Archive for August, 2009
Aug 31, 2009, post by Satellite News
Circling the Earth are a trio of satellites owned by GeoEye, a company that supplies a good chunk of the overhead images seen on services such as Google Earth and Google Maps.
Those satellites deliver a steady stream of images to the Virginia-based firm, which sells them to commercial and government clients. One of the company’s satellites, for example, captured the images of President Barack Obama’s inauguration for CNN within a few hours of the event, prompting the network to suggest it was history in the making, with the “fastest nonmilitary turnaround of a satellite image.”
To get something like that ready for the general public is no easy task. And that’s where St. Louis enters the picture.
GeoEye has about 85 employees in Maryland Heights who specialize in taking the raw images supplied by satellites and airplanes and turning them into something the average person can appreciate.
And because of the popularity of Google Earth and Google Maps — which offer all sorts of views of our world — business is booming in Maryland Heights.
“It certainly makes it easier to explain to people what we do here,” said Kevin Kohm, an engineering director at GeoEye.
What they do is take great volumes of raw images and make them more palatable to the eye. While raw images might be fine for the military and some government clients, most people would never be content to be handed the raw feeds coming from those satellites.
“That’s not acceptable. You can’t sell that,” said Ray Helmering, a vice president of engineering.
The Maryland Heights operation, which recently underwent a $1 million expansion, performs several functions.
Most satellite images are actually compiled from multiple pictures. Engineers must combine dozens or even hundreds of them into a single picture.
Those images, which are sometimes captured at different times of day and in varied weather conditions, must be corrected so that the entire image appears uniform. They also eliminate the apparent tilting — it’s the result of the high camera angle — of buildings photographed by satellites.
Images have to be adjusted so that geographic elements such as roads and rivers are lined up.
Along with commercial services like Google Earth and some video game makers, the company also supplies images used for things like oil and gas exploration, agricultural monitoring, urban planning and disaster recovery.
Before and after shots can be critical both for locating victims and putting an area back together afterward, said Matt O’Connell, the company’s chief executive.
“During Katrina, we were literally getting calls around the clock from the government,” he said.
Aug 29, 2009, post by Satellite News
Arianespace reinforced its position as the world’s commercial launch services provider of choice with the fourth Ariane 5 flight of 2009, which orbited two Asia-Pacific telecommunications satellites on August 21 on the 32nd consecutive mission success of this workhorse vehicle.
Lifting off from the Spaceport’s ELA-3 launch zone in French Guiana, the Ariane 5 injected its JCSAT-12 and Optus D3 payloads into geostationary transfer orbit during a flight that lasted just over 34 minutes.
Tonight’s mission marked another on-time departure for Ariane 5, starting its climb-out at the 7:09 p.m. opening of a one-hour launch window. It quickly passed through a thin layer of clouds, and was followed by tracking cameras that delivered a clear view of the launcher’s trajectory – including the downrange separation of Ariane 5’s two solid propellant boosters at an altitude of nearly 68 kilometers.
The satellite passengers lofted by Ariane 5 were built by U.S. producers and will be operated by two of Arianespace’s key Asia-Pacific clients: SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation of Japan and the Optus telecommunications provider in Australia.
Ariane 5’s payload lift performance for tonight’s heavyweight flight was approximately 7,655 kg. – which included the two satellites’ combined 6,500-kg. mass, plus the SYLDA dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware for the vehicle’s payload “stack.”
It marked another highly accurate delivery by Ariane 5, with the following provisional parameters at injection of the launch vehicle’s cryogenic upper stage:
+ Perigee: 250.1 km. for a target of 249.6 km.
+ Apogee: 36,010 km. for a target of 35,961 km.
+ Inclination: 2.01 deg. for a target of 2.00 deg.
Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall thanked both SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation and Optus for their trust, and underscored the two customers’ long-term relationship with the launch services company.
“Our collaboration with the Asia-Pacific region is in the limelight tonight, and this success illustrates once again how our Service and Solutions commercial offer is recognized around the world,” Le Gall claimed in post-launch comments from the Spaceport’s Jupiter control center.
He noted that SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation has entrusted Arianespace with 17 satellites for launch from the successful orbiting of JCSAT-1 in 1989. “Therefore, tonight we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our cooperation with Japan, and I want to tell our Japanese friends that we are particularly proud of the confidence and fidelity they have shown for so many years,” Le Gall added.
JCSAT-12 was built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems in Newtown, Pennsylvania, and had a mass of approximately 4,000 kg. for its Ariane 5 liftoff. This high-power spacecraft was the 40th Lockheed Martin-produced spacecraft launched by Arianespace, and it carries 30 Ku-band transponders plus 12 C-band transponders.
Deployed at just under 27 minutes into the Ariane 5’s mission tonight, JCSAT-12 will serve as the successor to SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation’s JCSAT-R – which currently is in geostationary orbit as a backup relay platform.
The Ariane 5’s Optus D3 passenger was injected into orbit 34 minutes after liftoff, and was the sixth satellite lofted by Arianespace for SingTel Optus – the Australian integrated telecommunications provider whose parent company is Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel).
Optus D3 was created by Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation, and is based on the company’s START spacecraft bus. Designed to deliver fixed communications and direct television broadcasting services for Australia and New Zealand, Optus D3 weighed 2,500 kg. at liftoff. The spacecraft is equipped with 32 Ku-band transponders, and will be located at an orbital position of 156 deg. East.
“Our relationship with SingTel Optus goes back many years, and it is an honor that a customer in one of the world’s most dynamic – and demanding – regions has renewed their confidence in us,” Le Gall said.
