managed by the Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. three of which were developed by Goddard scientists. The Defense Department s Science and Experiments Review Board approved all six.It is ironic, said Michael Collier, principal investigator on MINI-ME, one of the three Goddard-provided instruments. Usually you use suborbital platforms to prepare instruments for satellites. But were proving our concepts on a satellite.The InstrumentsThe three Goddard-developed instruments each weigh about 3 kg (6.6 lbs.) and are designed to study different processes in Earths upper atmosphere and the effects of solar activity in this given the fact that intense solar activity can disrupt communications and navigation satellites and exert an aerodynamic drag on low-Earth-orbiting satellites and other space assets. This is an area of intense interest to both NASA and the Defense Department, said Doug Rowland, principal investigator on the PISA instrument. of Earths atmosphere and knowledge on how it affects technological systems like GPS and cell phone networks. exercise ball and was developed to carry Earthobserving and space science missions. And due to its relatively low-cost at around $10 million, as compared with hundreds of millions for a traditional satellite the spacecraft is ideal for carrying technology-demonstration payloads.Fortuitous OpportunityThe scientists called hitching a ride on the microsatellite most fortuitous. When they began work on their IRAD-funded instruments three on MidSTAR-2, a follow-on to the successful experimental satellite system developed by students at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Academy did not receive funding to build MidSTAR-2, forcing the trio to seek a different platform on which to integrate their instruments. of the Goddard instruments, the FASTSAT spacecraft, and the availability of a Defense Department launch opportunity in exchange for experiment results allowed this mission to proceed and become a reality, said John Sigwarth the principal investigator on the Thermospheric Temperature Imager.Most space physicists dont get this type of opportunity in a career, Collier added. This is a real feel-good success story. We could not have done this without the generosity of a lot of people, he said. This is the way the IRAD program is supposed to work. MINI-ME 12 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM editors
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Goddards FASTSAT InstrumentsMINI-ME (Miniature Imager for Neutral Ionospheric Atoms and Magnetospheric Electrons) Principal Investigator Michael CollierMINI-ME, which weighs less than 3 kg. and is the smallest of the three Goddard-provided FASTSAT payloads, will look for neutral atoms the planet and protects it from the harmful effects 2012 under a US$1.6 million NASA award. Again, it will measure the ion population in Earths upper atmosphere. FASTSAT and the sounding rocket Collier said. PISA (Plasma Impedance Spectrum Analyzer) Principal Investigator Doug RowlandPISA will accurately measure electron density and temperature in Earths upper atmosphere data needed to understand the ways that solar wind produce complex structures and turbulence at high altitudes. These structures can scatter radio waves, disrupting communications with low-Earth-orbiting will study what causes the disruptions and whether scientists can predict and monitor them. PISA is a the principal investigator hopes to shrink further TTI (Thermospheric Temperature Imager) Principal Investigator John SigwarthThis revolutionary imager will measure in near real-time the global temperature of Earths thermosphere, which can heat up and expand during solar storms. Having an instrument that can provide these measurements is crucial for protecting low-altitude satellites. Skylab, for example, plunged to the Earth earlier than expected after a storm-heated atmosphere expanded and exerted an aerodynamic drag on the Thanks to a new class of very low cost launch vehicles (such as SpaceXs Falcon 1 and Kistlers K-1), doors have now been opened for inexpensive satellites and instruments.You wouldnt put an expensive payload on an inexpensive rocket its a risk issue. Youd use an an inexpensive rocket, says Edward Montgomery.FASTSAT could be used for test demonstrations of new technologies. It doesnt make sense to spend several hundred million dollars just to test a technology before a major mission when a FASTSAT can do it for so much less, states Montgomery. Thats the impetus driving this project.Small satellites they continue to prove that innovation, combined with manufacturing expediency and cost effectiveness, will continue to grow their use within our industry as viable additions to an already powerful array of products. Editors noteOur thanks to the following writers and editors who authored the NASA content: Dauna Coulter, Rob Gutro, Kim Newton, Judy Campbell, First Lt. Robert J. Wilcox and Dr. Tony Phillips. PISA instrument 13 BEAM editorsSatMagazine January 2010 BEAM editors
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The Smallsat Marketby Phil Davies, Surrey Satellite Technology LimitedDespite the perception that space is a growing market the actual number of satellites launched each year has been falling over the last 20 years from around 140 per year in the early 1990s to around 100 per year in recent years. Whilst the total number of satellites has been falling its interesting to 500kg has remained fairly constant at about 30 per year. It is my belief that the major hurdle to growth in the small satellite market is the availability of cost-effective launch. The converted ICBMs of the former Soviet states have certainly helped the manufacturers located in countries where national policy allows their use. However, there are major users of to use these launchers and this, in turn, has held back the development of the small satellite market. There are now several initiatives underway to address the launch problem. The initiatives can broadly be split into two types. Firstly, new launch vehicles are being developed: good examples being the SpaceX Falcon and the Virgin LauncherOne. What distinguishes these vehicles from most of those inspired programmes. The second type of initiative can broadly be described as ride-share, whereby launch for very small satellites, commonly described as Cubesats, will be provided by some of the governments with large launch vehicles. For example, the U.S. Atlas-5 and the European Vega will be able to offer very low cost launch, typically to educational Cubesat developers. For small satellites, what we expect to see in the coming decade is, therefore, a split in the market into minisatellites aimed at operational missions for governments and commercial operators on the one hand, and much smaller micro/nanosatellites aimed at educational missions on the other. As the market leader for development of new small satellite missions, it is illustrative to look at SSTLs product development over the last decade and into the near future as barometer on whats happening in a general sense. For many years, SSTLs core products have been optical imaging satellites. At the start of this decade, SSTL started developing the disaster monitoring constellation ( DMC) satellites, which were 90 kg satellites with wide swath multispectral imagers with 32 metre ground sample distance. At the time of their launch, in 2002/2003, these satellites were the Phil Davies, SSTL NigeriaSat being tested 14 SatMagazine January 2010 BEAM SSTL
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most sophisticated SSTL had built. Over the course of this decade, the capability of SSTLs satellites has improved at such a dramatic rate that all of SSTLs current offerings are of higher performance than DMC. The principal reason that the performance of small satellites is improving at such a phenomenally fast rate is their use of terrestrial electronics. Terrestrial electronics tend to double their performance at unit cost every two years a phenomenon known as Moores Law following Gordon Moore s observations made in the 1960s that the number of transistors on a chip doubles about every two years. Through use of such electronics, small satellite performance is improving at a rate approximating to that of Moores Law.The improvements are dramatic since the start of this decade, we have experienced an order of magnitude improvement in computing power, data storage, and data downlink speeds on small satellites and we now have small Earth observation satellites with bus performance surpassing the largest satellites of the last decade, such as the 8-ton Envisat, in many key parameters. When SSTL analysed the improvements in resolution of its own optical imaging satellites, it discovered that between 1990 and 2009, the resolution achievable on our satellites almost exactly tracked Moores law. In terms of the key parameter for such missions the ground sample distance (commonly referred to as the resolution) has dropped from 32 meters at the start of the decade to 2.5 meters for TopSat launched in 2005 and NigeriaSat-2 to be launched next year. Ongoing technology development at SSTL now enables the company to offer Sub-1-metre small satellites to the market for launch in the 2012+ timeframe. 15 SatMagazine January 2010 BEAM SSTL
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Thus, small satellites have become a classic case of the disruptive technology referred to by Clayton Christensen in his 1990s works Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave and The Artistic rendition of NigeriaSat-2 in orbitInnovators Dilemma. The technology being disrupted is the large and exquisite imaging satellite with a price tag measured in $ billions rather than $ millions. While such systems produce superb imagery, they are generally unaffordable to all but the richest countries and, even then, are generally too expensive to deploy in multiple numbers limiting the ability of the owners to gather timely imagery.A constellation of small satellites, at, or below, the price of one large and exquisite satellite, could provide much more imagery in total and much more timely imagery with latency measured in hours rather than days. Such a system would also be inherently fault resilient through redundancy at constellation level and would also allow much simpler service continuity by occasional replacement of one satellite in the constellation rather than the big bang approach of replacing a large and expensive satellite with a rebuild every few years.What this implies in terms of launch mass is that operational customers are generally demanding new missions with high capability which translates into masses in the range 100kg to 500kg. For non-operational missions with education or technology demonstration aims the masses are typically sub-50kg. For the operational customers, the market for such satellites would surely expand very rapidly once there is a reliable, low cost and readily available launcher addressing this market. Fingers crossed SpaceX and Virgin Galactic achieve that goal in the coming years. UK-DMC2 16 SatMagazine January 2010 BEAM SSTL
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ISRO Earns Respect + Revenue...ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) earned more than Rs 100 crore in the last three years by launching satellites of other countries, Minister of State in PMO Prithviraj Chavan told the Lok Sabha. The space agency launched 12 foreign satellites during the last three years, including six nano satellites at a cost of Rs 101.60 crore, he said. In reply to a separate query, Chavan said ISRO also plans to launch a naval satellite in 2010-11, which would provide a communication facility to various naval vessels. He said the ISRO plans to send human beings in space and undertake planetary exploration within the next decade.The space program also envisioned enhancing capabilities in the areas of satellite pursuing research in space science, astronomy and planetary exploration, he said. ISROs Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is capable of putting into orbit a 500 kg payload to undertake a mission to Mars.The Planetary Society Believes In LightSailing...The Planetary Society has announced LightSail, a plan to sail a spacecraft on sunlight alone by the end of 2010. The new solar sail project, boosted by a US$1 million anonymous donation, was unveiled on the 75th anniversary of the birth of Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan, a long-time advocate of solar sailing.LightSail is an innovative program that will launch three separate spacecraft over the course of several years, beginning with LightSail-1, which will demo that sunlight alone can propel a spacecraft in Earth orbit. LightSails-2 and 3, more ambitious still, will reach farther into space. Taking advantage of the technological advances in microand with three Cubesat spacecraft. One Cubesat will form the central electronics and control module, and two additional Cubesats will house the solar sail module. Cameras, additional sensors, and a control system will be added to the basic Cubesat electronics bus.LightSail-1 will have four triangular sails, arranged in a diamond shape resembling a giant kite. Constructed of 32 square meters of mylar, LightSail-1 will be placed in an orbit over 800 kilometers above Earth, high enough to escape the drag of Earths uppermost atmosphere. At that altitude the spacecraft will be subject only to the force of gravity keeping it in orbit and the pressure of sunlight on its sails increasing the orbital energy. go to the Sun-Earth Libration Point, L1, where solar sails could be permanently placed as solar weather stations, monitoring the geomagnetic storms from the Sun that potentially endanger electrical grids and satellite systems around Earth. James Cantrell, CEO of Strategic Space Inc, is Project Manager of LightSail-1. Stellar Exploration will build the spacecraft in San Luis Obispo, California. Other team participants include the Cubesat development group at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and a team at Russias Space Research Institute. SatMagazine January 201017 newsbeams
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NTS NanoSat Monitors Illegal Fishing For Canadian ForcesexactEarth Ltd., a subsidiary of COM DEV International Ltd., has successfully used its space-based AIS (Automatic ) technology, exactAIS, to assist the Canadian Forces (CF) and Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in monitoring illegal unregulated unreportedIUU) weeks, the Company has tasked its NTS nanosatellite to monitor a targeted region signals that are required to be transmitted by several classes of ocean-going vessels. The exactEarth data has been combined with other surveillance information to enable the Canadian Forces and DFO to focus their We are pleased our technology has been able to contribute to international efforts to Peter Mabson, President of exactEarth. This project illustrates just one of the many applications made possible by the exactAIS as nets up to 40-kilometres long catch everything in their path, resulting in depletion of concealing their violations. Canada through DFO is one of many countries cooperating exactEarth to supply AIS data to assist in the monitoring and enforcement of IUU practices. daily basis over the entire region of the IUU study a region which spanned more than six million square kilometres in the northern were able to target their monitoring efforts, which include aerial surveillance by Aurora cost-effective manner over this wide expanse. 2008, to validate COM DEVs space-based AIS technology. Having successfully completed its original mission, the 8-kilogram spacecraft continues to orbit the Earth every 90 minutes and remains fully functional. IUU monitoring operational, rather than demonstration purposes. 18 SatMagazine January 2010 newsbeams
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19 SatMagazine January 2010 newsbeamsShrinking Swedish Satellites In Space!AC Microtec in Sweden tests miniaturized satellite systems in space, and for the in space. On Wednesday, September 23rd, an Indian PSLV launcher brought AACs miniaturized computers, control systems, and mass memories to test in their real working level packaged (3D-WLP) microelectronic and MEMS equipped nanosatellite in space. AC Microtec has, together with RUAG Space (ex. Saab Space), developed an advanced nanosatellite architecture based on a plug-and-play concept for rapid response and OHB Systems in Bremen.The satellite architecture is called INOVATORINAC Technologies on Rubin of miniaturized subsystems for data handling, communication, attitude control and mass memories. advanced experiment for future small, powerful satellites that can be offered for launch from jet airplanes and by small launchers. The attitude control modules use ACs thru-silicon-via (TSV) technology XiVIA. that a nano-satellite system entirely built in a 3D-packaging technology is demonstrated in space. Through demonstrate the basis for the small satellites of the future: the total mass of our subsystems is
