Microcom's Space Newsfeed 27 June 2004<br />Space Industry News from Around the World<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Web resources from Microcom Systems:<br /><br />Satellite Industry Links: the largest satellite and space industry directory on the web
http://www.satellite-links.co.uk<br /><br />Satellite on the Net: white papers, industry events, launch information and space bookshop
http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk<br /><br />Jobs in Space: space industry recruitment
http://www.space-jobs.co.uk post your CV or job specification here<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Handbook of Satellite Services in Europe<br /><br />This unique publication provides detailed information on all aspects of the European satellite scene including extensive data on service providers, national regulations, satellites used in Europe as well as background on satellite communications technology.
http://www.microcomsystems.co.uk/pubs/ssie.html<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Advertise on Microcom's websites and reach over 25,000 space and satellite industry professionals each month.
http://www.spacenewsfeed.co.uk/ratecard.html<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Contents<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Satcoms:<br />Frisch’s Restaurants Deploys Spacenet's Connexstar Service<br />Satellites Aiding Disaster Relief<br />SiriCOMM Uses LinkStar for US-wide Truckers Network<br />Testing High-speed Internet on the High Seas<br /><br />Science:<br />Elbit Systems to Supply Tauvex II Space Camera<br />GLAST Completes CDR at Spectrum Astro<br /><br />Technology:<br />New Software on NASA Spacecraft Monitors Active Volcano<br /><br />Launch Services:<br />SpaceShipOne Reaches Space<br /><br />In Orbit:<br />Epoch IPS System Selected for Operations of XTAR-EUR Satellite<br /><br />Launches:<br />GPS 2R-12<br /><br />Business:<br />Capgemini and SFR join Alcatel Galileo Consortium<br />iDirect Technologies Opens Hong Kong Office<br />RaySat Completes US$ 10 Million First Round of Financing<br /><br />Products and Services:<br />Actel's Space-Flight FPGAs Now Available From UMC Wafer Foundry<br />First HDTV Satellite Programming Solution for Hotels<br />JPL Verifies Error-Free Performance of Maxwell's Space Computer<br />Stratos Introduces Always-on Data Comms Service for Smaller Maritime Vessels<br /><br />People:<br />Michael Wholley Selected as NASA General Counsel<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />EEBC 2004 - Eastern Europe Broadband Convention - 13-15 October 2004, Kiev, Ukraine.<br /><br />Exhibition, Conference, Technical Training and Round Table Discussion of Industry Organisations will be devoted to progress trends in the broadband industry of Central and Eastern Europe.<br /><br />All industry organisations and companies are welcome to participate and investigate possibilities of making business in the CEE market! For full details see
www.eebc.com.ua<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Military Satellites Applications, 15th - 16th July, The Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, London.<br /><br />A two-day conference highlighting applications of satellite systems for the military and an unmissable pre-conference site visit on 14th July to EADS Astrium. Examine recent programmes and technologies on Earth Observation, Satellite Communications, Navigation and Space Launch through presentations from an exceptional international speaker panel.<br /><br />For further information and to book online please visit
http://www.iqpc-defence.com/GB-2232/MIC<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Bolton Associates - Corporate Strategies applies 21st. Century thinking for the Earth Observation, SatCom and Environment Industries that penetrate new markets using creative commercial Risk models and innovation.<br /><br />Visit us at
http://www.BoltonAssociates.com and/or download our presentation
http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk/ads/SAR_Solutions_and_Strategies.pdf<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Space Bookshop - books for space professionals.<br />
http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk/bookshop.html<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Satcoms<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Frisch’s Restaurants Deploys Spacenet's Connexstar Service<br /><br />(21 June 2004) Spacenet Inc has been selected by Frisch’s Restaurants Inc to provide a Connexstar broadband satellite network to 120 Frisch’s Big Boy and Golden Corral restaurants in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.<br /><br />Connexstar CX-500 provides broadband IP connectivity and Internet access with high reliability, performance and lifecycle economics. This service will be used by Frisch’s to run a broad range of IP-based applications including high-speed credit and gift-card authorisation, point-of-sale polling and corporate intranet applications. In the future, Frisch’s expects to expand its use of the Connexstar platform to include broadband video surveillance and interactive distance learning.<br /><br />(source: Gilat Satellite Networks)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Satellites Aiding Disaster Relief<br /><br />(24 June 2004) Recent demonstrations have shown how making use of digital processing technology on board satellites can help emergency services share information more effectively during natural disasters.<br /><br />SkyPlexNet is a project funded by ESA Telecom. The technology that has been developed makes it possible to access satellite resources directly and manage the distribution of the multimedia contents to the remote users independently. It is relatively simple, low-cost and avoids the need to centralise data management at one location.<br /><br />A demonstration took place in early June 2004. Using a satellite communications network running SkyPlexNet, the Italian Civil Protection Authorities in Piedmont Italy were able to receive and send information via satellite. They were also able to co-ordinate operations between a central authority and emergency units based all over the country.<br /><br />They now have connections between 119 regional offices of the Fire Brigade and the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior (Viminale). It is the first such system in the world which uses On Board Processing. The network also makes use of a new generation of Set-Top boxes wholly developed and produced in Europe.<br /><br />The operational system is currently located on off-road vehicles. These vehicles act as production and transmission centres. They are equipped with satellite terminals designed to transmit and receive live images to the Fire Brigade Offices and can also provide broadband communications within the areas of operations.<br /><br />In times of emergency, the vehicles can provide video, data and voice communication, making it possible to video conference with a central authority. The system can also interoperate with the existing terrestrial broadband networks.