November 26, 1996 Vol. 0 - No. 1 By subscription only ============================== THE ORBITAL REPORT ON-LINE ============================== Space Executive's Weekly News Digest This is an experimental issue of Takyon International's latest on-line newsletter. OReOL is intended to cover space industry's news and market trend and provide the necessary background information for immediate analysis. Please feel free to contact us for any comment. === HEADLINES === * After a three-week long delay due to concerns over strap-on boosters' nozzle insulation, NASA's space shuttle Columbia was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center at 19:56 UT on November 19. This was the first launch since shuttle operations were transfered to United Space Alliance (USA), a Rockwell- Lockheed-Martin joint-venture on October 1st. The shuttle released two satellites on November 21 and 22: Germany's SPAS platform, carrying the Orfeus UV telescope, and University of Houston's Wake Shield Facility (WSF) due to process six super- thin semiconductor films in high quality vacuum conditions. * CNES teams are still struggling to recover the stranded Spot 3 remote sensing satellite which lost attitude control on November 14. A decision to revive Spot 1, its 11-year-old forerunner, as a gapfiller might be taken this week if Spot 3 is officially declared a loss. Spot 4, an improved version of the Spot satellites, is not expected to be ready for launch before late 1997. * Eutelsat's US$100-million Hot Bird 2, the first member of the Matra Marconi Space-built Hot Bird Plus direct broadcasting satellites family, was successfully launched by an International Launch Services' Atlas 2A vehicle (AC-124) at 20:47 UT on November 21. Hot Bird 2 (20 Ku) is due to be colocated with Eutelsat 2-F1 (16 Ku) and Hot Bird 1 (16 Ku) at Eutelsat's so- called 'Hot Bird' position at 13°E. Three more Hot Bird Plus satellites, all built by MMS, will be lofted through 1998 to form a 92-transponder position dedicated to direct broadcasting in competition with Luxembourg-based Societe Europeenne des Satellite (SES) owner of the Astra system. * The Progress M33 resupply spacecraft was launched by a Soyuz U vehicle from Baykonur cosmodrome at 0:20 UT on November 20 and docked with space station Mir at 01:01 UT on November 22. The cargo ship carried about 2,400 kg of food, water, fuel and equipment to the station. === BUSINESS === * Rockwell's Space Systems Division, of Seal Beach, California, soon to be acquired by Boeing, has awarded a contract worth about US$1 million to Structural Dynamics Research Corp. for computer-assisted design and manufacturing software, maintenance and services to prepare for the manufacturing of US Department of Defense's Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) Block 2F satellites. * American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC), of Reston, Virginia, has acquired Rockwell's Multi-Mode Communications System, a mobile messaging and global positioning and monitoring service for commercial trucking fleets. === MARKETS === * The US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) gave its final approval for the manufacturing, launch and operations of the Odyssey intermediate circular orbit constellation for global personal mobile communication jointly proposed by TRW and Teleglobe Canada. Initial service capability is planned for 2001 although only US$180 million among the US$2.8-billion funding has been reportedly raised to date. TRW's industrial partners are Bosch Telecom, Fokker, Harris, Hitachi, Melco, NEC, Nortel Matra, Northern Telecom, Spar Aerospace, Stanford Telecom, Teldix, and Thomson-CSF. * Lockheed-Martin Astro Space officially opened its US$65-million Commercial Satellite Center in Sunnyvale, California, where satellite manufacturing works will be transferred from the current plant in East Windsor, New Jersey. The 14,680-m2 facility includes a 7,900-m2 Class 100,000 clean room, a 330-m3 thermal vacuum chamber, a 1,800-m3 acoustic test cell able to simulate sound frequencies and noise levels up to 165 dB as well as a Sine Vibration Test Facility able to simulate a 200-kN thrust to test resonant vibration. * PanAmSat Corp., of Greenwich, Connecticut, has decided to postpone the launch of its PAS-6 communication satellite on an