September 2, 1997 Vol. 1 - No. 12 ============================== 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 Launchspace. (www.launchspace.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 === * LOCKHEED MARTIN ASTRONAUTICS, of Denver, Colorado, has successfully conducted the launch of its second LOCKHEED MARTIN LAUNCH VEHICLE 1 (LMLV-1) on August 23 from Vandenberg AFB, California. The two-stage vehicle, which had failed on maiden flight on August 15, 1995, boosted its payload, the TRW-built 385-kg LEWIS experimental hyper- spectral remote sensing satellite, into its targeted initial orbit (300 km, 97.4°). Unfortunately, the satellite immediately experienced telemetry problems and, before it could fire its onboard propulsion system to raise its altitude and reach its final Sun-synchronous orbit, it lost attitude control on August 26, apparently due to an excessive firing of some of its stabilization thrusters. As of early September, control of the tumbling satellite had not been restored. If the satellite cannot be recovered before mid-September, it will have to be considered a loss. TRW SPACE & ELECTRONICS GROUP, of Redondo Beach, California, was awarded a US$64.8-million contract by NASA on June 8, 1994, to develop and launch LEWIS under the SMALL SPACECRAFT TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (SSTI). The satellite was completed in June 1996 and had been placed in storage, waiting for launch, for about one year. A second SSTI satellite, CLARK, developed by CTA (now ORBITAL SCIENCES), is due for launch, also on an LMLV-1, early next year. * CHINA GREAT WALL INDUSTRY CORP. (CGWIC), of Beijing, China, resumed launches of its CZ-3B ("LONG MARCH 3B") on August 20, successfully lofting the 4,000-kg AGILA 2 (MABUHAY) communications satellite (30C/24Ku) to geostationary transfer orbit from the XICHANG SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER (XSLC), Sichuan province, China. AGILA 2, built by SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, will provide communications services to the Asia-Pacific region for MABUHAY PHILIPPINES SATELLITE CORP. (MPSC), of Manila, Philippines. The maiden flight of the CZ-3B ended in failure on February 14, 1996, causing the loss of the INTELSAT 708 satellite and killing at least 6 persons with falling wreckage. * An ARIANE 44LP vehicle carrying two satellites was successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on September 2. The payload of this V99 flight included HOT BIRD 3 (20Ku), a 2,915-kg high power direct broadcasting satellite built by MATRA MARCONI SPACE, of Velizy, France, for the 45-nation EUTELSAT organization, of Paris, France. HOT BIRD 3 will be located at 13°E to provide direct-to-home television services to Europe, Middle-East and Northern Africa. Also launched on V99 was METEOSAT 7, the last of the first generation geostationary meteorological satellites built by AEROSPATIALE, of Cannes, France, for the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY. Once declared operational, this 689-kg spacecraft will be located at 0° over the Gulf of Guinea and handed over the 17-nation EUMETSAT organization, of Darmstadt, Germany. Next launch, the 100th of an ARIANE vehicle, is planned on September 23, to loft the INTELSAT 803 communications satellite. * A stretched CZ-2C ("LONG MARCH 2C") vehicle with a SMART DISPENSER (SD) upper stage was successfully launched from TAIYUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER (TSLC), Shanxi province, China, on September 1. The payload was composed of a pair of dummy IRIDIUM satellites. This launch qualified the vehicle for future launches of IRIDIUM mobile telephony satellites. CHINA GREAT WALL INDUSTRY CORP., of Beijing, China, the operator of the CZ family of vehicles, is under contract to provide up to 10 launches for the implementation and replenishment of the IRIDIUM constellation. * An ORBITAL SCIENCES PEGASUS XL air-launched vehicle successfully boosted the 212-kg FAST ON-ORBIT RECORDING TRANSIENT EXPERIMENT (FORTE) spacecraft to low Earth orbit on August 29. Built by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, respectively of Los Alamos and Albuquerque, New Mexico, this satellite is the first ever to feature an all-composite structure, provided by COMPOSITE OPTICS INC., of San Diego, California. It will monitor atmospheric and radio- electric events related to nuclear activity on behalf of US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DoE). This is also the first time that two PEGASUS vehicles are flown in less than one month. * A GKNPTs KHRUNICHEV PROTON K/DM-4 vehicle, provided through INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SYSTEMS (ILS), of San Diego, California, lofted the HUGHES-built PAS-5 high-power communications satellite (24C/24Ku) to geostationary orbit on August 28 from Baykonur, Kazakhstan, for PANAMSAT CORP., of Greenwhich, Connecticut. This 3,720-kg HS-601HP, to be located at 58°W to provide services over Europe and the Americas, is the first commercial western satellite to rely on ELECTRIC PROPULSION for North-South Station Keeping