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20 SatMagazine January 2010 only 120 grams! This is a revolution which makes instruments on small satellites since the control Robert Thorslund, Project Manager at AC Microtec. memory that reuses electrical design elements from the ESA-satellites Herschel and Planck, aiming at demonstrating that the AC technology can be used for realizing existing designs. been of particular interest to see if ACs technology could be useful in hybrid solutions where parts of existing designs are miniaturized. We have successfully integrated and Lars NordfeldtThe launch of RubinSat 9.2 was performed as a piggyback service with the research satellite Ocean-Sat 2, launched from India on September 23rd. The launcher was a Polar Launch Service Vehicle (PLSV-C14 by the Swedish National Space Board and was been developed under a three-year schedule. PSLV-C14 also carried the 960 kg indigenous Oceansat 2 and six other nano satellites, including four Cubesats and two Rubinsats. Oceansat 2 is the 16th Indian remote sensing satellite and is a cuboid with two solar panels projecting from the sides.ISRO To Receive Nano From Students For Eco WorkIn India, IT Kanpur has developed a nano-satellite that is expected to provide real-time The satellite, designed and developed by a group of students of the institute, will be handed over to ISRO, which is expected to launch it by the end of the year. This satellite conditions. We will set up a tracking station in our institute S. G. Dhande said. The nanosatellite, which will be named Jugnu (in English, ), will have a mass of less than 10 kg. It will piggyback on larger launches, avoiding the need for a dedicated launch. newsbeams
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BEAM editors PacTel Intl Mobile Network Launch In FunafutiPactel International has launched a new in Funafuti. To date, this network already has more than 600 subscribers. The existing network was damaged by a storm in 2007, leaving the Islands customers without mobile phone coverage. Pactel International was appointed by Tuvalu Telecom Corporation to install a replacement mobile phone network to operate on the island. This has allowed the Companys customers to access normal mobile services at very competitive rates. Simeti Lopati, CEO of Tuvalu Telecom Corporation expressed his pleasure in Pactels solution and its tailored ability to serve the needs of the people of Funafuti: Tuvalu Telecom is grateful to Pactel International for the assistance it provided in restoring our mobile phone service. Despite a number of geographical and environmental challenges, Pactel International managed to design and to our needs. This solution has noticeably improved Tuvalu Telecoms services and partnership with Pactel International, which SSTL Launches Satellites x 2 For Disaster DeterminationMore is better as SSTL expands the capability of the only spaced-based disaster monitoring system, the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), with the successful launch of the UK-DMC2 and
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22 SatMagazine January 2010 Deimos-1 satellites. The British built satellites were launched onboard a Dnepr rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome satellites are now commissioned. DMC, which provides Earth observation imagery for a range of commercial and environmental applications as well as to the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters. The AlSAT-1, was launched in 2002 and with the addition of these further two satellites, the total Deimos Space Companys subsidiary, DMCii. The latest spacecraft continue SSTLs rapid advances in innovative space solutions with each satellite having ten times the capability of the SSTLs Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting, commented, These latest two satellites will advance the capability of the DMC, an international constellation conceived and established by SSTL to provide affordable Earth observation space assets to all, and continue to demonstrate the commercial value of space as evidenced by SSTLs strategy for the space industry that will build Britains leadership in space. SSTL launch vehicle: DubaiSat-1, AprizeSat-3, AprizeSat-4 and Nanosat-1B.SES Purchase Of Protostar 2SES S.A. has announced the Companys SES Satellite Leasing business unit in the Isle of Man was selected as the successful bidder in a public auction for the Protostar 2 satellite with a US $185 million, all cash offer. Upon conclusion of the transaction, Protostar 2 will be integrated into SES WORLD SKIES to provide incremental capacity over Asia. Protostar 2, built by Boeing, carries 22 physical launched in May this year onboard a Proton rocket and is expected to provide at least 15-years of operational service. newsbeams
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24 SatMagazine January 2010 Boeing GOES-14 Enters Full Service Boeing announced GOES-14 (formerly GOES-O), the second satellite in a series of built by Boeing for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has completed on-orbit testing monitor weather conditions across approximately 60 percent of the planet, including the United States. 14 from the NOAA Satellite Operations Control Center in Suitland, Maryland, after from Cape Canaveral Air 14 successfully completed a series of postlaunch milestones, including launch and orbit-raising data reviews, a contingency operations readiness review, of the instruments and communications services. GOES-13 (formerly GOES-N) as a backup satellite for the two-satellite during spring 2010 and begin providing critical data for the next hurricane season.On December 16, Boeing shipped the third satellite, GOES-P, from the companys satellite integration and test complex in El Segundo to Cape Canaveral, where it will a Delta IV rocket procured from United Launch Alliance through Boeings commercial launch business, Boeing Launch Services. The launch is planned for February 25 from Cape Canaverals Space Launch Complex 37.Intelsat Etisalat Signs On With IS-15Intelsat, S.A. has announced Etisalat UAE has signed a multi-year capacity contract on Intelsats recently launched Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15), located at 85 degrees East. Etisalat will use this capacity to expand its network platform beyond the United Arab Emirates and provide higher-bandwidth broadband services to its enterprise customers First full disk image from GOES-14newsbeams
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25 SatMagazine January 2010 IS-15 is expected to enter service during 2010. Once on station, IS-15 will replace the Intelsat 709 satellite. IS-15s Indian Ocean region to distribute high growth applications that include cellular backhaul for wireless communications to remote locations; broadband networks for enterprise applications; IP Trunking for robust Internet connectivity; and video services for DTH programming.DigitalGlobe WorldView-2 Is EngagedDigitalGlobes WorldView-2, has achieved full operational capability on the launch. The satellite completed its commissioning process, enabling from its global resellers, partners, and customers. WorldView-2 QuickBird and WorldView-1, to enable an annual imaging capacity equivalent to three times the earths land mass. WorldView-2 collects multispectral imagery at 1.8 meter resolution and panchromatic imagery at 0.46 meters.NASA A Moving Experience To AMC 3NASA Televisions Public, Education and Media channels will be available for downlink on Americoms AMC 3 its online program schedule to improve its readability. Satellite and cable service providers, networks, their reporters and other broadcast media organizations must tune their satellite receivers to the Media Channel to ensure reception of clean feeds for all mission coverage, media organizations will no longer be able to rely on content from the Public Channel for Live Interactive Media Outlet (LIMO) Channel also will migrate to AMC 3. For complete downlink information, select this direct link.The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI and a few not so surprising results based on responses from SSPI members around the world. newsbeams
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26 SatMagazine January 2010 professionals is remarkably even, with 43 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 39 and 80 percent of respondents under the age of 54. The industry pays satellite industry employers to invest in who have 6-15 years in the industry have worked for their current employer 6-15 years. The industry suffers from striking gender disparity that is unlikely to improve soon. Approximately 80 percent of industry employees are male, and the proportions hold up across all ages, though not across all job functions. People who work in the industry are proud to recognize it as a distinct sector of the global telecom industry. A large majority, when asked what they do for a living, say I There have been a lot of anecdotal assumptions about the satellite industry workforce, Tamara Bond, SSPI Membership Director and author of the report. In order to better support the professional of the industry and gain insight into those who call themselves satellite professionals. The survey yielded a wealth of information about the people we work with as well as the apparent and a video with the author are available by selecting the above graphic.TriaGnoSys Certainly Is Up In The AirTriaGnoSys has completed its (ATM ) communications suite, a mobile aeronautical communication network based on Internet technologies for cockpit and cabin services, which seamlessly integrates satellite and terrestrial data links. The technology was developed as part of the EU-funded Networking the Sky (NEWSKY which is forecast to double by 2025 according to the latest Eurocontrol a terrestrial link was automatically selected, depending on operational preferences and the availability of links, resulting in a seamless handover between the networks ensuring communications, as well as weather map downloads. A central feature of the suite is the use VoCeM compression and optimization technology.Ariane 5 Oui! Eye Spy In The Sky As French Helios 2B Launches newsbeams
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27 SatMagazine January 2010 Arianespace wraps up another successful year of operations with the orbiting of the French Helios 2B military very-high-resolution optical imaging observation (spy) satellite, which was produced by Thales Alenia Space and launched at the European Spaceport French Space Agency. This was the third time in 2009 that Arianespaces launcher carried defense and security payloads. On its year-opening mission in February, Ariane 5 lofted two Spirale satellite demonstrators COMSATBw-1 Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall of Arianespaces role as a launch services provider, and to space provided by a system that is backed by European governments and its space industry. During the past 30 years, our company has launched 277 satellites 32 of which were for the requirements of European defense. We have 10 new contracts signed in 2009 soon 11 and we once again lead the pack, and our order book guarantees the launch rate of six to seven Ariane 5s annually for the years Thales Alenia Space has produced all the high-resolution instruments for Helios said Reynald Seznec, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space. By drawing on our expertise in optical engineering and industrial facilities newsbeams
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28 SatMagazine January 2010 that are unrivaled in Europe, we have developed instruments that are increasingly sophisticated and also provide greater and greater precision in terms of both spatial and spectral resolution. Thales Alenia Space has the capabilities needed to remain the trusted partner of the French Ministry of Defence in the coming years, for both observation and communications as Helios 2B, and is operated in conjunction with the Ariane 5 ECA on missions to geostationary transfer orbit that carry telecommunications satellite payloads. As a result, Arianespace uses two standardized 5,954 kg, including the HELIOS 2B satellite. This bird is the second satellite in a newgeneration spaceborn observation system for military applications that has been created 2 and Helios 1 satellites have been launched by Ariane vehicles, starting with Helios 1A in Lockheed Martins GOES-R Gets The GoThumbs up for the Lockheed Martin team, originally awarded a contract by NASA in 2007 to design and build the agencys Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) for the (GOES)-R Series. The team just met the requirements of a Critical Design Review at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center (ATC ) in Palo Alto by as well as a number of independent reviewers. The SUVI instrument will be built at the ATC under the management of the companys Sensing & Exploration Systems organization. The Lockheed Martin SUVI instrument meets and exceeds all performance requirements. The design provides over six times more pixels (picture elements) than required, and United Launch Alliance NASAs WISE Wins Its FreedomUnited Launch Alliance capped 2009 with the launch of a Delta IIWide(WISE) spacecraft on December the 17th. Rocketing from Space Launch Complex-2, the launch was the eighth Delta II of 2009 and represents the 37th newsbeams
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29 SatMagazine January 2010 operation. WISE will scan the entire sky using an infrared telescope with sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before possible, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. The mission will uncover objects never seen, including the coolest stars, the universes most luminous galaxies and some of the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets. The Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems (ATK ) strap-on solid rocket motors. An Aerojet AJ10-118K engine powered the second stage. The payload was encased by a 10-foot-diameter composite payload fairing.Lockheed Martin GPS2+ Conveyed To InmarsatLockheed Martin has completed site acceptance testing over the Inmarsat-4 satellite network and delivered the Global Satellite Phone Service (GSPS) gateway in Subic Bay to Inmarsat. program contract that was awarded to Lockheed Martin in December 2006. In addition, Lockheed Martin successfully implemented and integrated the evolution of the Global Mobile Radio (GMR2) standard to GMR2+, providing improved performance and features over the prior generation of Lockheed Martin gateway products. newsbeams
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30 SatMagazine January 2010 ESA Gaia To Glean Galaxy GoodiesThe European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Gaia satellite into space using the launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center mapper, will be placed into the deep space beyond the lunar orbit. Hipparcos mission. Built by EADS Astrium, it will weigh around 2,100 kg at launch and is equipped with a most sensitive telescope and a latest generation instrument from the second Lagrangian point (or L2), located at about 1.6 million kms away from the Earth.NASA | NOAA GOES-P Enters Post Storage Testing Phase GOES-O spacecraft, now called GOES-14 in orbit, the NASA team removed the GOES-P spacecraft from storage prepared for an early March 2010 launch and, if the launch schedule holds, it boasts an unprecedented two launches in approximately 8 months. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), called GOES-P, is targeted to launch on February 25 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. GOES-15 of the Earth including the continental United States, providing weather monitoring and forecast operations, as well as a continuous and reliable stream of environmental system using star trackers and Hemispherical Inertial Reference Units navigation has an accuracy of about 2 km from an orbit altitude of about 22,300 miles, or Ultraviolet (EUV) telescope.newsbeams
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Boeing And ILS Proton Takes Off On A Breeze And Brings TV DIRECTly To U.S.ILS Proton successfully launched the DIRECTV 12 satellite for DIRECTV on December 29, 2009 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. International Launch Services (ILS) and Boeing have been working diligently to ensure the successful launch of the DIRECTV 12 satellite into orbit, which occurred from Pad 39 at the Cosmodrome at 6:22 a.m. local on-orbit signals of the satellite, wich weighs more than 5.9 metric tons, from the satellites nine hours after its launch into geostationary transfer orbit, indicating that the satellite is healthy and operating normally. DIRECTV 12 is a Boeing 702 commercial satellite that will provide consumer television programming to millions of U.S. households and will expand DIRECTVs HD capacity by 50 percent with more than 200 national channels and 1,500 local HD and digital channels and more advanced services for its 18 million customers nationwide. The satellite will receive and transmit programming throughout the United Handover of DIRECTV 12 is scheduled for early 2010. Together with DIRECTV 10 and 11, the new satellite will consumers across the contiguous United States, Hawaii and Alaska. launch, overall. ILS Proton launched the DIRECTV 10 satellite just two years ago, fully for future missions. This was the 351st launch for the Proton, following the landmark 350th Proton launched just two weeks earlier on 14 December. The Proton Breeze M Moscow, one of the pillars of the Russian space industry. launch with the DIRECTV 10 satellite. At that time, it was the largest satellite launched 12, DIRECTV once again entrusted their business to us with the continuation of this Frank McKenna. introduction of HD. We relied on ILS Proton in 2007 to launch DIRECTV 10 and knew that launch of DIRECTV 12. We thank the entire mission team from ILS, DIRECTV and Boeing, Jim Butterworth, DIRECTV 31 SatMagazine January 2010 newsbeams
