October 16, 1997 Vol. 1 - No. 15 ============================== 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 === * A Lockheed Martin TITAN 401B heavy-lift vehicle was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, at 08:43 UT on October 15, to boost NASA's 5,650-kg CASSINI interplanetary space probe to a complex trajectory toward SATURN. The launch had been delayed for two days due to high winds over the launch site. The probe, built by NASA's JET PROPULSION LABORATORY (JPL), in Pasadena, California, will perform several gravity assist maneuvers, first swinging by VENUS in April 1998 and June 1999, then grazing the EARTH in August 1999 and JUPITER in December 2000. Arrival at Saturn is planned in July 2004. CASSINI is then planned to conduct a 4-year study of the planet, its rings and its moons. In November 2004, it will release the 318-kg HUYGENS probe, built by AEROSPATIALE ESPACE & DEFENSE, of Paris, France, for the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY. HUYGENS will enter the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, TITAN. * A Samara Space Center SOYUZ U vehicle was launched from Plesetsk, Northern Russia, at 18:00 UT on October 9, lofting the FOTON 11 microgravity research satellite for a 14-day mission in low Earth orbit on behalf of RKA, the Russian space agency. The 7,000-kg spacecraft, also built by SAMARA SPACE CENTER, incorporates the 154-kg MIRKA recoverable capsule built by KAYSER-THREDE, of Munich, Germany, for DLR, the German space agency, as well as experiments sponsored by CNES, the French space agency, and the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY. * The RKK Energiya-built PROGRESS M36 automated cargo spacecraft was successfully launched toward the MIR space station at 15:09 UT on October 5, atop a Samara Space Center SOYUZ U vehicle from Baykonur, Kazakhstan. The 7,200-kg, spacecraft, carrying 3,000 kg of goods, including a spare computer, 600 kg of propellant and 355 kg of water, docked with Mir's Kvant module rear port at 17:14 UT on October 8, one day late on schedule, due to a delayed undocking of Progress M35. * A Lockheed Martin ATLAS 2AS vehicle (AC135) lofted the US$250-million ECHOSTAR 3 high power direct broadcasting satellite (32Ku) into a geostationary transfer orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida, on October 5. The 3,675-kg spacecraft is both the first satellite built by LOCKHEED MARTIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS (LMT) in its new facilities in Sunnyvale, California, and the first based on the improved A2100AX bus. ECHOSTAR 3 will be located at 61.5°W to provide direct-to-home television services to the US. * Space Shuttle ATLANTIS landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Merritt Island, Florida, at 21:55 UT on October 6, completing the highly successful 10.8-day STS-86 mission to the MIR space station. Among other goods, the US shuttle brought a replacement computer for the Russian space station. A fly-around maneuver after undocking from the station allowed to detect the breech in MIR's SPEKTR module to be located at the joint of a damaged solar array. **************************** ADVERTISEMENT **************************** * * * The Fifth Annual Silicon Valley Technology Partnering Conference: * * * * "Cyberspace to Outerspace" * * * * introduces this generation's vanguard of CEO industry visionaries * * who represent today's ideal entrepreneur, and illustrate tomorrow's * * extraordinary new business opportunities in information and space * * commerce technologies. The conference will clearly demonstrate the * * potential of unique new industry alliances, public/private partner- * * ships as well as specific technology and product matches. Look for * * representatives from industry leading companies such as Lockheed * * Martin, AT&T, Hughes, Oracle, Cisco Systems, Boeing, FedEx, Space * * Systems Loral and others. * * * * The event takes place on November 13 and 14, 1997, at the San Jose * * Fairmont Hotel and the new San Jose Repertory Theater. The keynote * * speaker is Vice President Al Gore and the recipient of the Annual * * DSC David Packard Award is Mr. Dan Tellep, first Chair and CEO of * * Lockheed Martin Corporation. * * * * For agenda, schedule or registration information please contact the * * Defense/Space Consortium at (408) 292-1194 x15 or www.svdsc.org * * * **************************** ADVERTISEMENT **************************** === BUSINESS === * The French government has selected a ALCATEL-ALSTHOM, of Paris, France, and DASSAULT INDUSTRIES, of Saint-Cloud, France, to take over a 25% share in state-owned THOMSON-CSF defense electronics company. This privatization, due to be completed