| News of February 2001 |
- Commercial Launchers | Government Launchers | Small Launchers
Missile Systems | RLVs and Reentry Systems | Space Propulsion
Spaceports | Industry | Launch Market | Miscellaneous
| Commercial Launchers |
February 26 – Boeing Plans Zenit/Delta Back-up Policy
- Boeing Expendable Launch Services and Sea Launch, the Boeing-led joint-venture with Russia’s RKK Energiya, Ukraine’s NPO Yuzhnoye and Norway’s Kvaerner AS, have signed a memorandum of agreement to prepare for a future commercial policy based on mutual back-up between Boeing’s Delta 4 family of launchers and Sea Launch’s Zenit 3SL. The two partners are still discussing some major issues such as sharing the cost of implementing such a policy, for instance by developing techniques and adapters to rapidly switch a payload from one launcher to another.
- Taiwan’s National Space Program Office may have to rescind its contract with India’s Antrix Corp. Ltd. for the launch of its RoCSat 2 satellite atop an Indian PSLV launcher under pressure from the United States. The contract, whose value was not disclosed, was reportdely signed in 2000. The Astrium-built satellite, due for launch into Sun-synchronous orbit in mid-2003, will incorporate a high resolution remote sensing payload. China is strongly opposing the program too.
- Editor’s note: The reported commercial price of a dedicated PSLV launch was US$24 million in 1999.
 Ariane 5G (Arianespace) |
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 Zenit 3SL (Sea Launch) |
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- Intelsat announces its plan to launch a new satellite, dubbed Intelsat APR-3, on a China Great Wall Industry Corp. Chang Zheng vehicle in the second quarter of 2002. The satellite will be provided by Astrium. Intelsat plans to operate this new satellite from 85 degrees East in partnership with Sino Satellite Communications Co. Ltd. (Sinosat).
- Editor’s note: This will be the first Intelsat satellite to fly on a Chinese booster since the dramatic loss of Intelsat 708 on the CZ-3B‘s maiden flight in February 1996. After this failure, Intelsat had cancelled two more launch contracts with CGWIC. Intelsat APR-3 has actually been ordered twice by Intelsat. It was first ordered to Matra Marconi Space in January 1997 as Intelsat KTV and handed over to Intelsat’s spinoff New Skies Satellites in May 1998. Renamed NSS-6, the spacecraft was sent to Kourou for a launch on an Ariane 4 vehicle in March 1999 but had to be repatriated to Toulouse, France, for refurbishment after a generic problem was reported on a batch of solar arrays. New Skies took the opportunity to cancel the contract as the satellite was no longer adapted to its Asia-Pacific market prospects. The satellite has been in storage in Toulouse since then, awaiting for a potential customer.
- Boeing Expendable Launch Systems plans to phase out its Delta 3 vehicle in 2005. No Delta 3 launch is planned in 2001 but four to five are reportedly booked for 2002. The Delta 3 is to be replaced by the Delta 4 when this new vehicle becomes available in 2002.
- Echostar Orbital Corp. has signed an agreement with International Launch Services for the launch of two Echostar satellites in late 2001 and early 2002. The Lockheed Martin-built Echostar 7 is due for launch in the 4th quarter of 2001 atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas 3B vehicle (presumably this version’s maiden flight) while Echostar 8, built by Space Systems/Loral, is scheduled for launch atop a GKNPTs Khrunichev Proton K/DM3 in the first quarter of 2002. The agreement also includes options for additional launches through 2006.
| Government Launchers |
- U.S. Air Force‘s Space & Missile Systems Center has awarded two US$75-million extensions to its existing Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV) requirement contracts with Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services (CLS) and Boeing’s Delta Launch Services Inc., for the launch of U.S. Navy‘s 11th UHF Follow-On (UFO-11) communication satellite. A formal order will be issued later. According to the current scenario, primary launch service will be provided by Lockheed Martin’s Atlas 5 while Boeing’s Delta 4 will be kept as a back-up solution. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is also considering a commercial option with Boeing Satellite Systems (prime for the satellite) would arrange the launch onboard an International Launch Services Atlas 3 vehicle.