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32 SatMagazine January 2010 INSIGHT FORRESTERWe make no excuses for returning so speedily to the position of Sirius-XM and its wouldbe European imitator Ondas Media. The news concerning the prospects for an international version of Sirius grew considerably during Decem ber as Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin as well as his 40 were looking closely at international options. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said that Liberty would fund any international expansion for Sirius and although he did not Worldspace assets, that seems to be the general conclusion. Indeed, just as Maffei was talking to Wall Street analysts, Ondas Media, which wants to launch pay-radio services over Europe, was issuing a statement designed to force Liberty to pause with its plans. Ondas announced that radio technology company Delphi has signed an exclusive sat-radio agreement with Ondas Media. The deal in effect scuppers any plan that Sirius-XM, Liberty Media and Worldspace might have had for a Europe-wide pay-radio service based on cars with factory-installed radios. The formal statement says Delphi Corp. has signed an Exclusivity Agreement with Ondas satellite radio receivers in Europe. Muddying the water more than a little is the fact that Delphi had a similar exclusive agreement with Worldspace (announced in 2008 at that years CES show). Previously, Delphi was committed to developing the Ondas satellite radio reference design, but were also providing the production reference design for manufacturers supplying Worldspace kit for Italys Fiat vehicles. At that time Worldspace promised a service would be introduced in Italy during 2009. Despite Worldspaces Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Fiat/Worldspace agreement remains in force (although is the subject of separate legal squabbles), although now not with a Delphi supply package included. This new arrangement ensures that Delphi, the leading satellite radio supplier to car companies in the U.S., will only supply Ondas radios in the European market. Delphi will still supply the reference technology of Ondas reception systems to all Ondas OEM radio manufacturers as per the original agreement, the statement continues. based on their achievements with OEM customers, radio broadcasters, regulators, and infrastructure and have integrated their radios into 200 different models of automobiles for both Sirius and XM European Pay-Radio Begins To Motor!by Chris Forrester
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33 SatMagazine January 2010 INSIGHT FORRESTERtechnologies. This commitment gives Ondas a said their statement. What this deal means is that Worldspace (either as a revived company, or with Liberty and/or Sirius-XM as active participants) cannot use Delphi-supplied or patented components in Europe. There are certain other suppliers of satellite radios (notably Kenwood). Another company, New Jersey-based Consumer Satellite Radio LLC (CSL), infringement claims earlier this year against Sirius, XM, and U.S. retailers such as Radio Shack alleging that CSLs patents within the technology had been used without permission. However, as far as the Delphi/Ondas contract is concerned, this is a major step forward for Ondas. Building a car is itself a hugely complex process, and the supply of radio units into upscale and massmarket vehicles is a major undertaking especially when one considers the behind the fascia trim options available to buyers. The Delphi agreement means it will be even more challenging for Worldspace (or its associates) to now get factory-installed sat-radios into European vehicles. It isnt impossible, of course, and listeners might be happy to have a separate Worldspace receiver bolted onto a dashboard somewhere. But it wont be pretty! Indeed, it is a widely-held misunderstanding to consider that Sirius-XM integrate their own satellite reception technology into a vehicle. This is for both Sirius and XM in the early days, and were often called upon to get other manufacturers technology working. Delphi was instrumental in
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Sirius satellite 34 SatMagazine January 2010 the early success of XM in time to market, and also aided Sirius during its many challenges to get to service launch (recall that early Sirius CEO David Margolese was let go for failing to hit service launch dates and during his tenure experienced up to 30 months of technology integration delays. Delphi were brought in to rescue that schedule). Therefore while Sirius XM can offer Worldspace lots of advice based on the many mistakes they made (but survived), the fact is that to get this sort of technology into a car requires quite a bit more than a simple cheat sheet of tick-box options. Without Delphi, many believe it is inconceivable that Italys Fiat cars will have factory installed radios anytime in the near future. Sirius XM certainly cant do it Avenue of Americas. Meanwhile the satellite technology that Ondas will probably use is coming back to life. Solaris Mobile is the joint-venture between Eutelsat and SES Astra that had hoped by now to be transmitting S-band signals from a giant Harris -supplied W2A satellite. The antenna suffered an anomaly and isnt working Mobile from announcing a technical trial with Alcatel-Lucent and French transmission company TowerCast to test DVB-SH radio to demonstration vehicles in and around Paris. satellite-to-terrestrial trial, which uses the special S-band payload on Eutelsats W2A orbiting satellite, despite Solaris having to dramatically amend its business plan. However, the S-band payload is the subject of a major insurance claim, and Solaris CEO Steve Maine says the crafts insurers have agreed to pay 100 percent of the claim. It is known that the Solaris Mobile payloads problems are one of capacity and scale and not operability. Maine has said that Solaris can offer all its planned services, INSIGHT FORRESTER
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35 SatMagazine January 2010 although not necessarily in the scale that would The upcoming trial/test is designed to demonstrate the commercial possibilities still available from W2As S-band cargo. Any revenues received on a future commercial deployment would be shared with the crafts insurers. Maine says that a potential service to cars of the type being planned by Ondas could be deployed to Paris and another territory. A third service could be offered on a much wider basis, but would need to consume less capacity.It is known that Ondas Media is looking closely at France and Germany. It has carmaker deals in place with Renault BMW, and Nissan. It is already a matter of record that Solaris Mobile and its shareholders are weighing the options of how to replace the damaged S-band payload. Solaris is under certain EU obligations to use the capacity, or lose it. The bandwidth is required to be in use by May 2011. Inmarsat has a similar obligation on its Maine admits that a radio deployment is now unlikely this coming year (2010). When Solaris (apparent) enthusiasm for DVB-SH services to mobile phones and similar devices in cars. Those schemes have all but evaporated. However, Maine remains optimistic saying that while the pure DVB-H/DVB-SH telco-market may have vanished there remained more, not less, opportunities for the S-Band payload and video in general. However, heres a strange thing. Despite the very public support from Sirius and Liberty INSIGHT FORRESTERMedia for their international pay-radio plans, their stockholding investors seem not to be that impressed. As this is written, the Sirius share price Mel Karmazin (speaking at a recent Reuters Global Media Forum) stated that Liberty and Sirius XM are indeed in talks about the Worldspace. This could mean that coverage in Europe, India, and other foreign markets might now be opened to Sirius XMs satellite coverage possibilities, as well as technology sharing, and content distribution deals. As Liberty is seemingly putting up all the costs, Sirius XM can receive cash directly to their bottom line, which is already going endeavors solely. This one would think is good news for Sirius.Sirius (SIRI) has traded at around 60 to 70 cents since September, and while every one cent moves up or down makes a meaningful difference to the payUS$2.4bn, and with trading at 62 to 63c), it would seem fair to say that Sirius shareholders seem not to be that impressed by any thoughts of an international roll-out for Sirius. Karmazin has fairly stated that he didnt see any international investment plans for Sirius other than there could be opportunities on the revenue side of the balance sheet.Meanwhile, theres the question of wrapping up Worldspaces Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is ongoing. A meeting that was originally scheduled to take place at the Delaware Bankruptcy Court on December 2 was scrubbed. Worldspace now has until January 31st and has until April 1st to hopefully wrap its bankruptcy protection up although it is worth stressing that these dates can be extended.
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However, it would seem from a reading of the seat for the failed radio broadcaster and in effect controls the two somewhat tired Worldspace satellites (AfriStar and AsiaStar), both now nearing the end of their working lives. Afristar was launched in October 1998 and has solar-panel problems, and with an operational design life of just 12 years which is close although it could stay on station (+/1 deg) for a further 3 years or so. Asiastar was launched in March 2000, again with a 12-year lifespan, so this craft has a slightly longer use by date. Worldspace also has an asset in the shape of Worldspace 3, a craft thats sitting in a satellite warehouse in Toulouse. It would be unfair to call it DustSat, given that it is carefully stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled clean environment, but by any measure the satellite now has some tired components that would need replacement.This third Worldspace satellite will also need aggressively target Europe. Finally, a new owner needs to stump up the launch and insurance costs for WS3 and this means real money measured in the tens of millions of dollars. Liberty Medias satellite arm is going to have to fund this if it hopes to launch a real L-band service across greater Europe.To summarise, Worldspace has to emerge from Chapter 11, staff hired, and battered relationships rebuilt. Cash must then be paid to fund the slot booked (and this is not easy) and insurance an iceberg of challenges, and is by no means a pushover even for Dr. John Malone About the authorLondon-based Chris Forrester is a well-known en tertainment and broadcasting journalist. He reports on all aspects of the TV industry with special em and emerging technologies. This includes interac tive multi-media and the growing importance of web-streamed and platforms including cable, satellite and digital terrestrial TV as well as cellular and 3G mobile. Chris has been investigating, researching and reporting on the so-called broadband explosion for 25 years. AfriStar satellite 36 SatMagazine January 2010 Executive Spotlight INSIGHT FORRESTER
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The main advantage of small satellites are the speed with which they can be developed and the cost savings that ensue. SatMagazine January 2010 37 Executive Spotlight Serving as both the Chairman and as a Director of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), as well as Director of the Surrey Space Centre (SSC), Sir Martin Sweeting has been honored on numerous occasions for his work that pioneered the concept of rapid-response, low-cost and highly-capable small satellites us ing modern terrestrial COTS (commercial off the shelf) devices to change the economics of space. at the University of Surrey, he formed SSTL Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. which has now designed, built, launched and operates in orbit a total of 27 nano, micro, and minisatellites including the international Disaster Monitoring Constellation (with Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and U.K.) and the GIOVE-A Galileo satellite for ESA. SSTL has also developed a highly successful satellite know-how transfer and training program and the 1990s, as the capabilities of small satellites rapidly increased, they moved from being a research activity to meeting real applications for Earth observation, communications and space science. In 2004, SSTL formed a company DMC International Imaging ( DMCii) to coordinate the DMC and to exploit the commercial applications of the DMC EO data. Working in partnership with the U.K. British National Space Centre and DMC Consortium members, the constellation is providing services and imagery to the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters. DMCii provides 24-hour event of a major disaster, tasks the global space agencies. Images from the DMC are used in a wide variety of commercial and government applications including agriculture, forestry and environmental mapping, and as the United Nations and the U.S. Geological Survey during disasters such as the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. for SSTL. Today, SSTL employs almost 300 staff, has launched 34 spacecraft, with seven more under Sir Martin Sweeting Professor Sir Martin Sweeting Chairman + Director Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
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SatMagazine January 2010 38 Executive Spotlight Executive Spotlight manufacture, and is delivering missions that provide critical and valuable services to customers across the globe. In 2008 the Company established a U.S. subsidiary, Surrey Satellite Technology LLC, end of that year, EADS Astrium NV bought a 99 percent shareholding in SSTL from the University growth potential. Sir Martin is also Director of the Surrey Space Centre, leading a team of 60 faculty and doctoral researchers investigating advanced small satellite concepts and techniques, which acts as the research laboratory for SSTL: real academiccommercial synergy. In 1995, Sir Martin was awarded the OBE in HM Queens Birthday Honours and the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal, both in recognition of his pioneering work in small satellites. In 1996, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and in 2000 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (the U.K.s national academy) and also awarded the Royal Societys Mullard Prize Sir Martin was knighted by 2002 British New Year Honours for services to the small satellite industry. In 2006, he was appointed a Distinguished Professor at the University of Surrey, invited to sit on the BNSC Space Advisory Council, and to join the ESA & Exploration. He was awarded the Royal Institute of Navigation Gold Medal in recognition of the successful GIOVE-A mission for the European Galileo system and featured in the U.K.s Top Ten Great Britons and received the Times Higher Education Supplement Award for Innovation for the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). We were delighted to have the opportunity to learn more about Sir Martins exceptional career.SatMagazine (SM)Sir Martin, you have just received the Faraday Award, what exactly is this honour and what does the bestowment of the Faraday mean to you? Plus, your Faraday award is especially notable in that it making it a double compliment do you interpret it as such?Sir Martin SweetingThe Faraday Medal is the highest award made by the IET and, as a radio engineer by training, it is particularly special to be recognised by this award named after Michael Faraday a great experimentalist.SMHow was SSTL originally formed, and when? What was the companys original charter? And, what was SSTLs connection with NASA?Sir Martin SweetingSpace at Surrey started in 1979 and grew initially as a research group pioneering the then unheard-of microsatellites using commercial off-the-shelf technologies and components to achieve small but highly capable satellites at a fraction of the conventional cost. SSTL was formed in 1985 after the launch of our second satellite and its remit was to commercialise the research experience gathered thus far and to attract funding for continued satellite missions. SSTLs only connection with NASA was through the provision of launch opportunities for our Photo courtesy of Leroy Sanchez