He added that Arianespace’s links with Japan, Singapore and Australia will continue as the result of new contracts signed this year for the future launch of JCSAT-13 for SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, as well as ST-2 for the ST-2 Satellite Ventures Pte Ltd joint venture of SingTel and Chunghwa Telecom Company Ltd.
Tonight’s mission was the 190th performed to date by a launcher of the Ariane family. Following this latest success, Arianespace is keeping up the sustained launch rate with the goal of performing seven flights during 2009 – making it the busiest mission year with Ariane 5 since the heavy-lift vehicle’s commercial service introduction in 1999.
The Ariane 5 for Arianespace’s next mission has completed its initial build-up in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building. This vehicle is ready for transfer to the Final Assembly Building, where its dual-passenger payload – consisting of the Amazonas 2 satellite for Spanish-based telecom operator Hispasat, and the GMS relay platform for Germany – will be integrated. As announced tonight, this 191st Ariane flight is targeted for late September.
In parallel activity, the 192nd Ariane vehicle was delivered to the Spaceport this week, with the latest Ariane 5 ECA is ready to start its assembly for Arianespace’s sixth launch of 2009.
Aug 29, 2009, post by Satellite News
iDirect Government Technologies (iGT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of VT iDirect, Inc., informed official test results from the U.S. Joint User Interoperability Communications Exercise (JUICE) conducted in June at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and across multiple U.S. military locations around the world. During the event, iGT demonstrated the capabilities of several military-grade satellite communications technologies including iDirect’s ruggedized 12200 Series(TM) Universal Industrial 4-Slot Satellite Hub, iConnex e850mp compact satellite router board, and Global Network Management System. The successful test results affirmed iGT’s ability to provide the U.S. military with reliable connectivity for high-speed voice, video and data applications in the field. iGT is a world leader in satellite-based IP communications technology to military and government organizations.
This year’s annual JUICE event focused on emerging military communications technologies in a Joint Task Force operational environment. Several key exercises were conducted to test the iDirect platform’s capabilities in simulated military scenarios. Critical tests included:
• Enabling video teleconferencing in ground vehicles at 65 mph – An iGT Communications On The Move (COTM) vehicle maintained a live video teleconference with Fort Monmouth and a Joint Task Force Forward Operating Base. The iDirect network sustained connectivity throughout a 15-mile, 35-minute test route reaching speeds of 65 mph. The test showcased how soldiers in the field can reliably implement voice, video and data applications in moving ground vehicles.
• Bringing broadband capabilities to individual soldiers in the field – A ground task force integrated iDirect’s compact e850mp satellite router board into a portable L-3 Panther terminal to support mobile X-band connectivity. The router was configured with multiple hubs, allowing troops to accomplish simulated objectives while on the move. The test revealed a new standard of high-speed broadband for individual soldiers via a highly portable, low-profile satellite router capable of fitting into a soldier’s rucksack.
• Preserving broadband continuity during disaster – After a simulated disaster rendered the Fort Monmouth network infrastructure unusable, iDirect’s Global Network Management System (GNMS) facilitated a seamless switchover to maintain connectivity without human interaction. When the primary network lost service, iDirect remote routers automatically established network connectivity to a backup iDirect hub in Virginia. This test demonstrated the iDirect platform’s ability to preserve continuity of operations while maintaining high levels of bandwidth availability.
“The iDirect DVB-S2 network performed as well in the exercise environment (USS WASP) as it did in the laboratory. Adaptive Coding and Modulation allowed us to essentially double throughput rates to end users while operating during rain fade events without user intervention. Additionally, D-TDMA enabled users to share bandwidth, while at the same time guaranteeing Quality of Service across all users in the network. We were very pleased with iDirect’s performance.”
David A. GLOVIER, Ph.D.
SPAWAR Support Contractor, Pinnacle Network Systems
“This year’s JUICE event provided an opportunity to evaluate some of the latest advancements in military communications technology available for today’s warfighter. These advancements are critical milestones in improving the safety, mobility and awareness of soldiers in the field. Our successful test results affirm our commitment to supporting the military’s need for reliable, real-time voice, video and data applications in the most demanding situations where there is no room for error.”
~ John RATIGAN
President, iDirect Government Technologies
iDirect Government Technologies (iGT), a wholly owned subsidiary of VT iDirect, Inc., transforms the way the Department of Defense (DoD) and civilian government agencies get and stay connected. The company’s satellite-based IP communications technology enables constant secure connectivity for voice, video and data applications – across continents on land, in the air or at sea. From global logistics and disaster recovery to mobile communications, iGT delivers innovation, integration and intelligence to global IP communications. Building on 13 years of global satellite communications experience, iGT serves customers throughout the DoD and civilian government agencies through a diverse network of channel partners, including some of the largest systems integrators, satellite providers, operators and carriers in the world. iGT is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.
iDirect, a subsidiary of VT Systems, is transforming the way the world gets and stays connected. The company’s satellite-based IP communications technology enables constant connectivity for voice, video and data applications in diverse and challenging environments. These include extending private networks to remote offices; supporting mobile connectivity across land, sea and air; delivering rural telephony and Internet broadband; and maintaining communications in the wake of disasters and network failures. The iDirect Intelligent Platform(TM) integrates advanced technology into iDirect’s portfolio of hubs, routers and network management software to address the growing complexity of deploying and managing global IP networks. With more than 13 years of global satellite communications experience, iDirect serves customers in 50 countries through a diverse network of channel partners, including some of the largest satellite providers, operators and carriers in the world and seven of the World Teleport Association’s Global Top Ten. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, iDirect has offices in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