- Editor’s note: The 3,020-kg UFO-11 is tentatively set for launch in 2003. If the U.S. Air Force launch option is used, the versions of the vehicles to be used are likely to be an Atlas 5/401 or a Delta 4M.
 H-2A (NASDA) |
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- The launch of a Lockheed Martin Titan 4B/Centaur vehicle carrying a Milstar 2 strategic and tactical relay satellite has been delayed from February 24 to February 27 at the earliest due to an anomaly with the launcher’s first stage telemetry relay system.
- Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Aerospace Composite Structures has delivered its first flight composite structure for Lockheed Martin‘s new Atlas 5 series of launch vehicles. This 3-m diameter heat shield will be mounted at the aft end of the Atlas 5 Common Booster Stage and surround its NPO Energomash RD-180 engine.
- Chinese space officials have revealed that China’s new family of launch vehicles, based on a series of cryogenic and hydrocarbon-fuelled modular stages, will enter service in 2007. These launchers will be powered by two new engines: a 1,200-kN LOx/kerosene engine and a 490-kN cryogenic engine. The largest vehicle in the family will be able to loft 25 tons to low-Earth orbit in a 1.5-stage configuration and 14 tons into geostationary transfer orbit in a 2.5-stage configuration.
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Astronautics Operations, has selected BAe Systems Controls to develop and provide Upper-Stage Remote Control Units (URCUs) for the Atlas 5 series of launchers. The URCU regulates power distribution for the avionics and performs engine control functions on the Atlas 5’s Centaur upper stage. The US$20-million contract covers the procurement of four development units and 14 flight models from 2003 through 2006. BAe Systems Controls had already been selected in 1999 to provide the Atlas 5’s Booster Remote Control Units, deliveries of which began in May 2000, and is also in charge of the vehicle’s Ordnance Remote Control Assembly, the first flight models of which will be delivered this year, as well as the Redundant-Rate Gyro Unit.
- The design of China’s next generation of launch vehicles was described in the latest issue of the Aerospace China magazine. The new family of launchers will rely on a modular design based on three models of core stages (2.25 m, 3.35 m and 5 m in diameter) fitted with either LOx/kerosene or LOx/LH2 engines. An heavy-lift, 1.5-stage configuration, able to loft 25 tons to low-Earth orbit, would feature a 5-m (cryogenic?) core stage with two 3.35-m (hydrocarbon?) strap-on boosters. With an upper stage, this version could also boost up to 13 tons to geostationary transfer orbit. A medium-lift version would be based on a 3.35-m core stage with 2.25-m boosters and a small launch vehicle would use the 2.25-m diameter module as its core stage to loft 1.2 tons to low-Earth orbit.
 Delta 2/7320 (Boeing) |
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| Small Launchers |
- Orbital Sciences Corp. was awarded its first order under U.S. Air Force‘s 2nd Sounding Rocket Program (SRP-2) procurement, an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded in November 2000 for the provision of suborbital launch services to conduct ballistic flight tests with ranges less than 5,500 km. Under the US$5-million 2nd Quick Reaction Launch Vehicle (QRLV-2) mission, OSC will develop, build and launch a single-stage guided suborbital rocket based on a refurbished Minuteman 2 second stage (SR-19). The QRLV-2 launch is due in March 2002 from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska.
- Editor’s note: The QRLV program, which may include up to 8 launches, was set up to validate U.S. Air Force’s ability to launch suborbital missions within a short preparation time, typically less than one year. Four types of vehicles are considered: QRLV-1 (based on a single M-56, the Minuteman 1‘s second stage), the QRLV-2 (a single SR-19 stage), the QRLV-3 (a SR-19 with the Minuteman 2’s M-57A1 third stage as second stage) and the QRLV-4 (a Thiokol Castor 4B with a M-57 upper stage). The QRLV-3 and 4 have already flown under U.S. Air Force’s Atmospheric Intercept Test (ait) program. The SRP-2 is a follow-on to the SRP-1 procurement under which OSC competed for and won task orders to provide nine Navy Theater Wide (NTW) target vehicles, as well as the QRLV-1 and ait-1 vehicles. The ait-1 (based on QRLV-3 design) was launched on November 5, 1998, from Kodiak, and the QRLV-1 is currently due for launch in March 2001, also from Kodiak.