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Executive Spotlight SatMagazine January 2010 39 Executive Spotlight rockets carrying NASA payloads and with the help of AMSAT.SM SSTL? And how were off the shelf components used in its manufacture? You were certainly well ahead of the times, earning your PhD in the late 70s designing and building this small, 50 kg satellite. You successfully launched the satellite and communicated through amateur radio bands back to a ground station at the Surrey campus. Was this way this can be accomplished?Sir Martin Sweeting and used many COTS components some early that formed the basis of later digital cameras, and a speech synthesiser chip that was used in a speak&-spell childrens toy, which the satellite used to speak telemetry from orbit that could be listened to using a simple FM hand-held receiver on the amateur radio bands. My PhD was in nothing to do with satellites it was researching shortwave radio antennas satellites were my hobby! Designing, building, testing and launching the I learned a lot the hard way there were many sceptics as to the feasibility of us building satellites at a small university lab, and also as to whether they SMJust recently, your company was acquired by EADS Astrium NV. Prior to this change of ownership, the University of Surrey played a hugely important role with SSTL. How has the EADS Astrium acquisition changed the University of Surrey relationship with SSTL?Sir Martin SweetingThe acquisition by EADS has been important to enable SSTL to grow and realise its potential the links with the University remain very strong since the Surrey Space Centre academic research team act as the R&D labs for the Company through a formal IP relationship and this is strongly supported by ASTRIUM. SMGiven how busy you are as an engineer, with your work at the University of Surrey, and with your management of SSTL, how do you manage to ensure your family time remains your personal time? How has the family handled your continual rise within the satellite community?Sir Martin SweetingYou are correct, running two organisation is very demanding in both time and energy, but it is stimulating and enjoyable (99 percent of the time!) I am very lucky that my hobby turned into my job! My family is proud of what has been achieved at Surrey and the recognition it has brought, but always bring me back down to Earth by reminding space!SM it for you, representing a University, to be interfacing with huge government entities such as NASA? Are the turn-around times for answers to questions and other collaborative efforts daunting?Sir Martin SweetingI represent both the University and also the Company and most of my dealings are with ESA and the U.K. BNSC and international customers, rather than with NASA (although we hope to do more with NASA !). Large organisations (both institutional and industrial) have inevitable inertia that can, at times, be frustrating, but increasingly our customers come to Surrey and SSTL because we can offer an alternative, more rapid, more
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SatMagazine January 2010 40 Executive Spotlight Executive Spotlight requirements or aspirations.SM in Denver, Colorado. What was the purpose of that new subsidiary, its goals, and is the unit well on its way to meeting those milestones?Sir Martin SweetingThe USA is the largest space market in the world outside the U.S. We have completed several satellite projects successfully with U.S. organisations but it is clearly easier from inside the fence and so we took the decision to establish an SST-US in Colorado so that the small satellite expertise and experience could be transferred into the U.S. and projects carried out on U.S. soil by U.S. personnel.SMWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of smaller satellites?Sir Martin SweetingThe main advantages of small satellites are the speed with which they can be developed and the cost savings that ensue. A typical SSTL satellite can be designed, built, tested and made ready for launch in less than two years. This is in contrast to the 5-10 years that is now common for larger satellites. In terms of costs, there are savings to be made by the use of small satellites in three main areas. Firstly, the satellite is generally dedicated to more focussed tasks and, when coupled with a rapid development schedule, this brings considerable cost saving. Secondly, the cost of launching a smaller and lighter satellite is much lower than that of a large satellite. Finally, the cost of operating small satellites is greatly reduced due to the automation that is generally possible through the use of latest COTS technologies, for example removing the need for 24/7 manned facilities. Whilst the capability of small satellites is rapidly growing, there are still areas where larger satellites can offer better ultimate performance but at a much SSTLs ART (Accuracy, Reach, Timeliness) diagram
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Executive Spotlight SatMagazine January 2010 41 Executive Spotlight higher price. After all, the laws of Physics still apply and large telescopes will always be able to outperform smaller ones. However, through clever use of technology we can make small satellites give a good enough performance. Some people refer to the /20 rule 80 percent of the performance for 20 percent of the price and this is what SSTL aims to achieve.SM Sir Martin, how do you classify the various categories of the smaller satellites... micros, nanos, picos and so on? What are the delineation points Sir Martin SweetingSatellites < 1kg are picosatellites, 1-10kg are nanosatellites, 10-100kg are microsatellites, 100-500kg are minisatellites.SM In the 80s you pursued research funding to develop this now proven concept to a system capable of responding to the growing application areas that space can facilitate, and developed the research group working around small satellites. This was the impetus for you to initiate the Surreys Know-How transfer program where your group provided technical training to engineers from countries who placed an order for a small satellite with Surrey. Working together as a team enabled the engineers to master the complex and diverse skills required to operate a satellite. Did you continue with this program?Sir Martin SweetingThe impetus to start the know-how transfer and training programs was primarily business but also a personal interest in working with international partners. We have now completed 12 such programs with different countries and continue it currently with Nigeria, Algeria and most recently Sri Lanka. SMDo you agree with Warren Leary, writing in the New York Times, who described the promise of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as applied to satellite technology and hinted at the possibility of a satellite-on-a-chip. He discussed the work of Siegfried Janson and colleagues at The Aerospace Corporation, in El Segundo, California, and quoted him as describing, Fully integrated satellites that could be mass produced cheaply by the hundreds and sent into space in groups to perform a variety of tasks.Sir Martin SweetingWe are currently developing prototypes at the Surrey Space Centre of satellite systems on a chip and this will lead soon to a satellite-on-a-chip. SM Will Femto-satellites be the next new class of satellites, due to the a possibility of shrinking the capabilities of a typical pico-satellite bus (attitude control, imaging missions, communications, and so on) onto a single chip?Sir Martin SweetingIt is technically feasible to build satellites-on-achip now, however their utility is the question how can such a tiny satellite (with tiny amounts of power) do anything useful? I believe that together and forming sparse area arrays, but this is a very demanding challenge as yet unproven.SMSSTL received a contract award from the European Space Agency early last month that deals with the management of a student-built mission to the Moon. Can you tell us about this contract and what is hoped to be accomplished?Sir Martin SweetingThe ESA mission is the European Student Moon Orbiter mission or ESMO. It comes out of the
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SatMagazine January 2010 42 Executive Spotlight of years a European team of students have been developing the concept of a lunar orbiting vehicle. SSTLs role as prime on this mission is to lead the universities in the technical and programmatic challenges of concluding the design, building, testing, launching and operating the orbiter. The launch is planned for 2013/14 with a view to operating a number of payloads around the Moon for a subsequent minimum of six months. There are some interesting challenges inherent to this program in ensuring that the educational objectives of the program are met in concert with achieving the demanding technical objectives. As a company, were very excited to be taking on this mission as it leverages our strong background in know-how transfer and designing space hardware in a low cost and pragmatic manner. In addition, this mission allows us to strengthen our existing relationships with both European academia and the European Space Agency and prepare for a future U.K.-led lunar orbiter MoonLITE which will carry penetrators to explore the surface of the Moon.SMThank you, Sir Martin, for your talk with us and we wish you and your company well with your highly interesting projects.
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Executive Spotlight SatMagazine January 201043 insight gottlieb Iridium just announced the sale of its 1,000th OpenPort system, making it the de facto leader in the 128 Kbps targeted segment of the maritime communications market. Since its introduction, the inexpensive 9.6/32/64/128 Kbps voice and data service with its convenient, small antenna has enjoyed wide acceptance. Lured by Iridiums success in this newly discovered market niche, and hoping market, Inmarsat recently followed suit with the introduction of FB 150, a 150 Kbps version of its new Flagship Fleet Broadband service. In many ways, this marks the beginning of an exciting and Can FB 150 Unseat Openport ?The New challenge at seaby Alan Gottlieb
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44 SatMagazine January 2010 INSIGHT: gottliebcomplex contest as Inmarsat, the traditional master of maritime communication, attempts to unseat a nimble upstart who has beaten them to market. Can OpenPort, an early winner in the up to 128 Kbps maritime communications market, maintain its lead against Inmarsats new FB 150 service? Gottlieb International Group queried end users and providers, and what we found astonished us. Unlike FB 150, OpenPort user satisfaction was found to be largely dependent on the chosen service provider with satisfaction varying considerably among those who bought from Tier 1 providers versus those who purchased from sub-distributors at the bottom of the distribution chain. Users who purchased the OpenPort service from the Top Tier providers enjoyed a relatively good list pricing while those who bought from the sub distributors were more likely to pay higher prices and complained more often about service quality. As we dug deeper, reasons for the disparity began to emerge.Pricing : Iridium has a multi-level distribution higher prices for those users who purchase from a sub distributor versus a Tier 1 provider. Furthermore, until May of 2009, OpenPort had no real competition resulting in very limited discounting. Distributors published price lists and generally adhered to list prices. Despite the fact that times have changed, many of these price lists still exist and circulate creating the false impression that the service is considerably more expensive than FB 150. In fact, we discounts are available, especially for those users who buy from the Tier 1 distributors.
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45 SatMagazine January 2010 insight: gottliebService Quality : To assure service quality, proper placement of the OpenPort antenna is critical since the antenna is highly sensitive to bursts from Inmarsat C, radar and other types of interference. Top Tier distributors usually perform a careful Site Survey to determine the optimal location for antenna placement and either perform or supervise installation themselves. Sub distributors are much more likely to limit involvement with installation to providing a set of written instructions for user self install, resulting in poor antenna placement and/or less than optimal installation. In addition, vendors at the edge of the distribution network are much less likely to assure that software are installed as required. As Iridium has labored constantly to improve its service, upgrading is critical and vendors need to make sure their customers actually install the updates.Managing Data Costs: As both OpenPort and FB 150 offer expensive, pay-by-the-byte data services, usage control is essential. While e-mail and SMS consume relatively minimal amounts of data, unrestricted use of the Internet on either service can result in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars in unexpected billings. Tier 1 providers generally provide sophisticated, Web based portals that allow users to set limits on data usage, and they teach their customers how to use them. Stratos, AND, Globe Wireless, Satcom Group and Sea Mobile have especially good usage management packages.
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Voice Quality1. : Voice quality with the OpenPort service can be compared to the Iridium phone service. Most users reported quality to be adequate but demonstrated a slight preference for FB 150. While some OpenPort users have reported dropped calls, careful analysis appears to reveal that such problems are either a result of poor antenna placement or failure to install the required Crew Calling2. advantage over FB 150 in the Crew calling application since it allows three simultaneous voice calls versus only one call for FB 150. OpenPort can also be employed with prepaid scratch cards to facilitate pre-paid calling. Also, we understand that some providers offer the crew calling service for as little as $.50 to $.60 per/minute, much lower than FB 150.Email and Data Pricing3. : We found functionality. We believe OpenPort to be However, as we mentioned, printed price lists are totally unreliable and substantial discounts are available from many OpenPort distributors. So, you need to shop around and get quotes from distributors. Dont rely on the printed price lists for comparisons.Transmission Speed4. : In terms of transmission speed Inmarsat FB 150 enjoys a slight advantage with its standard 150 Kbps offering. However, until recently to obtain 128 Kbps services on OpenPort required users to commit to a high-end expensive pricing package and pay a premium for either 64 Kbps service or 128 Kbps. However, Iridium has just announced that the need to subscribe to a high-end plan for 128 Kbps service has been eliminated along with any surcharges while, unlike Inmarsat, slower speeds will be available at discounted pricing. Antenna Infrastructure5. : The OpenPort antenna has no moving parts and is small 46 SatMagazine January 2010 Incredibly, we found that some Second Tier distributors had no such packages at all and were relying on analysis of after-the-fact call records from Iridium to control customer usage. Without real time usage management, some customers were reported to have run up tens of thousands of dollars in data charges. The result of our survey suggests that, despite being a reasonably good service, product perception in the market has been infected by the inconsistent performance of sub distributors and, in many cases, their failure to provide the appropriate cost control software and the other value added services necessary to properly support the product. Consequently, potential purchasers need to carefully shop around and buy directly from the best Tier 1 vendors. Having detailed the importance of choosing a proper distributor when buying OpenPort, we can now look more closely at the features and performance of both services.OpenPort + FB 150 ComparedIn comparing OpenPort and FB 150, it is critical to understand that either service could certainly meet your voice and data communications requirements. In reality, as both of these services charge data on a pay-by-the-byte basis, neither is cost effective in or transmission of email attachments larger than 500 Kb. These services are principally for voice, e-mail, SMS, transmission of low-density photos, Management (at speeds of 128 Kbps or greater). If you are planning to give crew access to the service. Considering these limitations, heres how the services compare in that regard.INSIGHT gottlieb
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and inexpensive making ideally suited to moving parts, it enjoys a distinct advantage on smaller yachts and other vessels subject to intense vibration. Furthermore, the fact that the service relies on a continuously orbiting constellation of LEOs means it is more apt to retain connectivity in far North latitudes where look angles are low for geosynchronous satellites such as those employed by Inmarsat.Polar Access6. : Obviously, if you intend to sail North or South of 73 degrees latitude, OpenPort is the only functional service. In conclusion, we believe these services compare conclusively indicates that much of the negative commentary surrounding OpenPort is a result of poor service by vendors at the lower end of the service itself. In comparison, both of these services have attractive features and the secret of success in employing them is to accurately match them to your About the authorMr. Gottlieb is CEO of Gottlieb International Group. assisting ship owners and managers with evaluation of satellite service offerings and helping service providers structure appropriate service the global shipping industry and VSAT vendor community and is a frequent published author and speaker at satellite and maritime conferences. Established in 2002, Gottlieb International Group has worked with ship owners and managers VSAT vendors around the globe, His clients have included such major vendors as Inmarsat, Iridium, Globecomm Systems, KVH Industries and Intelsat. His new E-Book, The First Independent Guide to Maritime VSAT is now available through his Companys website. Mr. Gottlieb is a native of Washington, D.C. and holds a Masters Degree in International Business from Thunderbird Graduate School and a B.A. from Stetson University. Website: www.gottliebinternationalgroup.com or +1 703-622-8520 Illustration credit: Naval drawing courtesy of Ridpath from The History Of The World. 47 SatMagazine January 2010 insight gottlieb