with a XENON ION PROPULSION SYSTEM (XIPS) designed by HUGHES and featuring four 18-mN xenon ion thrusters. Next XIPS packages will fly on GALAXY 8I in November and ASTRA 2A in December. * NASA's last large Explorer spacecraft, the 765-kg ADVANCED COMPOSITION EXPLORER (ACE), built by JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY's APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY, of Laurel, Maryland, was launched by a BOEING DELTA 2-7920 vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, on August 25. In early December, it will enter a halo orbit around the L1 libration point, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to study elemental and isotopic composition of the Sun's corona and of the inter- planetary, interstellar and galactic matter. * Five more IRIDIUM mobile communications satellites were success- fully launched by a BOEING DELTA 2-7920 vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, California, on August 20, bringing to 21 the number of active satellites in orbit. The complete constellation, with 66 active satellites, is due to enter operational service in September 1998. * Russian cosmonauts ANATOLI SOLOVIOV and PAVEL VINOGRADOV restored about 70% of MIR's electrical power supply during a 5-hour INTRA- VEHICULAR ACTIVITY (IVA) on August 22. They successfully re- established electrical connections which had been severed during the depressurization of the SPEKTR module on June 25 after collision with the pilotless PROGRESS M34 cargo ship. However, failure of solar array drive motors which prevent efficient pointing of the generators delayed the recovery of the planned 90% of nominal electrical power. An EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY (EVA), including inspection of the damaged SPEKTR module's outer shell, was thus postponed from September 3 to September 6. Repair work to the station has been estimated at US$2.5 million. ********************************************************************* * The Orbital Report On-Line is a great way to get your message * * out to space executives all over the world. * * For more info, visit our web pages at: * * * * http://www.launchspace.com/oreol * * http://www.orbireport.com/OReOL.html * * * * Or send an e-mail to requests@lists.newspace.com * * with only the words "info oreol" in the message body. * ********************************************************************* === BUSINESS === * HUGHES SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS, of El Segundo, California, has been selected over AEROSPATIALE ESPACE & DEFENSE, of Paris, France, and LOCKHEED MARTIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, of Sunnyvale, California, to negotiate a contract potentially worth US$1.2 billion, with THURAYA SATELLITE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO., of the United Arab Emirates, to provide space and ground segments for the THURAYA ('Pleiades') regional mobile communications satellite system. A contract could be signed on September 11. Launch is scheduled in 2000. * NASA's GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (GSFC), of Greenbelt, Maryland, has issued a RfP for the procurement of up to four GEOSTATIONARY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITES (GOES-N to Q) to HUGHES SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS, of El Segundo, California, LOCKHEED MARTIN MISSILES & SPACE (LMMS), of Sunnyvale, California, and SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California. Bids are due on September 24. Two satellites, GOES-N and O, will first be ordered for launches as soon as late 2001 and mid 2003. Two options might be exercized later for GOES-P (available by mid 2006) and GOES-Q (mid 2008). * KOREA TELECOM, of Seoul, South Korea, has awarded a contract to ARIANESPACE SA, of Evry, France, for the launch of its 2,790-kg KOREASAT 3 communications satellite on an ARIANE vehicle in August 1999. * EG&G ALABAMA INC., of Huntsville, Alabama, a subsidiary of EG&G INC., of Titusville, Florida, was selected to provide operations support services at NASA's MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (MSFC) for a period of up to five years, beginning on September 1. Total value of the contract could amount to US$77.8 million. * NASA's AMES RESEARCH CENTER (ARC), in Moffet Field, California, has selected ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP., of Dulles, Virginia, to provide support for its Scientific, Engineering and Technical Services (SETS) program. Among other activities, OSC will assist ARC's Space Projects division with the study Mars, lunar and other planetary missions, and the development of space sensors and instruments. The five-year contract is worth US$31.8 million. * LOCKHEED MARTIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, of Sunnyvale, California, was awarded a US$8.2-million contract by US AIR FORCE's Space & Missile Systems Center, in Los Angeles AFB, California, for maintenance of the MILSTAR military communications satellite constellation. === MARKETS === * LORAL SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS, of