- The solid rocket motor for the third stage of China’s new Kaituozhe 1 all-solid launch vehicle was successfully test-fired. It is assumed that the vehicle’s first and second stages are based on China’s new DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missile.
- Israel is speeding up the preparatio fo the launch of its Ofeq 5 military observation satellite atop an Israel Aircraft Industries Shavit 1 launcher as tension is increasing in the Middle East after the New Intifada troubles and the change of government. The launch, due late last year, had been postponed for budgetary reasons.
- Editor’s note: This launch will be officially the first of the Shavit 1 version, similar to LeoLink’s LK-A, although it is widely suspected that Ofeq 3 in April 1995 and the failed Ofeq 4 in January 1997 both flew that improved version of the Shavit.
 Vega (ESA) |
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| Missile Systems |
- In its budget proposal fr the coming years, the new U.S. administration plans to spend US$20 billion in five years to develop and test missile defense alternatives such as the proposed U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system. A US$2.6 billion budget is planned to support this initiative in 2002. Budget details are will be released not earlier than late April or early May.
- U.S. Navy‘s Strategic Systems Programs has issued a solicitation to negotiate with Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Missiles & Space Operations, for the priocurement of an additional batch of Trident 2 (D5) sea-launched ballistic missiles and their reentry bodies.
- During his visit to South Korea, on February 26 to 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to improve Russian involvement in the region in trying to convince North Korea not to resume its missile developments. According to Stratfor, a U.S. intelligence think tank, Putin may propose a trilateral cooperation between Russia and both Koreas to launch North Korean satellites.
- Editor’s note: The North Korean proposal to suspend indigenous missile developments if foreign countries were ready to pay for the cost of launching North Korean satellites was issued in July 2000, during a visit of Putin. However, this proposal was later described as a joke by North Korean officials.
- The first refurbished Minuteman 3 second stage motor, a SR-19 produced by Thiokol Propulsion and Pratt&Whitney Chemical Systems Division (CSD), was test-fired under simulated high-altitude conditions at U.S. Air Force‘s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC). This was the first SR-19 motor produced under the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase of the TRW-led Minuteman 3 Propulsion Replacement Program (PRP).
- Editor’s note: Thiokol has already tested its second refurbished first stage motor in December 2000 and a third stage motor is due for testing in March. Under the LRIP, 14 first stage motor as well as 11 second stage motor and 11 third stage motors will be produced. The PRP is intended to extend the lifetime of Minuteman 3 missiles beyond 2020.
- The U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization plans to conduct the long-delayed test flight of the U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system’s Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) in March or April. The GBI was initially due to fly in April 2000. Built by Boeing, the three-stage GBI incoporates an Alliant TechSystems GEM-40 as its first stage with two Pratt&Whitney Orbus 1A as upper stages. It is designed to boost the Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle toward the incoming warheads. All EKV test flights to date have been conducted on Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Payload Launch Vehicles (PLVs), designed from the upper stages of decommissioned Minuteman missiles. On its first Booster Verification Test (BVT-1) flight, only the first stage of the GBI will be active. A second test flight (BVT-2), with all three stages active, is planned during the third quarter.
- Editor’s note: BMDO is reportedly pressing Boeing to conduct the GBI launch which has been delayed by about 14 months due to development problems. Other contractors, like Lockheed Martin or Orbital Sciences expect they could replace Boeing in case of major development msihap by Boeing.
 RS-22 (Yuzhnoye) |
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- The Russian strategic nuclear forces are capable of "overcoming any anti-missile defense, be it a currently existing one or a potential one," according to Col. Gen. Valery Manilov, first deputy head of the Russian military forces general staff. Col. Gen. Manilov was commenting the successful results of a military exercize which included the launches of a sea-launched ballistic missile (presumably a RSM-54 ‘Shtil’) and of a silo-based Topol intercontinental ballistic missile, as well as those of a strategic cruise missile by a Tu-95MS bomber and of two tactical missiles by a Tu-22 bomber. The Shtil was launched from a Northern Fleet submarine cruising in the Sea of Barents and was followed 6 minutes later by the Topol missile fired from a silo in Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk oblast. Both missiles reported hit their target in the Kura Testing Ground, Kamchatka peninsula, 6,800 km downrange, with "minimum deviation."