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The satellite industry, NSR included, has not been shy in recent months about trumpeting the r elative success the sector has had in sliding through the recent global economic turmoil relatively unscathed. It is certainly true that the satellite industry as a whole has managed continued strong growth in the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Still, the world relative is key because there have been some signs of weakness in a few key markets with North America, interestingly, seeing perhaps the greatest negative impact of any region from the point of view of commercial satellite operators operating therein. A perfunctory scan of quarterly report press releases from the two major satellite operators in the North American market, SES and Intelsat does not appear on the surface to indicate any weakness in the region. However, comments and detailed reading of SEC quarterly reports does reveal some Mark Rigolle revenue from media customers primarily in the North America and the Latin America and Caribbean regions despite earlier reassuring statements in the same reports that all regions reported revenue the strongest gains. Where lays the truth in these at times contradictory statements? As is usual, there is no simple explanation, and instead the North American market is subject to a number of both positive and negative trends. On the C-band side of the business, video distribution and contribution services by far dominate, and it is here that NSR sees probably the weakest, at least in the shortterm, area for North America. While greatly diminished in recent years, there still remains a fairly substantial number of analog channels and feeds serving the North American market. Even as both SES and Intelsat announced new SD and HD channel North America, the Waning Star in the Satellite Operator Constellation 48 SatMagazine January 201048 insight nsr
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launches over the course of 2009, it must be remembered that the conversion of the analog channels and feeds to digital often frees up capacity to accommodate this channel growth, and this implies that a new channel launch does not necessarily translate directly to a net gain in leased capacity. This analog conversion may well be at the core of Intelsats comment on declining revenues from media clients in North America. Further, both SES and Intelsat (with just about every other operator the world over) have been using the issue of relatively tight supply in many markets as a means to increase capacity pricing. In fact, a fair share of the revenue growth reported over 2009 has not come from new capacity leasing but for higher prices that are Yet, supply in North America (especially C-band supply) is not nearly as tight as it is elsewhere in the world. It is true that a number of key cable headend satellites serving North America are full or nearly so. Yet, there are also a number of C-band payloads in North America with the IP Prime service in North America probably released a substantial amount of free C-band capacity into the North American market, and this was likely in part what Mr. Rigolle was alluding to for the region. It is much harder to push up capacity pricing in a market where there is still available capacity and many broadcasters are launching new channels on already existing capacity they have under contract by simply taking advantage of their analog migration. The chart on the previous page is from NSRs Global Assessment of Satellite Supply and Demand 6th Edition study clearly shows the dip in demand in 2009 that is mainly coming about due to the end of the IP Prime service, insight nsr 49SatMagazine January 2010
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plus the analog conversion issue that was accelerated by the analog terrestrial TV switchoff in North America in the middle of the year. Nonetheless, NSR remains positive over the longer-term for growth potential in the North American C-band market for a number of reasons. First, the analog conversion process is slowing as there are fewer and fewer analog channels or feeds to convert, and this means that any new channel launch in the future will likely lead more directly to the need for media clients to lease additional capacity. Additionally, as the economy in North America recovers in 2010 and 2011, NSR expects a spurt of new channels to go on air as delayed channels are rolled out and new players seek to enter the media market in North America. Turning to the North American Ku-band market, the leading markets here are broadband and networking services, DTH and video distribution and contribution. Leased Ku-band transponders for broadband Internet access services have declined in 2009 for North America as Hughes has been slowly returning capacity to satellite operators as it grows its HughesNet subscriber base on its Spaceway-3 satellite, plus the major corporate VSAT networking market slowed considerably in 2009 as many companies have put off plans related to new VSAT networks or upgrades/expansion of existing VSAT networks. Fortunately, the corporate VSAT market will likely see a turnaround in 2010 and 2011, as with C-band video distribution and contribution, as economic conditions in the region improve. While broadband and networking were the weakest Ku-band markets in North America in 2009, DTH is the strongest, and this segment has seen little impact from the global economic issues. Ciel Satellite saw its completely leased Ciel-2 satellite enter into service in 2009, and Telesat has pre-sold the entire capacity on its upcoming Nimiq-5 satellite. Plus, farther into the future, the satellite is also entirely presold. However, much of the DTH market in North America is pre-baked, and the economy one way or another would have little impact on expected growth here. Falling in between DTH and broadband and networking markets are Ku-band video distribution and contribution services. There are no Ku-band analog channels being carried in North America, though a few analog feeds still remain. NSR expects some analog feed migration within the Ku-band market in North America for 2009, and this could cause a shortterm decline in Ku-band demand, though it is likely that much of this capacity will be reused for carriage of new SD and HD channels for ethnic and specialty services in the region. And, as with C-band, as the analog migration process completes itself in the coming few years, any new channel or occasional use demand will translate straight into new Ku-band leasing. Yes, the North American satellite market has dimmed somewhat in 2009, and this has no doubt had a real impact on players in the market. Yet, as described above and detailed in greater depth in NSRs 6th Edition study, some of the market issues in North America are independent of the overall economic conditions and would have occurred even if times were good no real systemic, long-term issues in the North American commercial capacity leasing market. Within a few quarters, the North American region will likely wax bright again for satellite operators serving the region.About NSRNorthern Sky Research (NSR) is an international telecommunications technology and applications. NSR primary areas of expertise include satellite and wireless networks, emerging technology, and media applications. Their services and clients cover the entire globe. With extensive expertise in all geographic regions and a number of telecommunications sectors, NSR is a leading provider of in-depth market insight and analyses. Since each NSR product is based on future perspectives, our analyses allow our clients to stay a step ahead of the competition. 50 insight nsrSatMagazine January 2010
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As is the case for many writings of wisdom, the Satcom Chronicles contain a section designed to prepare one for the treacherous trek from entry-level obscurity to a higher position a window. These writings warn us of a sinister tool often packaged as a vehicle for success, but sometimes implemented as way for management to trap those with ideals of ambition and weed Many years ago, some brilliant, world that a set of metrics was needed to gauge an individual workers level of contributions and commensurate worth to the company he served. Ancient witch doctors operating in the capacity of corporate psychologists were consulted to document that would allow management to objectively judge a workers performance and determine his or her occupational fate and so was born the Performance Appraisal. Performance Appraisal struck defenseless workers during its annual The Performance Appraisal with its dull, bone-crushing ability to send a wave of crippling fear invoke respect or disdain from the ivory-tower inhabitants who would ultimately decide whether this Or, even worse, would result in exposure to a humiliating stump speech highlighting your less-thanmediocre performance and commensurate sentence to continue service. In your present 52 SatMagazine January 2010 insight RadfordChronicles of Satcom The Performance Appraisal by Tony Radford The Performance Appraisal is an insidious document with the power to shape even the most powerful corporations.
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capacity though graced with probationary oversight eventual replacement, by some incompetent dweeb. precision wielded by Michelangelo himself, corporate managers would use the Performance Appraisal to mould their teams in their likeness by rewarding most skilled proctologist with enviable positions of power, while routing out dissidents whose hard work and valuable contributions might one day overshadow the paltry performance of the departmental leader and topple him or her from their throne. Such is the course that was set eons ago and continues to this day. The Performance Appraisal is an insidious document with the power to shape even the most powerful corporations. Power, that left in the wrong hands, could have a devastating effect on the spirits of high achievers who lack prowess in the theater of company politics.Many books have been written on the science of Performance Apprais als and how they might help forward ones career. Theyre often riddled with inspirational me anderings of Confuciusgrade philosophy and examples of successes that stand as testaments of proof that their principles actually work.Of course, the viability of their suggested tactics and strategies assumes the appraisal will be conducted with complete objectivity referenced to an accurate accounting of ones personal contributions and a sincere objective to see that to the logo. But, surprisingly, this is not always the case. SatMagazine January 201053 insight radford
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My performance reviews were often less than inspiring. I know the appraisal forms my devotion and unrelenting desire to carry my corporate colors across the market dominance. So I decided long ago that the Performance Appraisal was not likely to be a springboard to my success. Only by positioning myself on the front lines was I granted the opportunity to step on every mine and to eventually gain some notoriety from the resulting explosions, complete with dust clouds and Thanks to years of dedication, a bit of luck, and some help from the Peter Principle I am now responsible for the perpetuation of this annual ritual. Thanks to the wounds Ive sustained from the many Performance Appraisals Ive endured, I see this sacred event in a different light. I actually wrote my own form and invite my staff to grade me. You see, I learned long ago the best strategy for success is to surround oneself with people who are more resourceful, clever, and ambitious than myself and to become a part of a successful, inspired team. Tony Radford undertaking a task all good managers can accomplish... writing his own Performance Appraisal. Now my challenge is to remain worthy of a staunch professionals passionately dedicated to the cause. Theres nothing more inspirational than that and to think I can credit all of it to the Performance Appraisal 54 SatMagazine January 2010 insight Radford
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55 SatMagazine January 2010 focus eventA with the most promising and business-enriching trade exhibitions such as SAT EXPO EUROPE 2010 at Fiera Roma (Rome Fair) from February 4th through February 6th. may also enjoy the exhibition. Exhibitors from around the globe will be present, including NASA (who will also conduct a panel session in the Mediterranean Center), and the latest technologies will afford attendees important information and connections to assist them in todays international satellite markets. Each admission ticket to SAT EXPO EUROPE 2010 includes a free copy of the SAT Expo 2010 catalog. Italy is a member of the European Union visitors to the country will have to possess a valid passport, and for those attending from a non-EU country, possibly a tourist visa, as well. Rome Fair is less than 5 km from Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport and there is regular bus and taxi service available during this event. Special rates for show attendees are available at the 4-star Sheraton Golf Parco DeMedici Hotel & Resort ( select the hotel graphic to the right for special rates and additional details).
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56 SatMagazine January 2010 Breaking down barriers by Victor Barendse, Wired Ocean The cost implication of the broadband communication of volumes of data is well known as a most important issue for ship owners and operators. Applications such as Internet browsing, downloading email with attachments, obtaining electronic manuals, and weather and navigation data for bridge and other critical systems are all shore to ship (download) intensive applications crucial to The expensive nature of SATCOM equipment and satellite airtime, especially with the move to next generation per MB broadband systems, can prove prohibitive in allowing for the common use of such applications. However, by taking into account the fact that many of the applications are weighted towards downloaded data ( i.e., browsing), its possible to reduce airtime costs and increase speed in a simple and effective manner. Using capacity on Ku-band broadcast satellites, Wired Ocean sends data to vessels via the boats satellite television antenna ( TVRO ). These satellites have much greater bandwidth than mobile satellite systems, thereby allowing for faster transmission speeds and lower usage costs. Data from the vessel is sent via the onboard SATCOM system or cellular terminal. As vessels using Wired Ocean are typically receiving much more information than they are sending, the majority of the ships/crew/shipowners to take advantage of broadband data volumes while maintaining their existing communications budgets. The reduction in costs can actually pay for the equipment installation within just a month or two. Although reduced costs are usually the driving factor in the uptake of Wired Ocean, the S-Box (the heart of the Wired Ocean system) hardware and software also offers strong functionality as a communications hub and through various performance enhancing technologies can actually increase data speed. With always-on 512kbps downlinks (shore-to-ship-data), Wired Oceans services are much faster than mobile satellite services. Thats up to 50 times faster than some existing marine services, almost 10 times faster than Inmarsat Fleet, and almost twice as fast as Inmarsat FB250. Wired Ocean is also almost 10 times faster than the GPRS cellular service. To complement this outright speed, Wired Ocean has also incorporated state of the art performance enhancement systems at its network operations or time, delay), remove unnecessary handshaking, and to compress transferred data. The S-Box can also be used as a switching device for a vessels entire communications network and a unique caching system means that only new Case study wired oceanAs use of broadband data increases at sea, so too does the cost to vessels.
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SatMagazine January 201057 content of previously viewed web pages needs to be downloaded for faster and more economical Internet browsing. The Wired Ocean S-Box uses a robust Linux communications encryption. It connects the ships computers or network to the Wired Ocean service and seamlessly initiates, manages, and terminates connections as well as simplifying access of the ship computers or network to the Internet, without installing any software on the computers, using a user friendly web-based interface. When considering the limited technical support aboard most merchant vessels, the simplicity of setting up and using Wired Ocean is not to be underestimated as an important driver in the systems growing acceptance. The online experience for a Wired Ocean user is effectively the same as that of a broadband user on shore. Browsing, emailing, and so on, are completed using standard applications with no additional software needed. Behind the scenes, however, the Wired Ocean System is providing sophisticated data management: The user enters a web address, accesses 1. a database or email system, etc. The data request is sent from the computer through then transmits it via the SATCOM or cellular system on board to Wired Oceans network operations hub (at normal airtime costs for Wired Oceans network operations hub retrieves 2. the requested data from the Internet and applies transmitting it through the selected satellite. The data is received by the S-Box via the 3. ships satellite TV antenna. The S-Box ensures that the data is correctly received and delivers it to the requesting computer. This downlink part of the process is billed as Wired Ocean cost, hence the savings can be made.