early next year, is considered as the first step of France's and Europe's defense and space industry. State-owned AEROSPATIALE, of Paris, France, will sell its satellite business to THOMSON-CSF for a 10% stake in the company. This satellite business will then be merged with ALCATEL's own to form a new ALCATEL- THOMSON SATELLITE joint-venture. * NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in Greenbelt, Maryland, has selected eight satellite manufacturers for the development and manufacturing of an undefined number of spacecraft on behalf of its RAPID SPACECRAFT ACQUISITION program. Each company will be awarded multiple Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts potentially worth US$100,000 to US$755 million, allowing them to compete for fast-pace procurements in the near future. The companies are BALL AEROSPACE Systems Division, of Boulder, Colorado; LOCKHEED MARTIN Missiles and Space (LMMS), of Sunnyvale, California; ORBITAL SCIENCES Corp. (OSC, formerly Fairchild), of Germantown, Maryland; SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California; SPECTRUM ASTRO, of Gilbert, Arizona; SURREY SATELLITE Technology Ltd. (SSTL), of Guildford, Great-Britain; SWALES Aerospace, of Beltsville, Maryland; and TRW Inc., of Redondo Beach, California. * LORAL SPACE AND COMMUNICATION LTD, of New York, has landed an agreement to acquire ORION NETWORK SYSTEMS INC., of Rockville, Maryland, for about US$490 million in stocks. The acquisition is expected to be effective in early 1998. LORAL has already acquired AT&T's SKYNET network in March for US$478.1 million. ORION currently has one operational satellite over the Atlantic ocean and two more on order. * ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. (OSC), of Dulles, Virginia, was awarded a US$11-million contract by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) on behalf of US Air Force's MILITARY SPACE PLANE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM to develop the low-cost liquid fueled UPPER STAGE FLIGHT EXPERIMENT and test it atop a modified MINUTEMAN missile in late 1999. === MARKETS === * Ukraine's ZENIT launch vehicle is due to resume flights in late November or early December, lofting the OKEAN O-N1 ocean observation satellite and five piggyback payloads: FASAT-BRAVO (50kg) and TM-SAT (50kg), both built by SURREY SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY LTD. (SSTL), of Guildford, Great-Britain, for the Chilean Air Force and Thailand Microsatellite, respectively; SAFIR-2 (55kg) and IRIS-1 (40kg, attached payload to Okean O-N1), built by OHB-SYSTEM, of Bremen, Germany, for its subsidiary OHB Teledata and Belgium's SAIT Systems, respectively; and TECHSAT 2 (50kg), from the TECHNION UNIVERSITY in Haifa, Israel. Three ZENIT 2 launchers are due to loft 36 GLOBALSTAR satellites in 1998. * India's INSAT 2D (18C, 3Ku, 3S) communications satellite suffered a major power failure on October 1st and was declared lost on October 5 following an unsuccessful recovery attempt. The 2,079-kg satellite, built and operated by the INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (ISRO), had been launched by an Ariane vehicle on June 3. * EUTELSAT, of Paris, France, has declared its HOT BIRD 3 (20Ku) high power direct broadcasting satellite operational on October 3. The 2,915-kg spacecraft, built by MATRA MARCONI SPACE of Velizy, France, had been launched by an Ariane 4 vehicle on September 2. It is located at 13°E together with EUTELSAT 2-F1 (16Ku), HOT BIRD 1 (16Ku) and HOT BIRD 2 (20Ku). Two more HOT BIRD satellites are due for launch early next year. * The US FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) has adopted new licensing rules regarding applications for low Earth orbit messaging systems. All five remaining applicants will have to file again, this time providing technical information on their projects. LEO ONE USA Corp., of Saint Louis, Missouri; FINAL ANALYSIS Communication Services (FACS), of Lanham, Maryland; E-SAT Inc., of Englewood, Colorado; ORBITAL COMMUNICATIONS Corp. (ORBCOMM), of Dulles, Virginia; and Volunteers In Technical Assistance (VITA), a non-profit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. === TECHNOLOGIES === * NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology (OAST) has selected 13 research proposals for negotiation of Phase 2 contracts on behalf of its 1996 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. At the end of Phase 1, 32 proposals had been submitted. Each selected proposal will be awarded a fixed-price contract worth up to US$500,000 for a duration of a maximum 2 years. * NASA has temporarily raised the periapsis of its MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR (MGS) probe around Mars from 121 to 170 km to delay planned aerobraking maneuvers while examining data on an unexpected motion of one of the spacecraft's solar arrays detected during such a maneuver on October 6. The 1.000-kg orbiter is due to circularize its orbit around the Red Planet using aerobraking in order to begin a 24-month mapping mission early next year. * The EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) and NASA have signed the launch agreement for the COLUMBUS ORBITAL FACILITY (COF) on October 8. The 9,700-kg COF will be brought to the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) by a US space shuttle in October 2002 in exchange for two NODE modules and several ISS equipment. * NASA and AEB, the Brazilian space agency, have signed an agreement on October 14 for the development and operations of Brazilian experiments onboard the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS). * The ORBVIEW 2 ocean color monitoring spacecraft switched itself to 'safe mode' on October 14, apparently due to the upload of erroneous ephemeris data. The glitch is expected to be fixed within a week. The 309-kg spacecraft is operated by ORBITAL IMAGING CORP. (ORBIMAGE), of Dulles, Virginia, and provides data to NASA's Office of Mission To Planet Earth (MTPE). * IRIDIUM LLC, of Washington, DC, claims to have successfully tested intersatellite links between its 34 satellites in low Earth orbit. However, two satellites, SV021 and SV027, could not reach their operational altitude and remained in lower parking orbits. Testing of the full 66-satellite system is scheduled in May 1998, to prepare for commercial operations due to begin in September 1998. ********************************************************************* * The *NEW* INTERNATIONAL SPACE INDUSTRY REPORT (ISIR), * * * * jointly published by * * Launchspace Publications, Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, * * and Takyon International, Paris, France, * * made its first appearance on October 6, 1997, * * at the 48th International Astronautical Congress (IAF) in Torino. * * * * This 20 page bi-weekly report covers space industry headlines, * * business, market, technologies, and previews you need to know. * * * * SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE ! SAVE 50%, * * 26 issues of ISIR for US$99 instead of US$199 (US), * * or US$139 instead of US$249 (Rest of the World). * * * * Contact Launchspace Publications, Inc., 7777 Leesburg Pike, * * Falls Church, VA 22043, United States. Fax: +1 (703) 749-3177, * * Phone +1 (703) 749-2324, E-mail: [email protected] * ********************************************************************* === PREVIEW === * October 17 A Lockheed Martin TITAN 403A heavy-lift launcher is planned to lift off from Vandenberg AFB, California, possibly carrying a LACROSSE military radar observation satellite for the US NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE (NRO). * October 17 Russian cosmonauts onboard MIR are planned to conduct a spacewalk inside the SPEKTR damaged module. * October 18 An Orbital Sciences PEGASUS XL vehicle is due to be launched from the 'Stargazer' carrier aircraft off Wallops Island, Virginia, to boost the US AIR FORCE's STEP-4 experimental satellite into orbit. * October 20 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. * October 23 Deadline for the LASER-TEST planned by the US ARMY against the MSTI-3 technological satellite. Attempts on October 4 and 8 failed due to a software glitch and bad weather conditions. Beyond that date, the satellite will go into eclipse and its sensors will not be able to collect useful data on the test. * October 23 Recovery of FOTON 11 spacecraft and Germany's MIRKA micro reentry capsule. * October 24 A Lockheed Martin ATLAS 2A vehicle (AC-131), with an IABS upper stage, will loft a US Air Force DSCS-3 military communication satellite directly into geostationary orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida. * October 28 The second ARIANE 5 vehicle (L502) is due to lift off from Kourou, French Guiana, for a qualification test- flight (V101) on behalf of the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY and CNES, the French space agency. The vehicle will loft two dummy instrumented payloads, MAQSAT-H and MAQSAT-B, as well as the TEAMSAT technological package to geostationary transfer orbit. 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 - October 1997 Takyon International and Launchspace Publications also publish The International Space Industry Report (ISIR), a biweekly newsletter on space business and technology ------------------- End of issue Vol.1, No.15 ----------------------
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