- Editor’s note: It is not clear whether the Topol missile was a RS-12M Topol version or the new RS-12M2 Topol M.
- Russia is "an active proliferator" according to the new U.S. Defense Secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld. On a TV show, Rumsfeld, trying to justify the controversial U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system, claimed that Russia is "selling and assisting countries like Iran, North Korea and India and other countries with these technologies, which are threatening other people, including the United States, Western Europe and countries in the Middle East." The proposed NMD system is designed to defend the U.S. territory against the launch of "a handful" of missiles and not a massive attack as only Russia would be able to conduct, said Rumsfeld.
- Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Leonid Kuchma, are likely to discuss the joint production of new intercontinental ballistic missiles at a summit due on February 11/12 in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. According to the U.S. administration, such a cooperation would breach Ukraine’s engagement against missile technology proliferation.
- Editor’s note: Dnepropetrovsk is the location of NPO Yuzhnoye and its giant production facility MZ Yuzhmash which already cooperates with Russian space industry on the Zenit, Tsyklon and Dnepr launch systems.
- In an interview to The Asian Age, V. K. Atre, science adviser to the Indian minister of Defense, reports that India is developing a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile, to be known as the Agni 3. No figure is given but the new missile is described as having a longer range and an improved lift capability than the 2,200-km range Agni 2.
- The U.S. Air Force launched a Minuteman 3 intercontinental balistic missile from Vandenberg AFB under its Force Development Evaluation Program. The three warheads successfully reached their target at the Kwajalein Missile Range, Marshall Islands, some 6,800 km downrange.
- The U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization plans to conduct a fourth interception test of an incoming ballistic missile warhead with a Boeing-built prototype Exo-atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) in May or June as part of the preliminary development of a U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system.
- Editor’s note: The EKV precedently scored a successful interception on October 2, 1999 and two failures, due to faulty sensor cooling system on January 19, 2000 and to a malfunction of its carrier rocket on July 8, 2000.
| RLVs and Reentry Systems |
- The new U.S. administration plans to increase NASA‘s budget by 2% in 2002, reaching an amount of US$14.5 billion. Space transportation activities will be benefiting largely from this increase with a 64% boost for the new Space Launch Initiative (SLI) alone. The proposed budget aims at maintaining a launch rate of six space shuttle missions per year but axes "lower priority" aeronautics reseaerch programs.
- NASA may shortly decide to cancel the development of the Crew Rescue Vehicle (CRV) which was due to be derived from the X-38 demonstrator and allow a crew of seven astronauts to operate together onboard the International Space Station. This cancellation comes as part of a cost reduction plan proposed after a US$4-billion cost overrun was announced on the whole ISS program. Also to be cancelled are the U.S. Propulsion Module and the U.S. Habitation Module, which will not be assembled.
- According to NASA Watch, a major annoucement regarding the X-33 single-stage-to-orbit technology demonstrator program – possibly of its cancellation – is expected shortly. NASA Watch also reports that Lockheed Martin lobbyists are trying to get support from the U.S. Congress for continued support to the ill-fated program, possibly using funds from the US$4.5-billion Space Launch Initiative. A similar lobbying is also underway on behalf of United Space Alliance to get extra funding for Space Shuttle upgrades. Congress hearings of NASA representatives on SLI are due on March 1st.
- Editor’s note: The SLI was initially set up as a 5-year effort to foster the development of future, reusable launch systems (other than the X-33 -derived VentureStar) in order to replace the current space shuttle system. NASA has recently claimed that it has no plan to divert funds from SLI to shuttle upgrades.
- NASA plans to terminate its X-33 single-stage-to-orbit technology demonstrator program and will issue a formal annoucement by mid-March according to industry sources.