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58SatMagazine January 2010 Case study wired ocean T he S-B o x cac hes previously accessed w ebpag e s and future requests for this data will be se r v ed directly from the cac he meaning that they do not become par t of billable v olume W hen outside Wired Ocean s c o v erag e (cur rently European and Scandina vian w ater s but an expansion to the USA is planned), the S-B o x falls bac k to using the v essel s dedicated SA TCOM to rece i v e data sent to the v essel as w ell as to send data from the v essel. Using the SA TCOM equipment in this mode still mak es use of v arious perfor mance enhancement systems e v en when not within Wired Ocean s c o v erag e so the S-B o x still pro vides v alue as par t of the v essel s comm unications net w ork. As use of broadband data increases at sea, so too does the cost to v essels P er me g ab yte pricing is considering m ultiple users and larg e do wnloads whic h ma y include unplanned automatic updates to operating systems or anti vir us soft w are Unexpected do wnloads could cost $1,000s extra per month, but with Wired Ocean x ed pricing, e By he a vily reducing the cost of shore-to-ship data per me g ab yte Wired Ocean has already enabled v essels to maximise their comm unications budg et. T he next st e p w as to pro x ed pricing plans so that in addition to making broadband usag e more affordable there are no sur prises in the for m of unexpected, prohibit i v ely high bills for do wnloaded data at the end of the month. F i v x ed price plans designated Beaufor t 1-5, ha v e been introduced to the Wired Ocean se r vic e ensuring that v essels can select the usag s T he plans whic h are differentiated b y the v olume of priority data do wnloaded, star t at less than $300 per month. Gig ab ytes of data can be do wnloaded for less than $1,000 per month. x ed price plans feature a maxim um shoreto-ship data rate of 500 kbps whic h is faster than many existing maritime broadband ser vice s T he x ed price plans are also a v ailable with the cost of the Wired Ocean S-B o x, the hear t of the Wired Ocean system, included. T f Wired Ocean, suc h as low er broadband usag e cost s faster speeds and g reatly enhanced manag ement of cost, could be ac hie v ed without any capital expenditure whatsoe v e r Wired Ocean s new x ed pricing plans are a v ailable no w Visit www .wir edocean.co m to lear n more
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TAURUS II Rocketing Aheadby Baron Beneski, Vice President, Orbital Sciences Corporation
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60 SatMagazine January 2010 focus orbital sciencesThe Taurus II will use twin Aerojet AJ26-62 engines with a combined thrust of more than 775,000 pounds to designed and produced by Samara State have an extensive test history. They have been upgraded by Aerojet of Sacramento, California, to add Thrust Vector Control, modern mechanical and electrical actuation components, and U.S. sourced feedline has been made in the construction of a new engine system. The facility is expected to be in operation and ready for testing to commence in March of next year. Similarly, Orbital Sciences development progress in just a few short years by leveraging other key system components and vehicle experience. These include: First stage tankage and associated components the Ukraine Avionics and Guidance systems derived from other Orbital successful launch vehicle programs Ground systems infrastructure designed and produced by a consortium of companies with extensive launch vehicle systems experience. This re-integration approach of existing components and infrastructure enables Orbital to not only reduce the time typically needed to bring mitigates development risks. development milestones in 2010 including: Completion and activation of a new integration and launch facility at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, VirginiaCompletion of 1st stage booster structural testing test of the 1st stage booster and other payload accommodations elements While the companys current backlog of nine cial International Space Station resupply require ments, the Taurus II will be easily adaptable and a cost effective solution for other payloads, including mid-class satellites for civil government ( i.e., NASA and NOAA), military and commer cial customers. Through a systematic, detailed approach that builds on major proven systems, state-of-the art avionics and control elements and new launch and test facilities, Orbital is bringing the Taurus II launch system on line to meet the me dium lift launch demands of the next decade.
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The Space Foundations 26th National Space Symposium, set for April 12-15 at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is where all sectors of the space industry gather together to share perspectives and get down to business.For four days in April, you can witness the largest gathering of space professionals in the world. Visit the AMERICOM Government Services Exhibit Center with the latest in space technology. You can hear from the leaders who are shaping todays global space agenda and meet the ones who will shape tomorrows. You can witness a spectacular opening ceremony featuring the eclectic and energetic musical group, Barrag e. You can applaud as the Space Foundation awareness, and commerce.And, if you hurry, you can get a great deal.Register for the 26th National Space Symposium by February 5, 2010, and receive $425 off the regular industry rate. For details => www.NationalSpaceSymposium.org. This years National Space Symposium continues the tradition of excellence that the premier gathering of the global space community has established over the years. And, it mixes it up with two exciting new programs: a separate Cyber 1.0 Conference on Monday, April 12, immediately before the Symposium kick-off; and special programs and events for up-and-coming New Generation space professionals woven throughout the four-day event. SatMagazine January 201061 Focus event
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Cyber 1.0 Conference Conducted by the Space Foundation, the Cyber 1.0 Conference will clarify Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC)s newly acquired cyberspace mission, which is the direct responsibility of the 24th Air Force. It will feature AFSPC, government, and industry leaders who will provide an overview of the cyberspace mission and discuss the Department of Defenses cyber perspective, and cyber acquisition policies and procedures. Interactive AFSPC and industry demonstrations and a luncheon that looks at the domain from inside the beltway round out the program. The speakers include AFSPC Commander General C. Robert KehlerUSA F Lieutenant General Larry James, USAF, Commander, Joint Functional Component Command (JFCC) Space, United States Strategic Command, and Commander, 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic), AFSPC Major General Richard Webber, USAF, Commander, 24th Air Force. The Cyber 1.0 Conference is a complementary event to the 26th National Space Symposium, with a separate registration fee. There is a Symposium attendees and space is extremely limited. For registration and more details, go to www.SpaceFoundation.org .New GenerationBuilding on an initiative launched at the 25th National Space Symposium in 2009, this years event is offering expanded programs aimed directly at the younger generation of space professionals. The New Generation program will allow attendees to both be involved in the mainstream 26th National Space Symposium program and to spend highly focused time concentrating on issues industry. Program elements include mentoring opportunities that provide quality exposure to industry leaders, workshops for professionals in the early stages of their space careers both commercial and military, representation on a wider range of main program panels and as master moderators, and a New Generation reception following at the close of the Symposium. 62 SatMagazine January 2010 Focus event
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Main AgendaThe 26th National Space Symposium program looks at opportunities and issues facing the global space community today, addressing all aspects of space, including civil, commercial, national security, new space, international and its many related components. It includes presentations, panels, forums, and workshops featuring high-level space leaders, including:Dr. William F. Ballhaus, Jr., Vice Chairman, Space Foundation Board of Directors, and former president and The Aerospace Corporation Steve Bochinger Director of Institutional Affairs, Euroconsult, and managing director, Euroconsult North America Major General Charles F. Bolden, Jr., USMC (Retired) Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) General Bruce Carlson, USAF (Retired), Director, National Reconnaissance Ariane Cornell, Executive Director, Space Generation Advisory Council Lieutenant General Larry D. James, USAF Commander, Joint Functional Component Command Space, United States Strategic Command, and Commander, 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic), Air Force Space Command General C. Robert Kehler, USAF Commander, Air Force Space Command Dennis A. Muilenburg Executive Vice President, The Boeing Company, and President Defense Systems SatMagazine January 201063 Focus event
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Major General Richard E. Webber, USAF, Commander, 24th Air Force Th e Symposium will also feature a panel representing three decades of leadership, moderated by General Thomas Moorman, USAF (Retired) Chairman, Space Foundation Board of Directors, and former Commander, Air Force Space Command. Speakers will include:Hans Mark, Ph.D., Under Secretary of the Air Force/Secretary of the Air Force and NRO director, 1977-1979 Edward C. Aldridge, Jr., Under Secretary of the Air Force/Secretary of the Air Force and NRO director, 1981-1988 Martin C. Faga, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space and NRO director, 1989-1993 Jeffrey K. Harris, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space and NRO director, 1994-1996 Keith R. Hall, Assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space and NRO director, 1997-2001 Peter B. Teets, Under Secretary of the Air Force and NRO director, 2001-2005 Donald M. Kerr, Ph.D., Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force (Intelligence Space Technology) and NRO director, 2005-2007 Scott F. Large, Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force (Intelligence and Space Technology) and NRO director, 2007-2009 Special ProgramsThe 26th National Symposium also features a number of special events: The invitation-only Congressional Luncheon The Corporate Partnership Dinner (additional fee for non-military registrants; included in Active Military/Government rate) The General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award Luncheon (additional fee for non-military registrants; included in Active Military/Government rate) 64 SatMagazine January 2010 Focus event
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The Space Technology Hall of Fame Dinner, featuring actor/director and space icon Leonard Nimoy (additional fee for nonmilitary registrants; included in Active Military/ Government rate) Special events geared for selected teachers and students (invitation-only)Corporate InvolvementThe 26th National Space Symposium is made possible by the generous support of the following major sponsors:AMERICOM Government Services the sold out Exhibit CenterAVIATION WEEK Media partnerBall Aerospace & Technologies Corp Congressional Luncheon The Boeing Company Corporate Partnership Dinner General Dynamics Cyber 1.0 LuncheonLockheed Martin Space Technology Hall of Fame Dinner and space education activities for teachersNorthrop Grumman Opening Ceremon y Raytheon General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award Luncheon Other sponsors include AT K, Cisco Systems, Inc ., GM V, International Space Universit y, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, SAIC, Space News, and United Space Alliance. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available; interested companies should contact Sponsorships@SpaceFoundation.org. More than 140 companies are exhibiting in the soldout AMERICOM Government Services Exhibit Center. To be put on the waiting list, companies should contact Exhibitor@SpaceFoundation.org. The 26th National Space Symposium promises to be informative, inspirational, and an excellent venue for making connections and conducting business.For more information, including online registration, agenda, speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors, go to www.NationalSpaceSymposium.org 65 SatMagazine January 2010 Focus event
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BEAM editors Spectacular Symposium Backdrop The Broadmoor HotelThe National Space Symposium has been at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, since the Space Foundation the gathering of space professionals 26 years ago. The Symposium has grown since that time to become the premier meeting of all sectors of the space community now encompassing more than 8,000 attendees, two exhibit halls, three full days of educational events, and new and exciting programs for up-andcoming space leaders. Although it has grown along with the National Space Symposium, The Broadmoor Hotel has retained its position as one of much so that last month Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Awards (formerly Mobil Five-Star Award by Mobil Travel Guide ) honored The Broadmoor as a Five Star winner for 2010 for a record 50th consecutive year.The Broadmoor is the only property to ever achieve this status and is also the longest-running consecutive winner of both the AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star awards. Additionally, the historic resort has the distinction in 2010 of becoming a triple Five Star winner with the addition of Five-Star ratings for both the Penrose Room restaurant and The Spa at Broadmoor. Located on 3,000 lush acres under the shadow of Cheyenne Mountain, The Broadmoor offers the spa; two swimming pools; three outdoor hot tubs; one lap pool; 54 holes of championship golf, six tennis courts with tennis camps; childrens programs; 24hour room service; valet parking; pet-friendly accommodations; 24 specialty retail shops; and superb meeting, exhibition, and hospitality facilities. Even National Space Symposium attendees who arent staying on property are able to enjoy the ambiance, the service, the tradition for excellence, and the spectacular view.With a history dating back to 1891, The Broadmoor was built by entrepreneur Spencer Penrose to its grounds include a museum of vintage carriages and automobiles. In addition, some 26th National Space Symposium events are held at the adjacent Penrose Hous e, Spencer home and gardens. The beauty, elegance, and history of the The Broadmoor create a fascinating backdrop for discussing global space endeavors, said Space Foundation CEO Elliot Pulham. This is just one of the reasons theres no other event like the National Space Symposium anywhere in the world.
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67 SatMagazine January 2010 Case study ses world skies Its early Sunday evening in Almaty, Kazakhstans biggest city. Hundreds of commuters, mostly business people, board a train at the National Railway Station for the overnight jour ney to the capital metropolis of Astana. Its a twelve-hour trip north that has long kept company executives and government workers painfully out of touch. Determined to add Internet access, email, and reliable phone services to its most popular commuter rail, the National Railway Company and its telecom arm, Transtelecom, turned to Astel, one of Kazakhstans leading telecommunications providers. stretches of diverse countryside. However, Astel had a plan and a technology partner to make reliable high-speed broadband a reality aboard the high-speed train.Reach and ReliabilityA seasoned telecom services innovator, Astel relies heavily on satellite to meet the communications needs of companies, consumers and government agencies throughout the MHz of transponder capacity to support VSAT networks and a wide range of other connectivity services. Part of that capacity has been tapped to provide groundbreaking communications capabilities to National Railway passengers traveling the 1,300 kilometer route between Almaty and Astana. As part of the historic deployment, Astel is using the Middle East beam on SES WORLD SKIES NSS-6 satellite to deliver the trio of Internet access, email and VoIP telephony services onboard the train. The mobile communications, featuring transmission speeds of up to 2048 Kbps, are being offered free of charge to passengers along Kazakhstans busiest rail line. Other trains and rail routes are expected to be added in the near future. Vladimir Breusov, President of Astel. The expertise of SES WORLD SKIES people and the reliability and reach of its satellites have enabled Astel to provide this innovative service that is keeping commuters connected and driving economic growth across the region.From the Drawing Board to the Tracks services for its passengers on the go. No interruptions for this discerning crowd. Using a 5.6 The Kazakhstan Train Connection all Aboard
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68 SatMagazine January 2010 Executive SpotlightCase study ses world skiesmeter antenna aimed at NSS-6 backhaul, a robust telephone network plus a 0.5 meter dish and Wi-Fi network on the train, Astel had the platform in place for the reliable service delivery.Early tests revealed the downloading of web content and access to the Internet and email services were consistently good, as long as the duration of satellite NLOS ( non line-of-sight) remained under 18 seconds. The 12-hour commuter route never posed NLOS issues. Likewise, the VoIP train offering the new, free services rolled out of the station in August 2009. Response has been positive, usage rates increasing and expansion plans already in the making.A Moving SuccessBy delivering connectivity to one of the busiest Astel is contributing to the countrys business productivity in ways not possible before, said Scott Sprague, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at SES WORLD SKIES. Were honored that SES WORLD SKIES knowhow and satellite capacity is making Astels vision and ambition a historic reality for The National Railway Company and its passengers.It was absolutely essential that we develop accurate transmission parameters. That was certainly one of the biggest challenges facing the engineering teams, explained Astels Breusov, noting Transtelecom played a vital role in the rollout. Astel and SES WORLD SKIES technicians collaborated to calculate the optimal satellite link necessary for the reliability and quality service levels behind the National Railway Companys successful launch. commuter rail has exceeded all expectations, Breusov said of the emerging service. The NSS-6 and SES WORLD SKIES has the local, Russianspeaking staff capable of solving our challenges on Breusov added. More National Railway trains will be equipped early next year, as the service goes commercial aimed at keeping thousands more commuters in touch on the go.
