ESA taps Astrium to develop Ariane 6, Ariane 5 ME

Astrium, an EADS subsidiary company that provides civil and military space systems and services, has been chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to handle the development of Ariane 6 and Ariane 5 ME launches. The new contract, worth €108 million ($146 million), follow on from the decisions made during ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting in Naples November of last year.

As Ariane 5’s main contractor since 2003, Astrium will make the initial definition and feasibility studies for the future Ariane 6 European launcher. The goal of the study phase, which is expected to run for six months, is to identify the concept and architecture for Ariane 6. The phase will also set out the new launcher’s main specifications before its industrial development.

Now, Astrium should examine the different possible configurations for the space vehicle and come up with the best solutions to meet ESA’s technical, scheduling and budgetary objectives.

Moreover, the company will work on the development of next-generation Ariane 5 -- the Ariane 5 ME (Midlife Evolution). WIth this new update, it is expected to boost the launch capability by 20 percent compared to the existing launcher -- all without raising the price. ESA expects the Ariane 5 ME to be ready for launch by 2017.

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Mexsat Bicentenario Satellite Deploys First Signals from Space

The satellite of Mexsat Bicentenario sent its first signals from space on December 20, Thursday, as one of the first of three Mexsat satellites for the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) of Mexico to help improve the communications of the country for civil, domestic, humanitarian and military needs.

Built by Orbital Sciences under contract to Boeing, Mexsat Bicentenario was made as a hybrid-band and Ku-band communications satellite based on the flight-proven GEOStar-2 platform of Orbital. Boeing will serve as the principal contractor of Mexsat and will be in charge of creating the remaining two 702HP geomobile satellites for its scheduled launches in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, Boeing will incorporate the Mexsat network, while Orbital is in charge of supplying the command and control ground equipment and software for the Bicentenario, as well as the operational documentation and associated training.

In a statement, Boeing Satellite Systems International CEO and Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems Vice President and General Manager Craig Cooning said: “Today's successful launch brings us closer to the establishment of the MEXSAT system, which will enhance Mexico’s disaster-relief and emergency services, and provide satellite broadcasting capabilities in telemedicine and tele-education.”

Globecomm, Xiplink sign reseller deal for maritime communications

Xiplink, one of the leaders in wireless optimisation software and hardware, announced yesterday that it has signed a value added reseller contract for various optimization products with Globecomm Systems.

According to Canadian-based company, the agreement with Globecomm comes after the successful completion of tests on the optimization products, including field tests at Globecomm’s European teleport facilities.

Jack Waters, CEO of Xiplink, also added that the reseller deal for the products will be for the deployment of internet on satellite technology in maritime vessels. Just this week, the satellite company headquartered in New York announced that it had achieved a company milestone after delivering a host of connection platforms, VSAT and GSM solutions to over 3500 ships globally.

MTN Communications launches MTN Nexus

Cruise operators are now demanding more powerful communications services at sea, as passengers of today carry with them smartphone and tablet devices which demand connectivity services. The larger requirements for communications has been taken into consideration by MTN Communications, one of the leading satellite technology providers for cruise ships and other maritime vessels.

The solution MTN has developed is called MTN Nexus - a powerful hybrid network combining cutting-edge computing, cache, and security infrastructure. The technology allows passengers to enjoy Internet by satellite out in sea, so they connect to their social media networks, read and send emails, and enjoy surfing the web. MTN Nexus is made possible by the company’s investment on the EpicNG satellite constellation from Intelsat, allowing for a more industry specific services with flexible payloads.

 

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Orbit awarded a $150 million satellite-gear contract

Orbit Technologies, one of the world’s leading satellite communications manufacturer and suppliers, announced that it had won a $150 million contract with one of the world’s largest satellite communications companies. The new agreement will find the Israeli-based company supplying Ka band communications systems, which is one of the emerging drivers of growth in the satellite industry.

According to Orbit Technologies CEO Ofer Greenberger, the new project offers great potential for the company to expand in a global scale. He said that the company will be supplying hundreds of Orband and Orsat systems, alongside over 2,500 antenna to be used for the GBSI initiative - a global satcom project that aims to launch 12 ka band satellites on a two-year period between 2013 to 2014. Mr. Greenberger said that aside from the satellite systems, Orbit will also be providing support services to the project.

The satellite communications company has already received a NIS 4 million order to start the project. This is good news for Orbit which suffered $1.1 million in losses during the first half of the year. Greenberger expressed his excitement that the new initiative will make the company a global leader in both the naval and land-based Ka band market.

Two satellites successfully launched via the Proton-M rocket

Two communications satellite - the Loutch-5B and Yamal-300K - were successfully launched in Russia via a Russian Proton-M rocket, which took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Both satellites are now within schedule to reach their orbits through the Briz-M upper stage, 10 hours after the initial launch. The two vessels will be undergoing several tests in orbit to evaluate the performance of the major subsystems.

 

 

According to NASA Spaceflight, the Briz-M upper stage used was a Phase III Variant, which utilizes powerful, new high pressure tanks - an upgrade from previous versions. The Phase III version of the rocket also allowed for the relocation of the command centre instruments.

 

The first satellite, the Loutch-5B, was made in Russia for the country’s Space Agency and was developed and constructed by the ISS-Reshetnev. According to ISS, the bird will be used to provide real-time communications service using a multifunctional data-relay system. The Yamal-300K was also developed in Russia but by the Reshetnev Company for Gazprom Space Systems. It was designed to provide the country high-speed internet on satellite service. Both birds are under Russia’s Federal Space Program.

 

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