- NASA has decided to postpone space shuttle orbiter Columbia‘s return flight to Florida by 24 hours due to rain and high winds over Southern California. the trip is now due on February 25 and 26.
 Columbia (NASA) |
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February 21 – X-43A Mated with Carrier
Aircraft
- The first X-43A hypersonic scramjet flight demonstrator, mated with its HXLV booster stage, was mounted beneath the wing of a NB-52 carrier aircraft at NASA‘s Dryden Flight Research Facility in preparation for a captive carry test flight in late March. The first X-43A free flight is due in June, with the goal to reach Mach 7. No recovery is planned. Two other X-43As will fly before mid-2002, eventually reaching Mach 10.
- Editor’s note: The HXLV is a modified Pegasus XL first stage provided by Orbital Sciences.
- The U.S. House of Representatives‘ Space & Aeronautics Subcomittee is asking for congressional hearings to make sure that NASA will spend its US$4.5-billion Space Launch Initiative budget on the development of new technologies and not on mere upgrades o the existing space shuttle fleet. NASA has denied having such plans.
- China Aerospace Science & Technological Consortium (CASTC) denies any problem with the landing of the Shenzhou 2 capsule. Doubts on the actual success of the mission were raised by the lack of pictures from the landed capsule, suggesting that something might have gone wrong. According to CASTC, the capsule has been brought back to Beijing. Unofficial sources claim that the capsule was damaged on touchdown after a parachute line broke. All animals onboard reportedly survived the landing unharmed.
| Space Propulsion |
- Orbital Sciences Corp. has selected GenCorp Aerojet for a US$350,000 subcontract to develop a hydrogen peroxide engine for the Liquid Propellant Booster candidate it is currently studying under a US$700,000 contract awarded by the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command. The LPB will be used as a threat-representative target for ballistic missile defense systems, it will even have to mimick the infrared signature of "hostile" missiles. Aerojet has actually been working on the program since January and will continue until June. A prime contractor for a 3-year development contract will be selected in November.
- Editors’ note: OSC is competing with four other bidders on the program.
- Japan’s Advanced Technology Institute Ltd., Astro Research Corp. and Hokkaido Institute of Technology have successfully test-fired a miniature plasma thruster in a simulated space environment at the Japan Microgravity Center (JAMIC) in Hokkaido. The thruster demonstrated the capability of electric propulsion systems for attitude cntrol of future satellites. The test was funded by Japan’s New Energy Development Organization (NEDO).
- The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a solicitation to the industry for the development of satellite propulsion systems using water as propellant. The use of water would largely simplify the development of robotic on-orbit refurbishment and refuelling systems, as planned under DARPA’s Orbital Express program. DARPA plans to invest about US$10 million over 30 months for this development.
- Editor’s note: A water resistojet was developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and flown onboard U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory‘s Mightysat 2.1 satellite in 2000. Water-based propulsion concepts have also been studied by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1999 under a DARPA contract.
- The Planetary Society, a U.S. non-profit organization, will launch a solar sail demonstrator, Cosmos 1, in October. The 40-kg spacecraft, designed by NPO Lavochkin’s Babakin Science & Research Center and featuring eight mylar petals to form a 30-m diameter sail, will be delivered in low Earth orbit by a GRTsKB Makeyev Volna vehicle – a converted RSM-50 sea-launched ballistic missile (SSN-18 ‘Stingray’) – from a submarine in the Sea of Barents. A suborbital demonstration flight, to test the deployment system and unfurl two petals, is due for April 19-24. The US$4-million project is sponsored by Cosmos Studios.
- Watch the impressive presentation video (Quicktime, 11.5 Mb).
- GenCorp Aerojet‘s Mark 6D attitude control system performed flawlessly on its first active flight, successfully orienting a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory astronomy payload during a 7-minute observation time as part of a suborbital mission. The payload was launched atop a Bristol Aerospace Black Brant 9 rocket from White Sands Missile Range on behalf of NASA‘s Sounding Rocket Program.