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SatMagazine January 2010 69 Executive SpotlightIn 2008, David C. McCourt formed Satellite Holdings, LLC, a partnership beHere he gives us his industry predictions and explains why Skyware Global is wellpositioned to support future growth.SatMagazine (SM)Mr. McCourt, can you give us a bit more background to your founding Skyware Global?David McCourtOf course. Satellite Holdings, LLC was founded in late 2008 with a view to forming a in the market for an all-round antenna systems provider that would take responsibility for the overall product. Having over 30 years of experience in the cable and telecoms industries I knew that it was important to take niche players seriously and get a full understanding of where the opportunities lie. I had spoken to satellite providers, who told me that they would welcome a company that took responsibility for the entire outdoor unit. We acquired the Raven Group, the leading provider of consumer satellite broadband antennas, on New Years Day of last year, and shortly merged it with nearly half of ASC Signal Corporations total business. This included: the DTH, VSAT and RF business units, as well as Germany-based Skyware Radio Systems, a unit previously owned by Philips Electronics, and ASC PRC, the operating entity located in China. The Raven Group had existing operations in Illinois, USA, Accrington, U.K. and China. However the acquisition has added manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, USA, and Zhuhai, China, as well as associated electronics and equipment. David McCourt, Chairman + CEO Skyware Global
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SatMagazine January 2010 70 Executive Spotlight Executive Spotlight SM Why did you consider the Raven Group to be an attractive investment? David McCourt our attention. Their RF microwave engineers are among the very best in the industry and they know how to design and manufacture equipment to perform a certain task at a certain price point. The company already had a reputation as a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of components for the global consumer satellite industry, and had proven itself to be an attractive investment, demonstrating growth of over 50 percent per annum for the past four years. Their customers provide direct-to-home satellite services in remote regions around the world that cant access cost-effective services via cable. This market is expected to expand thanks to the growth in worldwide demand for high-bandwidth and video applications.SM What was the motivation behind the subsequent mergers with ASC business units, including Skyware Radio Systems?David McCourt In much the same way that Raven is at the forefront of the design and manufacture of components for the consumer satellite industry, ASC holds a leading position in the enterprise market. Besides the markets that they operate in, the acquisition has created a lot of synergies, for instance the product materials and global reach of both companies differ so that together we have created a company that offers the full suite of products to any territory, for any application. Thanks to investment in expansive countries such as India, China and across the continent of Africa, the concentration of high-growth companies in these regions have and will continue to deliver Skyware Radio Systems was part of the same private equity group as ASC, so we acquired them as part of the merger. Raven is more of a mechanical company and Skyware Radio Systems is more of an electronics specialist, so the companies brought capabilities together that complemented and improved each other. We must not overlook the electronics units though as they form a major part of Skyware Globals offering. Electronics enable us to offer an endto-end package, meaning that we are the only company accountable for the entire system. All parts of the business work together to deliver complete outdoor systems. This means that developing and designing units to work together right from the concept stage.SM What are your predictions for the global satellite equipment markets in 2010 and beyond?David McCourt As we make the move from Kuto Ka-band frequencies we will see a transformational change in the industry and a marked improvement in the bandwidth capabilities of broadband via satellite. WildBlue was signed in 2003, and rolled out the provide large volumes of consumer broadband products to the market at an attractive price. Using existing DTH technology, Raven developed and improved on the designs, to offer Ka-band products that were economical on price, enabling our customers in turn to offer a very attractive and competitive offering. Up until now, Ka-band has remained very much in the USA for example, Ka-band accounts for around 80 percent of satellite broadband provision.
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Executive Spotlight SatMagazine January 2010 71 Executive Spotlight Interestingly there has been a huge take-up in cities as well as rural areas in the USA. However, with two major satellite launches scheduled for this year and next, the door will be opened for satellite broadband provision in Europe.SM Which satellite launches are you referring to?David McCourtAvanti Communications is due to launch the Hylas satellite in 2010, which is expected to serve several hundred thousand people in the UK alone, whilst Eutelsats KA-SAT in 2011 will target 15 million homes across Europe. With the launches of these satellites and reasonable rates for consumers, we foresee the consumer broadband market expanding in a similar way to the U.S. Demand for content over the Internet is expanding faster than ever before and the advent of higher broadband speeds via satellite will enable satellite broadband providers to supply high-bandwidth time in Europe, satellite providers will be able to seriously compete with the level of broadband In the U.K., the governments Digital Britain initiative, which has a minimum target of 2mbps broadband provision for all, will only happen in time via satellite. Digital Britain echoes Obamas pledge for investment in the broadband infrastructure in the U.S., and other similar schemes are being developed in countries all around the world. Satellite can offer close to 100 percent deployment and has a low carbon footprint. It is the single, most effective route to achieving these goals.SM Youve spoken a lot about consumer broadband. Do you see opportunities in the enterprise broadband market as well?David McCourt Absolutely. The enterprise broadband market is very well-positioned for growth in the coming months. Large demand for VSAT terminals in India, Africa and South-East Asia in particular, coupled with the speed and ease of deploying broadband via satellite for high-growth businesses it is far cheaper and easier to add an extra customer via satellite than via a wire-based product put it in a strong position for the future. The geography of these regions is such that cable the provision of services via satellite will become paramount to their everyday activities. Being a global company, with manufacturing in U.S., Europe and in the Far East, puts us in the happy position of being able to provide our systems at low cost and from multiple locations.SM In summary, what is your overall strategy for 2010?David McCourt Our total focus is on delivering consistency, quality partners can offer a quality service at a reasonable price. We are continuing to invest heavily in our R&D, to offer cutting-edge products to our customers. As Skyware Global continues to grow we will be able to extend our worldwide presence even further to offer an ever more tailored and cost-effective offering to each of our clients around the world.
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Northwestern is one of the featured boats in the Discovery Channels smash hit show, Deadliest Catch in the Bering Sea, and airs in over 150 countries. The show has made Skipper Sig Hansen famous, but fame doesnt make time at sea any safer, easier or NorthwesternSig, like can play an important, non-direct, supporting role, helping him to make decisions and communicate with his crew and the land-based operations.Its all about experience but technology can make it safer. I think technology is improving, but then its up to the people that use it to know what to do with the information at hand. Especially with weather reports, explains Sig. 72 SatMagazine January 2010 Case study thrane & ThraneSurviving The Deadliest Catch With SAILOR Onboard
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Communications PackageIn May of 2009, Sig had the entire communications system on Northwestern replaced with a brand new SAILOR SATCOM system, VHF, and GMDSS communications package, all headed-up SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband, which, according to Sig, will be used for operational applications and the crews personal use. We have had the same SAILOR VHF at the helm of Northwestern since 1987. I was thinking to myself, how many times have I hit those buttons? And its still going strong. So SAILOR is obviously high quality stuff and well make sure we put the gear through its paces, says Sig. Extreme ConditionsTrusted and reliable communications equipment is important to Sig, especially when he describes 60 foot waves, terrifying gusts of wind and ice building up to more than a foot thick all conditions the Northwestern and her crew must cope with on a regular basis. Having access to the Internet on board, delivered by the SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband system, has enabled Sig to have far greater control of where Northwestern should be and what she should be doing.My wife would get weather reports from the Internet for me early in the morning. The stations would get the weather but not transmit until later in the day so I was always a few hours ahead. Sometimes a three-quarter hour period is enough time for you to get the hell out of town and get to where you need to be going. So that was a big deal, according to Sig. Now though, I just get online myself in the morning, which means I dont have to wake my wife up at 4 am. Thats an even bigger deal. lets face it, time is money. You want to stay out as long as you can, until you feel that you absolutely have to go in. Which was the case on a recent trip, 73 SatMagazine January 2010 Case study thrane & thrane
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About Thrane & ThraneThrane & Thrane is a leading manufacturer of equipment and systems for global mobile communication based on sophisticated satellite and radio technology. Since its incorporation in 1981, the company has established a strong position within global mobile communication solutions based on the Inmarsat system, and today Thrane & Thrane provides equipment for maritime, land-based and aeronautical use. The companys products are sold throughout the world under the brands Thrane & Thrane, EXPLORER and SAILOR through distributors and partners and as OEM products. Thrane & Thrane has approximately 650 employees and is listed on the OMX Nordic Stock Exchange in Copenhagen.when the weather was closing in on our last day of 3 hours extra, then we got around the island before she really blew. Most of the other boats left several hours prior to me leaving, but I knew I had an 80 or 90 mile run, 8 or 9 hours and sometimes staying a little bit longer can really count, but you have to know that you are safe.Crew MoraleSig is highly enthusiastic about the state-of-the-art SATCOMs he now has onboard as he experiences how many different ways the communication from regular maintenance and equipment malfunctions to accidents and emergencies. However, just as important to Sig is the fact that his crew now has a reliable link to home, which is vital for maintaining high morale. I really enjoy the fact that the crew can contact their loved ones. What could be more therapeutic than that? I have no problem with the guys using it. I tell them, hey, call home, you need to call home. Its like therapy for them, and then they are much better, Sig said. 74 SatMagazine January 2010 Case study thrane & Thrane
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TubeSat Preps For NEPTUNE 30by Randa Relich Milliron, CEO, Interorbital Systems Interorbital Systems (IOS), based in Mojave, California, is a rocket manufacturer as well as a small satellite developer. The Company recently announced the names of the teams and experiments slated modular rocket, the NEPTUNE 30.The rocket and its payload represent technological and price breakthroughs. By combining Interorbitals ultra low-cost, new cylindrical picosatellite the TubeSat in combo with their dedicated small satellite launcher the N30 IOS has become an industry gamechanger. The Company offers Personal Satellite Kits plus manifest of as many as 32 TubeSats, or two traditional standard CubeSats and 29 TubeSats in a mixed launch. Morehead State University Space Science (MoSU) program, led by CubeSat inventor Bob Twiggs who joined the TubeSat mission with the desire to enhance the practical hands-on engineering experience his evolving curriculum at MoSU offers. He sees the TubeSat Kit as the perfect educational tool. Bob and his students will collaborate with what may be the youngest team to launch a satellite, the students of the Aslan Academy, a private southern California high school team, led by Talbot Jaeger. The Aslan group will develop a propulsion system for the spacecraft, which will be built as a double TubeSat. The Morehead-Aslan project has a secondary function: to run as a testbed and proof of concept demonstration for applications to be used on a future grand-scale mission, the QB-50. 75 SatMagazine January 2010 FOCUS interorbital + TubeSat
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From the Arts sector comes Project Calliope, a cross-discipline music experiment described by program director Sandy Antunes as an ionospheric for web streaming and remixing. Conceptually, its a musical instrument in space, played by space rather music until it dies music from science. The InterAmerican University of Puerto Ricos orbital experiment, led by Dr. Hien Vo, will represent Territory to launch a science payload using the new TubeSat form-factor. The University of California Irvines UCISAT-1 project, managed by students Allen Giragosian and Anahita Sidhwa CubeSat in the mix. The primary mission objective of UCISAT-1 is to capture images of Earth and transmit them to the K6UCI ground station located on campus. The secondary mission objective is to record and transmit angular velocity data taken from UCISAT-1s passive inertial sensor. on the N30s maiden voyage includes the Naval Postgraduate School. NPS has signed on for three TubeSat orbital launches and two test Alex Bordetsky commented, We plan to use TubeSats as ad hoc orbital nodes in the TNT (Tactical Network Topology) testbed experiments, to forward tagging and tracking data globally. These small satellites are perfect for use in testbed development. NPS has also signed on for two of the N30s CPM ( Common Propulsion Module ) low-altitude (scheduled for the end of February) will test equipment and telemetry. During the second launch in May, another CPM the basic building block of the 5-module NEPTUNE 30 orbital rocket and TubeSat hardware will play an active role in a worldwide Maritime Interdiction exercise involving NPS and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as leads, with partners including the Science and Technology, and USOCCOM IOS TubeSat platform will perform an important task in data forwarding a precursor to the picosats future role as the orbital component in a complex realtime communication web. 76 SatMagazine January 2010 FOCUS interorbital + TubeSat
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In addition to those already signed on, 20 additional experimental teams have reserved payload space with sales pending (satellites are added to the manifest only after full payment is made). The NEPTUNE 30 was originally designed to launch a 32-TubeSat payload, or 15 CubeSats, but the customer base began to demand CubeSat launches and double or triple TubeSat placement. To keep the costs at affordable, academically accessible on the specially priced academic launches, leaving space for 26 TubeSats to launch at the original $8,000 rate. The base price per standard TubeSat Kit, including launch, is $8,000. The cost per is $12,500. The price per satellite aboard an allCubeSat NEPTUNE 30 launch will be $18,000. Four low-altitude (15km/10mi) suborbital test launches of the NEPTUNE 30 components are evaluate the performance of a single CPM and conducted with an all-up 5-CPM NEPTUNE 30. Payload space is still available for all suborbital start at a minimum of $500/kg.The TechnologyTwo technologies make Interorbital Systems low-cost space program possible: the TubeSat and the NEPTUNE 30 Modular Rocket, both developed in-house. After studying the small satellite market for the last two years, and seeing the need for low-cost alternatives to existing small sat sources and launch options, IOS invented the TubeSat Personal Satellite ( PS) Kit and offered it to the space community with a launch to orbit on the IOS NEPTUNE 30 rocket at the combined price of $8,000. Interorbitals co-founder and CEO Randa Milliron commented, Starting now, private ownership of a piece of space real estate is possible and at an irresistibly affordable 77 SatMagazine January 2010 FOCUS interorbital + TubeSat