New York, teaming with TELEFONICA AUTREY, of Mexico, and PANAMSAT CORP., of Greenwhich, Connecticut, allied with INDUSTRIAS PENOLES, of Mexico, both plan to bid for the acquisition of a 60% stake in SATELITES MEXICANOS SA (SATMEX), a newly formed entity controlling the ground and space segments of the satellite communications network owned by TELECOMMUNICACIONES DE MEXICO (TELECOMM). The sale, due for October, takes place as part of the privatization of TELECOMM. GE AMERICAN COMMUNICATIONS (AMERICOM), of Princeton, New Jersey, also plans to bid but has not yet teamed with a Mexican partner. SATMEX controls three orbiting satellites (two SOLIDARIDADs and the ageing MORELOS 2) and has one more on order (MORELOS 3). The bids are expected to amount to US$700 million to up to US$1 billion. === TECHNOLOGIES === * NASA's 5,820-kg CASSINI Saturn orbiter, carrying the 373-kg HUYGENS probe provided by the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY to explore the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, was mated to its TITAN 401B heavy- lift launch vehicle on August 28. The US$1.4-billion probe is scheduled to liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, on October 6 and to reach Saturn on July 1, 2004, after a 6.7-year journey including gravity assist fly-bys of Venus (twice), the Earth and Jupiter. * The last instrument due to fly on NASA's LOCKHEED MARTIN-built 5,200-kg EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM POLAR PLATFORM (EOS-AM1) was delivered to LOCKHEED MARTIN's facility in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on August 25. This delivery allows completion of module testing and final integration of the payload. Launch is planned atop an Atlas 2AS vehicle from Vandenberg AFB in June 1998. * SPAR AEROSPACE, of Mississauga, Ontario, and the CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY were awarded a US$1-million joint contract by the 81-nation INMARSAT organization, of London, Great-Britain, to develop an efficient, cheaper and lighter, two-way antenna system for mobile satellite communications. ******************************************************************** * THE ORBITAL REPORT NEWS AGENCY * * Takyon International's Internet News Service * * provides launch logs and launch schedules, * * as well as back issues of THE ORBITAL REPORT ON-LINE. * * * * URL: www.orbireport.com * ******************************************************************** === ERRATUM === * In our previous issue, we erroneously stated that the ORBVIEW 2 satellite had been built by TRW. It is of course a PEGASTAR-type satellite designed and built by ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. of Dulles, Virginia. === PREVIEW === * September 3 A Lockheed Martin ATLAS 2AS vehicle is due to launch the GE-3 communications satellite, built by LOCKHEED MARTIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS, of Sunnyvale, California, for GE AMERICOM of Princeton, New Jersey, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. * September 4/5 ESA and CNES are due to perform a Launcher System Rehearsal (RSL) in Kourou, French, Guiana, prior to the second launch of an ARIANE 5 vehicle (L502) currently scheduled on September 30. * September 5 A Chinese CZ-3B "LONG MARCH" vehicle is planned to lift off from Xichang Satellite Space Center (XSLC) to loft the APSTAR 2R communications satellite built by SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL, of Palo Alto, California, for APT SATELLITE CO., of Hongkong, China. * September 6 SPACEWALK of Russian cosmonauts ANATOLI SOLOVIOV and PAVEL VINOGRADOV outside the MIR orbital complex to inspect the outer shell of the damaged SPEKTR module. * September 11 NASA's MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR (MGS) probe is due to enter Martian orbit at the end of a 10-month journey from Earth. The 1,050-kg spacecraft, built by LOCKHEED MARTIN ASTRONAUTICS, of Denver, Colorado, is planned to use aerobraking to circularize its orbit before mapping the planet from March 1998 to January 2000. * September 15 ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. (OSC) is expected to launch its second TAURUS vehicle since March 13, 1994. Lift off is planned from Vandenberg AFB, California, with a payload composed of US Navy's GEOSAT FOLLOW-ON (GFO), built by BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP., of Boulder, Colorado, two ORBCOMM messaging satellites built by OSC for its ORBITAL COMMUNICATIONS CORP. subsidiary, Arizona State University's tiny ASUSAT microsatellite and a "Space Burial" package for CELESTIS INC., of Houston, Texas. 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) 607 995 056 - Fax: +33 (0) 467 607 155 E-mail: orbirep@worldnet.net URL: www.orbireport.com Chief Editor: Stefan Barensky Technical Contributor: Samuel Szdat © Takyon International - September 1997 Takyon International also publishes The Orbital Launcher Report, a monthly space transportation newsletter. ------------------- End of issue Vol.1, No.12 ----------------------
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