- Editor’s note: Aerojet was selected in May 1999 by NASA’s Sounding Rocket Operations prime contractor, Litton PRC, to provide Mark 6 ACS under a US$9-million, 4-year contract. A similar mission had to be terminated on February 24, 2000, before the Mark 6D ACS could be activated.
- U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory‘s Propulsion Directorate has awarded a US$9-million contract to a team of GenCorp Aerojet and Pratt&Whitney‘s Chemical Systems Division (CSD) for the the second phase of the Integrated High Performance Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) Demonstration Program, a joint government-industry effort to improve solid rocket propulsion technology. Under this new contract, the Aerojet/P&W team will develop two Technology Assessment Motors (TAMs) to demonstrate downselected insulated case, nozzle and propellant component technologies in late 2002. After these evaluation tests, the most promising technologies will be applied to an improved Pratt&Whitney Orbus 7 motor and test-fired in 2004.
- NASA‘s Glenn Research Center has awarded a US$173,749 contract to Pratt&Whitney to conduct a scramjet design study.
- NASA‘s Glenn Research Center has awarded a US$53,765 contract to Honeywell Technology to develop and demonstrate a propulsion diagnostic and monitoring system.
 XRS-2200 Tandem (NASA) |
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- Orbital Sciences Corp. and four other companies were each awarded a six-month study contracts by the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command to initiate a study on a Liquid Propellant Booster to be used as a threat-representative target for ballistic missile defense systems. Total value of the contracts amounts to US$3 million. Orbital will base its US$700,000 study on its Upper Stage Flight Experiment already under development for NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
| Spaceports |
- Asia Pacific Space Center is reportedly negotoiating with Brazilian authorities to invest in the development of the launch support facilities in the Alcântara Launch Center (CLA). According to APSC, an investment of about R$100 million (US$49 million) is necessary to refurbish the facilities.
- Editor’s note: APSC was previously involved in the development of a launch center for Russian vehicles in Christmas Island, Indian Ocean.
- NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center has issued a draft RfP for Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support (ELVIS). The acquisition covers ELV launch support from both Cape Canaveral Air Forces Station and Vandenberg AFB as well as potential other launch sites and to maitain a presence at launch service providers facilities. A 5-year contract is considered with a 3-year and a 2-year optional extensions.
 Alcântara Launch Center (CLA) |
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 Angara 1.1 (Khrunichev) |
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- A delegation of businessmen from the United States, Russia, South Korea and Australia is due to visit Brazil’s Alcântara Launch Center this month to discuss possible rental of the launch base’s facilities. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Science & Technology, launch support for small satellite launches could be charged about US$800,000 while launches of large payloads would cost US$3-to-4 million.
- California will award a US$1-million grant to the California Space & Technology Alliance to study airspace requirements for next-generation reusable launch vehicles operations and launches from Californian sites.
| Industry |
- L-3 Communications, which recently acquired Coleman Research Corp., has completed the integration of Coleman’s two businesses, namely Coleman Federal and Coleman Aerospace, into its MPRI division.
- Editor’s note: Coleman Research is involved in space transportation and ballistic systems through its Coleman Aerospace unit which provides Hera target vehicles to the U.S. Department of Defense and is the U.S. partner of the LeoLink partnership (with Israel Aircraft Industries and Astrium) which plans to market the LK launchers, a U.S.-built derivative of Israel’s Shavit, in the United States.
- EADS Space Division, which incorporates EADS Launch Vehicles and 75% of Astrium, posted sales worth ¤2.5 billion in 2000, 0.7% increase compared to 1999. Orders reached ¤3 billion, resulting in a year-end backlog worth ¤4.8 billion, i.e. about two years of activity.
   Zenit 2, Tsyklon 3 and Dnepr 1 (Yuzhnoye/Kosmotras) |
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| Launch Market |
- The new U.S. administration‘s latest proposed FY2002 budget for NASA no longer includes any funding for the Pluto-Kuiper Express and Solar Probe missions, all funds being redirected to support Mars exploration and high-energy astrophysics missions.
- As expected, Eutelsat has signed a contract with Boeing Satellite Systems for the procurement of its first e-Bird broadband communication satellite. A vintage Boeing 376HP spinner with 20 Ku-band transponders, e-Bird 1 will be delivered in orbit in the second quarter of 2002.