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cost. Planet Earth has just entered the age of the Personal Satellite. Personal Satellite Kit offers endless possibilities. What exactly can one do with ones own spacecraft? For the general public, its an opportunity to send a loved-ones ashes or mementos to orbit in a tiny private mausoleum. For tekkies, artists, scientists, or hobbyists, this is a chance to broadcast personal messages from space, track migrating animals, photograph and chronicle climate change, conduct a new musical release from orbit, study cosmic ray activity, space-qualify hardware, or advertise a product, company, or cause all from ones own orbiting platform that is tearing through space at over 17,500 miles-per-hour. The TubeSat was originally designed as an of hundreds of small satellites that were gathering dust on lab shelves for lack of a launch. I designed the satellite, and its 32-pack deployment system in the same way I designed the rocket that launches the TubeSats by achieving ultra low cost TubeSat program could not be possible without the NEPTUNE 30 Rocket. IOS co-founder, Roderick Milliron, stated. Its the NEPTUNE 30 and the use of identical modules that make this type of lowcost rocket manufacturing and affordable satellite launch possible. Based on a common-unit, modular launch vehicle Lutz Kaysers OTRAG company that included Wernher von Braun and Kurt Debus ), the NEPTUNE 30 is an evolved OTRAG tank bundle vehicle, enhanced with modern updates and innovations. The basic building block of the NEPTUNE Modular Series rockets is the Common Propulsion Module ( CPM ). A single Common Propulsion and fuel tank, a pair of propellant valves, a choice injection roll and ACS system. The length of the CPM propellant tanks is varied according to the launch application. By clustering the CPMs, several launch vehicles requirements. The most basic cluster, consisting of the NEPTUNE 30. The number 30 is the mass in kilograms the launch vehicle can place in a 192.2include the NEPTUNE 1000 with 33 CPMs and the NEPTUNE 4000 with 84 CPMs.Many of the CPM components, such as the propellant valves, the propellant valve control hardware, and some rocket engine components are available off-the-shelf. The application of COTS components drastically reduces the cost of each CPM by decreasing the manufacturing time and labor requirements (man-hours). Two production models of engine are used in the NEPTUNE launchers: a Booster Rocket Engine and an Altitude Rocket Engine. These bipropellant liquid rocket engines are designed, manufactured, and tested in-house at IOS, and are the result of a 14-year private-sector research and development program. 78 SatMagazine January 2010 FOCUS interorbital + TubeSat
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Orbital Tourism and Lunar Missions launch vehicles for more demanding missions additional identical modules. The 33-module NEPTUNE 1000 is designed to place a 132-pound (60-kg) payload on the surface of the Moon or a 200-pound (91-kg) payload into Lunar Orbit. Interorbital Systems is also the launch provider for its Google Lunar X PRIZE Team SYNERGY MOON, using the N1000 as its Moon rocket. The Stage-Four CPM of the NEPTUNE 1000 is the rockets Translunar Injection Stage. Following the GLXP of Lunar Sample Return Missions. Pre-sales of Lunar Material are already in progress. The NEPTUNE-series rockets will carry IOS consisting of long-term orbital experience. The NEPTUNE 1000s two-person Crew Module is designed to carry two orbital explorers into LowEarth-Orbit. It is equipped to stay in orbit for a little more than half-a-day or eight orbits. Safety features include a launch escape tower. The Crew Module will be launched into a selfdecaying orbit for assured reentry. Two test pilots, Miroslav Ambrus-Kis and Nebojsa Stanojevic, members on the rocket from IOS private spaceport in the Tonga in 2011. The cost will be $800,000 per astronaut (a maximum of two in number). The base cost for a single customer will be $1,600,000. For space tourism or cargo purposes, launch costs will vary according to the The NEPTUNE 4000 is an orbital tourism rocket with a six-crew member capsule designed for LEO expeditions lasting up to seven days. These 79 SatMagazine January 2010 FOCUS interorbital + TubeSat
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of $5 million per ticket, or for a limited time, at $250,000 for each of eight remaining Free Tickets to Space promotional fare tickets. Tim Pennington Reed ticket. Another customer has placed a deposit on the second ticket for the N4000s maiden voyage. Only through complete vertical integration could a Commercial Space program such as Interorbital Systems exist. It hinges upon three mutually dependent factors: the creation of rocket engines and launch vehicles evolved and constructed independently at a private spaceport (either land or sea-based); and offering the worlds lowest-cost satellite and launch package. No other company can currently match this mix of practicality and innovation no other company can offer orbital access in the same price range as IOS. This means... A new day in spacelaunch! TubeSats and NEPTUNE 30 launchers open space to everyone. Public and private-sector space Interorbital Systems has made available to them to access space, and to do such affordably. Interorbitals new vertical static test standAbout Interorbital Systems (IOS)The Company is located at the Mojave Airport and Spaceport in Mojave, California. The company carries out its operations at facilities consisting of a and two private rocket engine test sites. IOS conducts test launches at the Mojave Test Area (MTA) in the desert North of Mojave and at Delamar Dry Lake in rockets to a maximum altitude of 10 miles ideal Spaceport offers easy aircraft access for business and general use. For more info, email ios@interorbital.com 80 SatMagazine January 2010 FOCUS interorbital + TubeSat
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81 SatMagazine January 2010 Matching The Pace Of Aerospaceby Tim Nichols, Managing Director, Siemens PLM Software case study siemens plm softwareFemap enables more accurate and comprehensive analyses of satellite mechanisms, this in spite of development cycles that have been sliced in half.400 Satellites Launched Into OrbitRUAG Aerospace Sweden supplies a variety of equipment for satellites and launch operations for companies around the world. Its customer roster includes satellite companies in the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Russia, and its product line includes computers and data handling equipment, antennas, microwave electronics, satellite structures, rocket guidance systems, ground support equipment, payload adapters and payload separation systems.Payload separation systems keep satellites safely attached to the launch vehicle during the tough journey toward outer space. Then, at a precise moment in the launch sequence, these systems activate to deliver the highly valuable cargo (the satellite) into the desired orbit with the correct amount of velocity, roll, and spin.
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82 SatMagazine January 2010 case study siemens plm softwareRUAG Aerospace Sweden is the commercial market-leading supplier of payload separation systems, with a history encompassing more than 400 in-orbit separations all of them successful. These systems, along with the adapter structures that connect the launcher with the satellite, are designed and built at the RUAG Aerospace Sweden Mechanical Products Division in Linkping, which is about 200 kilometers south of Stockholm in Sweden.Three Months For New DesignsAs separation systems and adapter structures are some of the last equipment to be built, there is pressure on the team at Linkping to work very quickly. In fact, over the last decade, the cycle times The majority of that time is spent in manufacturing, which means that today we have about three months to design a new separation system. This is very fast, explains Leif Hkansson, head of engineering in the Mechanical Products Division. The design effort includes the creation of vast amounts of documentation, which weigh more than the hardware itself, according to Hkansson. In addition to the documentation, another deliverable and separation system. Finite element analysis ( FEA) plays a huge role in the design process for payload separation systems, allowing engineers to observe the performance of their designs at an early example). Engineers at RUAG Aerospace Swedens Mechanical Products Division use the Femap preand post-processor from Siemens PLM Software FEA Software Addresses Multiple NeedsThe division selected Femap for a number of reasons. One was its excellent performance-to-cost ratio, according to Jan-Erik Larsson, who is lead engineer at RUAG Aerospace Swedens Mechanical Products Division. This ties in with our corporate goal to reduce overhead costs, Larsson explains. With Femap, we get what we need at a very reasonable price. Another reason for the selection of Femap was its ease of use. A user-friendly environment was important to us because the engineering work at RUAG Aerospace Sweden involves different duties and we dont work 100 percent of the time with one single software, Larsson says. It is possible to come back to Femap after weeks of not using it and Femaps ability to interface with other CAD and analysis formats is very important to the division. We frequently exchange models with customers. The ability to import geometric data instead of recreating it saves time and costs, Larsson explains. With other preand postprocessors, this is an option you must pay for, he continues. You have to request the license and then wait a few days. It is a lot of money for a simple thing and we appreciate the fact that this ability comes free with Femap. In addition to saving time and costs, the ability to import geometry enhances the quality of the analysis that the division performs. In many cases, if you couldnt import that geometry you wouldnt add it to your model because it would take too long or result in a reduction of details, says Hkansson. This feature of Femap lets us add more detail to the models so we get more accurate results. Finally, the division appreciates the fact that Femap its performance, says Larsson. We also appreciate that Femap is always fully backward compatible so that when we get a new version we can still various reasons, and we appreciate that Femap has a strategy that allows this.Faster, And Yet More Accurate AnalysisBuilding analysis models with Femap is sometimes done by importing CAD geometry (usually in STEP format) and then using the softwares element mesh. This works very well, according to Larsson, and has reduced the time for creating when engineers worked from drawings, to less than one day today.
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83 SatMagazine January 2010 case study siemens plm softwareIn other situations, engineers use Femaps modeling tools to create their own geometry. This is done for some thin-walled structures and for graphite components such as the adapters that connect the launcher with the satellite. Femaps ability to model these structures, particularly those with laminate properties, is very important to us, Larsson notes. Its easy to use and having this capability in Femap eliminates the need for additional laminate software, which reduces the analysis effort and improves the results.These qualities of Femap have helped speed analysis turnaround time, which is important now that the division has seen its development cycles essentially cut in half. But analyses are not only done faster, they are more accurate as well. Because the analysis models can be prepared so quickly, engineers use some of the time thats saved to make them more detailed. And with the ability to import customers FEA models regardless of format, engineers can more easily include adjacent structures in their analysis models. We import complete models of satellites and other adjacent before, says Hkansson in isolation.About the authorTim Nichols is responsible for coordinating the efforts of a worldwide cross-functional group that is dedicated to the Global Aerospace & Defense Industry, including commercial and general aviation, defense and space systems, as well as shipbuilding, and related government agencies across the globe.
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BEAM editors Femap is an advanced engineering simulation analysis models of complex engineering products and systems, and displays solution results. Femap can virtually model components, assemblies or systems and determine the behavioral response for a given operating environment.Using Femaps digital simulation capabilities you can:Predict and improve product performance and reliabilityReduce time-consuming and costly physical prototyping and testing Evaluate different designs and materials CAD-IndependentFemap is CAD-independent and can access geometry data from all major CAD systems including CATIA, Pro/Engineer, NX, Solid Edge, SolidWorks and AutoCAD. Once imported you can prepare the model for analysis using the geometry locator to identify and display potentially troublesome entities, such as slivers, and either remove them completely with the geometry cleanup tools or suppress them. Femap also offers a wealth so you can make necessary model changes in Finite Element Modeling is fully exposed by Femap, allowing you to view, create or modify entities directly. Femaps grouping, model display while creating and setting up the modeling tasks including: Mid-plane extraction of thin-walled structures shell models Weldment modeling that connects discrete solid welded parts together into a contiguous model Data surfaces that allow you to create complex loading conditions based on prior analysis output for multi-physics applicationsFinite Element MeshingFemaps 3D solid and surface meshers are tuned to generate high-quality meshes, providing well-shaped elements to ensure accurate results. Femap gives you full control over all mesh generation parameters including factors, short edge suppression, etc. is often required in areas where greater accuracy is desired. For this situation Femaps Meshing Toolbox allows you to interactively modify mesh see the mesh update automatically. You can also What is femap? 84 SatMagazine January 2010
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BEAM editors view element quality feedback live while modifying element model is created.Assembly ModelingFemap with NX Nastran supports assembly modeling, including automatic contact detection that determines the components initially in contact. The contact regions can be set to be simply in contact (with or without friction) or glued together. The contact calculations performed by NX Nastran are iterative and update during the solution, to take into account deformation changes representing the Other types of component assembly modeling techniques also supported include spot-weld, fastener elements, and bolted joints with optional pre-loading.Beam ModelingIn addition to solid and shell element models Femap also supports beam modeling and meshing. This technique allows models comprising long, slender components (for which a solid meshing approach would create a large, unwieldy model) to be represented by one-dimensional elements with associated properties. with Femap you can view these elements as solid components and include offsets. Femap features a section property editor which includes a library of standard cross-section shapes. You can also property calculator automatically determines the required properties.What is femap? 85 SatMagazine January 2010
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BEAM editors results display options including shear and bending moment diagrams.Composite ModelingThe use of composite materials in designs has can help you model and postprocess results on composite structures. With Femaps a laminate editor and viewer, you can update the laminate properties interactively as you create and modify plies in the laminate. You can also postprocess composite laminate results using Femaps global composite ply feature, which allows you to view results on continuous plies through the structural model.Solver NeutralFemap is solver-neutral and provides in-depth preand postprocessing support for all of the main commercial solvers on the market, including NX Nastran, Ansys LS-DYNA, Abaqus, and TMG. You can take full advantage of the advanced analysis capabilities of these solvers using Femaps comprehensive modeling and analysis support, particularly for dynamic, geometric and material Postprocessing and interpret the results to quickly understand the view and interpret the output data, including: Contour and criteria plots Deformed shape animations Dynamic cutting plane and iso-surfaces Full output selection XY plots Free body diagrams and grid point force balance outputTime and frequency domain animations Complete access to results data is provided through the Data Table pane, which you can use to gather, sort and control the amount and type of data that is visible, to compile an analysis report. Scalable Simulation Solutions The Velocity Series CAE products offer scalable solutions for design engineers in the form of the CAD-embedded Solid Edge Simulation program, and Femap with NX Nastran for CAE analysts. The Femap with NX Nastran product line itself offers solution scalability, from the more general simulation capabilities available in the base module to more advanced applications including dynamics, Customization complete access to all Femap functions through an OLE/COM object-oriented Application Programming Interface (API), which employs standard, non-proprietary programming languages. Access to the API is through a development environment within the user interface where you can create custom programs that automate and exchange data with third-party programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel.UsabilityFemap is an intuitive Windows-native application. Femaps support of multiple graphics windows Tree and Data Table, allow complete access to modify the appearance of the interface to suit your requirements, including repositioning panes, modifying the level of functionality exposed, and What is femap? 86 SatMagazine January 2010
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BEAM editors
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