May 18, 1997 Vol. 1 - No. 3 ============================== THE ORBITAL REPORT ON-LINE ============================== Space Executive's Weekly News Digest This issue of Takyon International's latest on-line newsletter was published in cooperation with New Space. (www.newspace.com) OReOL covers space industry news, market trends, and provides the necessary background information for immediate analysis. Please feel free to contact us for any comment. === HEADLINES === * CHINA GREAT WALL INDUSTRY CORP. (CGWIC) has resumed flights of its CZ 'LONG MARCH' family of launchers. A CZ-3A vehicle has successfully boosted the DONG FANG HONG 3A2 (DFH-3A2) domestic communication satellite (24C) to transfer orbit on May 11 from Xichang, Sichuan province. This was the first CZ launch since the failure of a CZ-3 vehicle on August 18, 1996, caused the loss of the CHINASAT 7 communication satellite. The CZ-3A is the core vehicle of the more powerful CZ-3B vehicle which failed dramatically on its maiden flight on February 14, 1996, killing at least six persons and destroying the Intelsat 708 satellite. The second CZ-3B is due to loft Philippines' MABUHAY regional communication satellite in early July. * SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on May 15 and docked with Russia's MIR space station two days later. The US spacecraft, with a crew of seven including a female pilot, a Frenchman and a Russian flight duration recordwoman, brings about 2,700kg of goods and science equipment to the station. NASA astronaut Michael Foale will replace Jerry Linenger who has been onboard Mir since mid-September. === BUSINESS === * DAIMLER BENZ AEROSPACE (DASA) and LAGARDERE GROUPE (parent company of MATRA) have announced a strategic alliance to merge their space activities. The new DASA-led entity would consolidate DASA's DORNIER SATELLITENSYSTEME (DSS), of Friedrichshafen, Germany, DASA RAUMFAHRT INFRASTRUKTUR (DASA-RI), of Bremen, Germany, and MATRA MARCONI SPACE, of Velizy, France. Until last year, DASA was negotiating with AEROSPATIALE for a similar merger of their satellite activities but the agreement failed as DASA wanted to lead the merged company although its DSS subsidiary had a turnover worth only 85% of that of AEROSPATIALE's Satellites division. DASA proposed a similar agreement to ALCATEL which refused. * SOCIETE EUROPEENNE DES SATELLITES (SES), of Betzdorf, Luxembourg, has exercized an option (worth an estimated US$75 million) on a previous contract with INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES (ILS) for the launch of its Hughes-built ASTRA 2A direct broadcasting satellite (32Ku) on a PROTON K vehicle late this year. This launch was initially planned on an ARIANE vehicle but technical problems with the satellite's bipropellant apogee motor have led SES to prefer a direct geosynchronous injection (available only with Proton) rather than the planned mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The existing contract with ARIANESPACE will not be rescinded but allocated to another future Astra satellite. SES still holds reservations for three firm launches on Ariane. * CONSTELLATION COMMUNICATIONS INC. (CCI), of Reston, Virginia, has selected MATRA MARCONI SPACE, of Velizy, France, to build and launch its 12-satellite ECCO constellation in equatorial orbit for regional mobile telephony. The 3-year contract is valued at about US$600 million. ECCO is a joint project of CCI (backed by BELL ATLANTIC and RAYTHEON E-SYSTEMS) and Brazil's TELEBRAS. * LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. has awarded a CAN$75-million (US$55-million) contract to SPAR AEROSPACE LTD., of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, for the procurement of products and services related to satellite communications and remote sensing systems. This contract comes as a consequence of Lockheed Martin's selection as prime contractor for TELESAT CANADA's still unnamed newest direct broadcasting satellite. * INFORMKOSMOS of Moscow, Russia, has awarded a CAN$9.5-million (US$7-million) contract to SPAR AEROSPACE LTD., of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, for the delivery of four high-power Ku-band transponder panels for Russia's future GALS-R16 communication satellite, scheduled for launch in late 1998. * GLOBALSTAR LP, of San Jose, California, has awarded a US$275-million contract to QUALCOMM INC., of San Diego, California, for the procurement of 35 gateway stations for its 54-satellite low Earth orbit mobile telephony constellation. Delivery is due by early 1998. ********************************************************************* * As part of the New Space Journal, two interactive columns are now * * being published. "Minimum Cost Design" by Arthur Schnitt focuses * * on the MCD criteria and its application to space launch vehicles. * * "Reality Check" by Rick Fleeter takes a critical look at current * * space industry issues and concepts from the perspective of a * * seasoned veteran. You can view these columns on the web: * * * * www.newspace.com/schnitt -or- www.newspace.com/fleeter * ********************************************************************* === MARKETS === * The US FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) has awarded operating licenses to 12 companies proposing to build up to 73 geostationary Ka-band satellites to provide broadband communication services. The licensees are HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS (up to 15 Spaceway satellites), LORAL SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS (3 Cyberstar satellites), LOCKHEED MARTIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS (9 AstroLink satellites), GE AMERICOM (9 satellites), MOTOROLA COMMUNICATIONS (4 Millennium satellites), ECHOSTAR COMMUNICATIONS (2 satellites), NETSAT 28 (single satellite), KA STAR COMMUNICATIONS (single satellite), MORNINGSTAR SATELLITE, ORION NETWORK SYSTEMS, PANAMSAT CORP. and VISIONSTAR. * HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS, of Long Beach, California, and GLOBALSTAR LP, of San Jose, California, have asked the FCC to reconsider the operating license it awarded to TELEDESIC, of Kirkland, Washington state, on March 14 after it announced changes in the architecture of its constellation, reducing the number of satellites from 840 to 288. HUGHES and GLOBALSTAR claim this 'major' change invalidated the license. * The government of KUWAIT is reportedly looking for investors to develop a US$800-million REGIONAL SATELLITE communication system. * ECHOSTAR COMMUNICATIONS, of Englewood, Colorado, is suing NEWS CORP. for about US$5 million in damages following the failure of a merger agreement regarding their direct broadcasting services. The agreement collapsed when NEWS CORP. tried to impose its access control system to ECHOSTAR. === TECHNOLOGIES === * NASA will cooperate with Japan's INSTITUTE OF SPACE AND ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCE (ISAS) on the first mission ever planned to collect samples from an asteroid surface and bring them back on Earth. Launch of the MUSES-C probe is planned on a M-5 vehicle in January 2002 with landing on asteroid NEREUS in September 2003. A NASA-provided 1-kg miniature ROBOTIC ROVER will be released. Sample return is planned in January 2006. * TRW Inc., of Redondo Beach, California, is completing tests on a 72;5-kg, 45-m2 solar array which will use 36,480 advanced gallium arsenide germanium (GaAs/Ge) solar cells to provide 7.5 kW of electrical power to NASA's EOS-AM1 large Earth observation polar platform built by LOCKHEED MARTIN. Delivery of the array is planned for this summer. Launch of the 5,186-kg polar platform is scheduled in June 1998, on a LOCKHEED MARTIN ATLAS 2AS vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, California. ******************************************************************** * The latest issue of THE ORBITAL LAUNCHER REPORT (Vol. 3 - No. 7) * * was published on May 14. * * It includes an exclusive 10-year GTO/GEO launch market forecast, * * an extensive coverage of the Delta 2 launch failure report, * * latest news about expendable/reusable launchers ,and much more ! * * * * For subscription information, contact us: orbirep@worldnet.fr * ******************************************************************** === PREVIEW === * May 18/19 A McDonnell Douglas DELTA 2-7925 vehicle is scheduled to loft the THOR 2A direct broadcasting satellite for TELENOR of Norway from Cape Canaveral, Florida. * May 23 LOCKHEED MARTIN's LMLV-1 should return to launch, to loft NASA's TRW-built LEWIS experimental remote sensing satellite. * May 24 A Russian PROTON K vehicle is due to launch the TELSTAR 5 communication satellite for LORAL SKYNET, from Baykonur, Kazakhstan. * May 26 The PROGRESS M35 automated cargo spacecraft should be launched to MIR from Baykonur, Kazakhstan, by a SOYUZ U vehicle. * Late May/ The elements of the second ARIANE 5 QUALIFICATION VEHICLE Early June are expected to be shipped to Kourou, French Guyana. The Ariane 502 vehicle is planned to loft two dummy payloads and two small science satellites on September 16. * June 3 An ARIANE 44L-3 launcher is scheduled to carry two satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit from Kourou, French Guyana. They are the INMMARSAT 3-F4 mobile communications satellite for the INMARSAT organization, and the INSAT 2D communication satellite for the INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (ISRO). The Orbital Report On-Line is published 3 to 4 times per month by Takyon International (RCS Paris B 401 465 398) 34, boulevard Exelmans, 75016 Paris, France Phone: +33 (0) 146 566 490 * Fax: +33 (0) 146 561 355 Editorial hotline: +33 (0) 607 995 056 E-mail: orbirep@worldnet.net Chief Editor: Stefan Barensky Technical Contributor: Samuel Szdat © Takyon International - May 1997 Takyon International also publishes The Orbital Launcher Report, a monthly space transportation newsletter. ------------------- End of issue Vol.1, No.3 ----------------------
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