Ariane vehicle from December 17 to March or April at the earliest to allow its manufacturer, Space Systems/Loral, of Palo Alto, California, to change some electronic components which are suspected to be faulty. Ariane will thus resume launch by late January, lofting GE Americom's GE-2 and Argentina's Nahuel 1A. * Antrix Corp., of Bangalore, India, the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been discussing since April with Teledesic, of Kirkland, Washington, for the manufacturing and launch of a portion of Teledesic's planned US$9-billion 840-satellite constellation for broadband data transfer worldwide. A decision might be taken during the visit to India of Teledesic's main shareholder, Mr. Bill Gates, next February. The 700-kg Teledesic satellites could be lofted by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). === TECHNOLOGIES === * NPO Energomash, of Khimky, Russia, and Pratt&Whitney, of West Palm Beach, Florida, have successfully test-fired their jointly developed RD-180 engine on November 15 and 20. This two-chamber derivative of the four-chamber RD-170 family is intended to power the first stage of Lockheed-Martin's Atlas 2AR launchers in 1998. This engine and this stage are also the core of Lockheed-Martin's proposal within the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) competition. * The first US element of the International Space Station Alpha (ISSA), Node 1, was successfully tested by Boeing in its plant of Huntsville, Alabama. The element was pressurized at 1.5 times its nominal pressure (22.8 psi). A similar test failed in August and 8 struts had to be added to the structure. Node 1 is planned for launch by the space shuttle in December 1997. * TRW Space & Electronics, of Redondo Beach, California, has delivered two jam-proof "nulling" antennas to Hughes Space & Communications, of El Segundo, California, for integration on the medium data rate communications payload Hughes is building for the second generation of US Department of Defense's Milstar strategic and tactical communication satellites. Prime contractor for Milstar is Lockheed-Martin Missiles & Space. * Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space's Advanced Technology Center, of Palo Alto, California, has delivered to Stanford University a large cryogenic dewar for its Gravity Probe-B (GP-B) spacecraft. The dewar will be used to cool the 4 gyros at 1.8K in order to verify their precession as predicted by Einstein's relativity theory. Launch is planned in 2000. === PREVIEW === * Nov. 26: Retrieval of WSF-3 by Columbia. * Nov. 26: The last 14 RS-12M 'Topol' (SS-25 'Sickle') ICBMs still deployed in Belarus are repatriated to Russia. * Nov. 28: Announcement by ESA of a decision on the 'Phoenix' project to refly the Cluster mission using backup hardware and newly built payloads. * Dec. 2: Launch of NASA's Mars Pathfinder lander atop a Delta 2-7925 vehicle from Cape Canaveral. * Dec. 3: Aerospatiale Satellites, of Cannes, France, delivers European Union's Vegetation payload to CNES, the French space agency, for integration on Spot 4. Precision The US$1.59-billion Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program contract announced in our previous issue is actually worth up to US$1.8 billion if all options are exercized. The contract was signed not only with Lockheed-Martin Missiles and Space but with an industrial team led by LMMS which includes Aerojet as mentioned but also Northrop Grumman and Honeywell. The contract is for five geostationary early warning satellites and two sensor payloads (not satellites) in highly elliptical orbits. Next issue is tentatively planned for December 2. The Orbital Report On-Line will be published 40 times per year by Takyon International (RCS Paris B 401 465 398) 34, boulevard Exelmans, 75016 Paris, France Phone: +33 (0) 148 935 781 * Fax: +33 (0) 148 935 725 Editorial hotline: +33 (0) 607 995 056 E-mail: orbirep@worldnet.net Chief Editor: Stefan Barensky Technical Contributor: Samuel Szdat (c) Takyon International - November 1996 Subscription information will be available soon. Takyon International also publishes The Orbital Launcher Report, a monthly space transportation newsletter. ------------------ End of issue Vol.0, No.1 ---------------------
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