August 15, 1997 Vol. 1 - No. 11 ============================== THE ORBITAL REPORT ON-LINE ============================== Space Executive's Weekly News Digest (Published fortnightly during summer holidays) 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 === * The SOYUZ TM26 spacecraft was successfully launched to the MIR space station on August 5 and docked with the station two days later. The two-man crew (Solovyov and Vinogradov), the 24th to take over permanent occupation of MI, will be in charge of performing an intra- vehicular activity (IVA) inside the depressurized SPEKTR module on August 20 to reconnect electric supply cables to restore 70% of the station's electrical power. An extravehicular activity (EVA) is planned on September 3 to examine the exterior of the damaged Spektr module. Possible repair of the breach in the module's hull will be assessed after this EVA but will most probably be performed by Mir's 25th crew. The 23rd crew (Tsibliyev and Lazutkin) safely returned to Earth on August 14. NASA's Space Shuttle ATLANTIS will be launched to MIR on September 27. She will carry a replacement US crewmember (David Wolf) and logistics. * Space Shuttle DISCOVERY lifted-off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on August 7 for the 11-day STS-85 mission. The shuttle released the 3.5-t US/German CRISTA-SPAS 2 platform to study the atmosphere 7h48 into flight. The mission also allowed to test the Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD) robotic arm demonstrator developed by Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) for use on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) of the International Space Station (ISS) * An Orbital Sciences PEGASUS XL air-launched vehicle successfully lofted the ORBVIEW 2 ocean color observation satellite on August 1 for ORBITAL IMAGING CORP. (ORBIMAGE), of Dulles, Virginia. This OSC- built satellite is equipped with a single instrument, the Sea- viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWIFS) and will provide data to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under a US$43.5-million contract signed in 1991. * An ARIANE 44P vehicle (V98) has launched the twice-delayed Space Systems/Loral-built PAS-6 communications satellite (36Ku) for PANAMSAT CORP., of Greenwich, Connecticut. The satellite will be operational at 43°W to provide direct broadcasting services to South America. === BUSINESS === * MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS INC. (MCHI), of Washington, DC, has awarded a contract worth more than US$400 million to ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. (OSC), of Dulles, Virginia, to design, develop, manufacture and test MCHI's 17 ELLIPSO mobile telephony satellites to be launched in 2000. The ELLIPSO satellites were initially planned to be built by FAIRCHILD SPACE, of Germantown, Maryland, which was acquired by OSC in 1994. * ORBITAL IMAGING CORP. (ORBIMAGE), of Dulles, Virginia, was awarded a US$41.5-million contract by the US Air Force for technology and services from the future ORBVIEW 3 satellite due for launch next year. ORBVIEW 3 will provide hyperspectral imagery data for Warfighter-1 advanced technology demonstration program during three years. * CD RADIO, INC., of Washington, DC, has exercized an option on its contract with SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL, of Palo Alto, California, for the procurement of a third CD RADIO direct audio radio service satellite. Total value of the contract now exceeds US$350 million. CD RADIO 1 and 2 are currently manifested on Ariane 5 in 1999. The third satellite will serve as a ground spare. * ITT INDUSTRIES' AEROSPACE/COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION (ITT A/CD) was awarded two contracts totalling US$35.7 million to support the transition from the current US Air Force DEFENSE METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE PROGRAM (DMSP) and its civilian counterpart from the NATIONAL OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA), to the joint NATIONAL POLAR-ORBITING OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE SYSTEM (NPOESS) in 2007. * HUGHES SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS (HSC) was awarded a three-year contract worth US$32 million to develop the conical scanning micro- wave imager/sounder (CMIS) due to fly on the future joint US Air Force/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NATIONAL POLAR-ORBITING OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE SYSTEM (NPOESS) which will take over the current DMSP and NOAA satellites in 2007. * MAGELLAN SYSTEMS CORP., of San Dimas, California, a subsidiary of ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP., has acquired the vehicle navigation business of ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL's COLLINS AVIONICS & COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for US$9 million. * HUGHES SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS (HSC) has signed a US$0.5-million contract with CONSTRUCCIONES AERONAUTICAS SA (CASA), of Madrid, Spain, which will provide satellite panels to be used on the 12 ICO global mobile telephony satellites (HS601 bus) to be launched in 1998 and 1999. ******************************************************************** * The latest issue of THE ORBITAL LAUNCHER REPORT (Vol. 3 - No. 9) * * was published on July 18. * * It includes an overview of current and proposed small launchers, * * a comparative review of Arianespace's and ILS's backlogs, * * latest news about expendable/reusable launchers, and much more ! * * * * For subscription information, contact us: [email protected] * ******************************************************************** === MARKETS === * IRIDIUM LLC, of Washington, DC, announced it has successfully conducted the first communication tests with its low Earth orbit satellites using customer handsets in early July. Seventeen IRIDIUM satellites have been launched since May 5, one of which was been declared lost on July 9. The full 66-satellite constellation is planned to be operational on September 1998. === TECHNOLOGIES === * NASA has selected the US$25-million Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) to be installed onboard the HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE (HST) during the fourth servicing mission in late 2002. The COS, designed in cooperation with the University of Arizona and built by BALL AEROSPACE, will replace the COSTAR correction instrument installed in 1993. ******************************************************************** * 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 * ******************************************************************** === PREVIEW === * August 16 China Great Wall's CZ-3B ('LONG MARCH 3B') vehicle is due to perform its second flight. The payload is the AGILA 2 (Formerly MABUHAY 1) communications satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for MABUHAY PHILIPPINES SATELLITE CORP. * August 17 A Boeing DELTA 2-7920 vehicle will loft a cluster of five IRIDIUM mobile telephony satellites from Vandenberg AFB, California. * August 21 An International Launch Services PROTON K vehicle is planned to loft the PAS-5 communications satellite from Baykonur, Kazakhstan, for PANAMSAT CORP., of Greenwich, California. * August 21 Lockheed Martin's LMLV-1 small launch vehicle is expected to return to flight, lofting the TRW-built LEWIS experimental remote sensing satellite for NASA from Vandenberg AFB, California. * August 25 A Boeing DELTA 2-7925 vehicle is due to loft the ADVANCED COMPOSITION EXPLORER (ACE), the last of NASA's large Explorer satellites, from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. * August 27 A Lockheed Martin ATLAS 2AS is scheduled to launch the GE-3 communications satellite for GE AMERICOM, of Princeton, New Jersey, from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. 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: [email protected] URL: www.orbireport.com Chief Editor: Stefan Barensky Technical Contributor: Samuel Szdat © Takyon International - August 1997 Takyon International also publishes The Orbital Launcher Report, a monthly space transportation newsletter. ------------------- End of issue Vol.1, No.11 ----------------------
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