- SkyBridge LLC plans to lease capacity onboard geostationary communication satellites in order to demonstrate the feasibility of its Ku-band high-data rate communication service. Such a demonstration is expected to attract investors to back the 80-satellite low-Earth orbit constellation system whose development is now on-hold as insufficient funding has been raised to date to support industrial manufacturing of the spacecraft.
- Editor’s note: It is unclear yet if SkyBridge will stick to its LEO cosnetellation complex or move to a geostationary design. Alcatel Space, prime for the satellite system, has contracted with Boeing, for two Delta 3 and four Delta 4M+ (5,4) launches, and with Starsem, for eleven Soyuz ST launches, to loft the SkyBridge constellation.
- Vietnam may order its first communication satellite from Russia’s NPO Prikladnoy Mekhaniki (NPO-PM) by late February. The Vinasat satellite is likely to be based on a Gals-R or Ekspress platform and to fly atop a GKNPTs Khrunichev Proton launch vehicle.
- Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt (FFI), Norway’s military research center, is studying a concept of high-latitude monitoring satellite. The spacecraft will collect imagery and to detect navigational radar systems. This US$100-million project could lead to a launch circa 2007.
- The U.S. Air Force‘s Space & Missile Systems Center (SMC) has awarded a US$50.9-million contract to Spectrum Astro develop and integrate the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS), a satellite designed to detect and predict ionospheric disturbances as well as resulting disruption insatellite communications and navigation services. Launch is due circa August 2003.
- The Canadian Space Agency and McDonald, Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. (MDA) have begun the feasibility study for a third Canadian radar remote sensing satellite, Radarsat 3. This satellite would be launched a few years after Radarsat 2, currently slated for launch in 2003, and the two satellites would be operated jointly.
- Teledesic is laying off 20 of its 75-people workforce in order to reduce costs. Teledesic will also reduce its office space and move its headquarters to a less expensive site. The company has raised US$1 billion to fund its fourth redesign since the origin of the project. Recently, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ruled that, to keep its operating license, Teledesic must have its first satellite under manufacturing before January 2002, and completed before January 2004. All satellites are due to be in operations before January 2007.
- Editor’s note: After its alliance with ICO, it is likely that Teledesic will change its constellation from the latest 288-satellite design in low-Earth orbit to a concept involving less, larger satellites orbiting at a higher altitude. This would likely mean that the current FCC operating license would no longer be applicable. Teledesic has reportedly contracted with International Launch Services for at least three Proton M and three Atlas 5 launches.
- AstroVision International Inc. has postponed the launch of its first AVStar satellite from early 2002 to mid-2003 as it still manages to raise the necessary funding for its 5-satellite constellation in geostationary orbit to provide live video imagery of the planet. The whole system should be operational by mid-2005. According to Space News, AstroVision plans to select a prime contractor in March.
- Editor’s note: In January 1998, AstroVision had signed a contract with Intraspace for the design, manufacturing, test and launch of three spacecraft based on the T-Sat small satellite bus.
- During his visit in Rome, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak signed an intergovernmental agreement for the manufacturing of Egypt’s Desertsat science microsatellite by Italy. The satellite, to be manufactured by Carlo Gavazzi Space on the basis of the Mita platform, will conduct hydrologic and environmental observations on behalf of the Egyptian National Authority for Remote Sensing & Space Science.
- ImageSat International (formerly West Indian Space Ltd.) plans to cancel the manufacturing of its second EROS-A commercial remote sensing satellite and to move directly with its enhanced version, EROS-B. A formal decision is expected in late February at the meeting of the company’s board of directors. EROS-A2, similar to the EROS-A1 satellite launched on December 5, 2000, was due for launch in late 2001. The following satellite, EROS-B1, will be ready for launch by late 2002 or early 2003. ImageSat International plans to eventually operate a 8-satellite constellation.
- Editor’s note: ImageSat International still holds the contracts with Puskovye Uslugi, through its U.S. agent United Start Corp., for the launches of two EROS satellites atop Start 1 vehicles.
