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Showing posts with label Satellite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Satellite. Show all posts
Boeing [NYSE: BA] has acquired the first on-orbit signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-1 satellite, the inaugural spacecraft in a 12-satellite constellation that the company is building for the U.S. Air Force. The signals indicate that the spacecraft bus is functioning normally and ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing.

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket launched the GPS IIF-1 satellite at 11 p.m. Eastern time on May 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At 2:33 a.m., the satellite separated from the rocket's upper stage, and a ground station on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean received the first signals from the newest member of the Air Force's GPS satellite constellation. The Air Force 19th Space Operations Squadron and Boeing's Mission Operations Support Center in El Segundo, Calif., confirmed that the satellite is healthy. GPS signals from the spacecraft payload will be turned on for test purposes in the coming weeks.

GPS is the U.S. Department of Defense's largest satellite constellation, with 30 spacecraft on orbit. The GPS IIF satellites will provide more precise and powerful signals, a longer design life, and many other benefits to nearly 1 billion civilian and military users worldwide.

"The inaugural launch of the GPS IIF-1 is a milestone in Boeing's 30 years of support to the Air Force that goes back to the first days of this program," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. "The new GPS IIF satellites bring key improvements, including a more jam-resistant military signal, a new civil signal to enhance commercial aviation and search-and-rescue operations, and significantly improved signal accuracy as more of these new satellites go into operation."

The GPS IIF-1 satellite will undergo months of on-orbit tests, including functional testing of its payloads and end-to-end system testing to verify operability with older GPS satellites, ground receivers, and the ground control system.

Boeing has production of the next 11 GPS IIF satellites well under way as it implements an innovative pulse-line manufacturing approach that will help deliver the satellite fleet on schedule. Adapted from Boeing aircraft and helicopter assembly lines, the Boeing GPS IIF pulse line efficiently moves satellites under development from one work area to the next in a steady, pulse-like rhythm. The second GPS IIF satellite is scheduled for launch later this year.

Boeing's legacy with GPS includes development of the current GPS ground control infrastructure, the Operational Control Segment (OCS), which has supported an expanding set of GPS services and capabilities since 2007. Boeing also is a member of the Raytheon team that recently won a contract to build the next version of the ground segment, which will support current and future GPS satellites.
SES WORLD SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), today announced that it has signed an agreement with Astrium, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS (Euronext Paris: EAD), for the procurement of a new satellite to be named SES-6.

 Consistent with its approach at other orbital locations, the deployment of SES-6 to 319.5 degrees East will meaningfully enhance a core SES video neighborhood while allowing NSS-806, the satellite currently at that location, to be relocated for other missions.

The 319.5 degrees East slot is home to one of the largest cable communities in Latin America, supporting video distribution including HD content to more than 5,000 cable head-ends serving some 18 million homes for key broadcasters such as Fox, Disney ESPN, MGM etc.

SES-6 will offer 50 percent more C-Band capacity for the cable community, and retain the unique capability to distribute content between the Americas and Europe on the same high powered beam. In addition SES-6 will offer a substantial upgrade to Ku-Band capacity in the region with dedicated high power beams over Brazil, South cone, the Andean region, North America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, while also offering an innovative payload to support mobile maritime and aeronautical services on the highly demanded routes from North America, the Gulf of Mexico, across the north Atlantic and to Europe.

With 43 C-Band and 48 Ku-Band 36 MHz equivalent transponders (38 C-Band and 36 Ku-Band physical transponders) the 6,000 kilogram satellite is expected to be launched in early 2013 and will have a design life of 15 years.

"Latin America and the Caribbean have demonstrated significant growth over the past few years and we expect this to continue. Our customers have told us that more capacity is needed, and we are delighted to be able to provide not only an early replacement, but also a meaningful upgrade to our Americas coverage," said Robert Bednarek, President and CEO of SES WORLD SKIES. "Astrium was able to offer an innovative satellite design providing us the capability to deploy capacity flexibly to the markets where we see demand developing over time."

This satellite will be built on a Eurostar E3000 platform, the latest version of Astrium's Eurostar series which has proven to be highly reliable in commercial service.

Francois Auque, CEO of Astrium said "This latest order from SES comes on top of the contract for four satellites they awarded to Astrium just six months ago, and positions Astrium as the key supplier for their two main operating divisions in America and Europe. This demonstrates the high level of trust SES has placed in Astrium and we remain committed to maintaining this confidence in the future."