- Space Broadband Corp., the newly created satellite communication subsidiary of Hyundai Electronics Industry Co. Ltd., plans to procure and launch a Ka-band satellite to an orbital slot at 113 degrees East in 2003.
- Vietnam’s National Centre for Natural Science & Technology (NCST) plans to cooperate with Great-Britain’s Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. to develop a US$20-million small satellite in the 100-200-kg range in the near future. NCST and SSTL have already completed a feasibility study for such satellites in 1999.
- Europe*Star and France Telecom have finalized their agreement to establish the Stellat joint venture in order to launch and operate the Stellat 5 satellite into geostationary orbit in mid-2002. Stellat 5 will be an Alcatel Space Spacebus 3000B3 satellite with 35 Ku-band and 10 C-band transponders which will be launched by Arianespace and located at 5 degrees West.
- The European Space Agency has confirmed the selection of Alenia Aerospazio as prime contractor for its Gravity Field and Steady State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite, to be launched in 2005 as the first Earth Explorer mission undertaken on behalf of the "Living Planet" program. GOCE will be based on an Astrium GmbH Flexbus platform and will carry a highly sensitive Alcatel Space gradiometer to map the gravity field and define an accurate model of the geoid.
- Editor’s note: GOCE is likely to fly atop a Vega launcher, if available.
- Star One, the new Brazilian satellite operator created in December by Embratel and Société Européenne des Satellites, plans to invest US$500-million to launch two satellites designed to provide high-speed Internet access in 2003. Release of a RfP to the satellite industry is expected shortly.
- Satelites Mexicanos SA de CV (SatMex) will select a launch system to loft its SatMex 6 satellite in early March, according to Mexican financial daily El Economista. Arianespace is reportedly competing for the early 2003 launch with Sea Launch.
- Orbcomm Global LP plans to auction off its low data rate messaging constellation. The company, a joint venture of Orbital Science Corp. and Teleglobe which has been under protection of the U.S. Chapter 11 law on bankruptcy since September 15, 2000, plans to sell its business by late February, pending approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court.
- Editor’s note: Two Pegasus XL launches, each carrying a 7-satellite cluster to replenish the Orbcomm constellation, were planned in 2000 and 2001 but have been delayed indefinitely after the venture required Chapter 11 protection.
- Loral Space & Communications announces that it will stop its financial support to the Globalstar mobile satellite telephony venture and focus its business on satellite development and manufacturing.
- Editor’s note: This announcement comes a few days after Globalstar announces it would stop paying off its debt to save US$400 million in 2001. Without Loral’s support and still lacking its market, Globalstar is now likely to ask for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy status shortly. Loral is still under contract with Boeing for two Globalstar replenishment launches on Delta 2 vehicles and with Starsem for a single Soyuz-Ikar mission.
- Astrium is completing final testing of European Space Agency‘s Envisat environmental montoring satellite. The 10-m tall, 8-ton spacecraft, currently undergoing tests at ESA’s ESTEC technical center in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, will be shipped to French Guiana in April and prepared for launch atop an Arianespace Ariane 5G vehicle in late July.
| Miscellaneous |
- NASA‘s Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR-Shoemaker) probe, built and operated by John Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, performed the first landing ever on an asteroid, the 33-km long 433 Eros, at 19:44:35 UT. The probe actually soft-crashed at a velocity of about 1.9 m/s. Launched on February 17, 1996, the 495-kg spacecraft had completed its 363-day long orbital survey of the asteroid and was not designed for such a landing. A beacon confirmed that the probe survived the landing.
- Editor’s note: Total cost of the NEAR-Shoemaker mission has been quoted at US$233 million. The probe’s propulsion system was designed by GenCorp Aerojet and includes a 470-N Atlantic Research Corp. Leros bipropellant thruster as its main propulsion system (Large Velocity Adjust thruster) with four 21-N and seven 3.5-N Primex Aerospace fine velocity thrusters.
- The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) has issued its annual report to NASA. According to the 2000 edition of the report, "safety is being well served by both NASA and its contractors."
- Download the ASAP report (PDF, 1.7 Mb).