<br /><br />Another development includes the Civil Protection Authority in Piedmont which has signed a Co-operation Agreement with the Ministry of Interior to integrate their satellite project Emercom.sat into the SkyPlexNet network. The plan is for the Emercom.sat to become compatible and inter-operable with the Fire Brigade network.<br /><br />(source: ESA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SiriCOMM Uses LinkStar for US-wide Truckers Network<br /><br />(23 June 2004) SiriCOMM Inc, a US-wide broadband wireless software and network infrastructure solutions company for the commercial transportation industry and government market, has announced a five-year VSAT services agreement with ViaSat Inc. Under the agreement, ViaSat will provide hardware, installation and services for the SiriCOMM's nation-wide network.<br /><br />SiriCOMM chose satellite for wide-area data communications for several reasons. First, the company intends to install its network nation-wide, at locations frequented by truck drivers. These sites typically are in rural areas, which complicates the use of land-based solutions. Second, satellite communications provide a wide-area network solution with fewer points of contact. Traditional land-based solutions, such as T-1 data lines, require many different local providers to be utilised, potentially a different one for each node. Satellite involves only one point of contact for all nodes. And, finally, satellite provides greater flexibility in bandwidth shaping and allocation.<br /><br />After evaluating options on the market, SiriCOMM selected ViaSat and its LinkStar hub-based VSAT system. LinkStar enables broadband transmission of IP-based data between SiriCOMM's remote servers installed at each node and its Hub server. LinkStar was designed for applications requiring high volumes of out-bound data to be transferred in a timely and highly secure manner. As a result, the system provides substantially greater bandwidth-to-cost ratios when compared to other options.<br /><br />ViaSat is presently installing LinkStar VSAT systems for SiriCOMM at the 255 Pilot Travel Centers throughout the United States. Pilot Travel Centers and SiriCOMM have entered into a strategic partnership to deliver value-based services to benefit their mutual customer base.<br /><br />(source: SiriCOMM)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Testing High-speed Internet on the High Seas<br /><br />(24 June 2004) Connexion by Boeing and Teekay Shipping Corporation (NYSE:TK) have signed an agreement to launch a maritime trial of the Connexion by Boeing service over the North Atlantic beginning in August 2004.<br /><br />The Connexion by Boeing maritime solution - 2.5 Mb/s to the vessel and 256 kb/s from the vessel - is much faster than the most commonly deployed narrowband maritime communications systems available today. This capability will allow users to access the Internet and firewall-protected corporate intranets, send outgoing e-mails or open large attachments from incoming e-mails and get the news, weather or destination information.<br /><br />(source: Connexion by Boeing)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Science<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Elbit Systems to Supply Tauvex II Space Camera<br /><br />(22 June 2004) Elbit Systems Ltd has been awarded a contract, through its wholly owned subsidiary Elop Electro-Optics Industries Ltd (El-Op), from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Israel Space Agency for the supply of "Tauvex II "(Tel Aviv University Ultra-Violet Explorer) scientific space camera.<br /><br />The TAUVEX II camera will be launched into space mounted on the Indian Satellite GSAT-4, for the purpose of scientific research in exploration of the galaxies. The camera will be supplied for integration into the GSAT-4 by the end of 2005. The contract is valued at approximately US$ 3.5 million.<br /><br />The new contract follows an agreement signed in December 2003 between the Israel Space Agency and ISRO, the Indian Space Research Organisation, for scientific co-operation between the two countries in the field of the astronomy in the "Ultra-Violet" spectrum.<br /><br />Tauvex II is based on a camera developed during the 1990s by El-Op and Tel Aviv University for Israel's Ministry of Science and Technology. The electro-optical space camera is for scientific exploration and comprises three "telescopes" for observation in the "ultra-violet" spectrum for astronomical research of the galaxies. Research activities based on imagery received from the camera will be performed jointly by academic institutions in both Israel and India.<br /><br />(source: Elbit Systems)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />GLAST Completes CDR at Spectrum Astro<br /><br />(24 June 2004) The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), a NASA space observatory that will explore the ultimate energy sources in the universe, has completed its Critical Design Review (CDR). This major international and multi-agency space mission is now ready to begin flight hardware production at Spectrum Astro.<br /><br />The CDR was hosted over four days by Spectrum Astro at its headquarters in Gilbert, Arizona and included scientists and engineers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In addition to demonstrating that the maturity of the design of the satellite is appropriate to support flight fabrication, Spectrum Astro also demonstrated that the final design would meet the final requirements of the GLAST mission.<br /><br />GLAST is a next-generation, high-energy gamma-ray satellite observatory designed to make observations of celestial gamma-ray sources. The GLAST mission is part of the Structure and Evolution of the Universe science theme within NASA's Office of Space Science. For this unique endeavour, NASA is teamed with the US Department of Energy and institutions in France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Sweden. GLAST is scheduled for launch in early 2007.<br /><br />(source: Spectrum Astro)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Technology<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />New Software on NASA Spacecraft Monitors Active Volcano<br /><br />(25 June 2004) Software on a NASA spacecraft recently made a scientific observation on its own without human interaction. The Space Technology 6 Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment captured images of Antarctica's Mount Erebus and detected volcanic activity.<br /><br />The software, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), controls the Earth Observing-1 spacecraft. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), manages the satellite. The software examines pictures from the Hyperion spectrometer, an instrument highly sensitive to heat released from molten lava.<br /><br />After taking an image of Erebus, the software detected heat from the lava lake at the summit of the volcano and reprogrammed the camera to take more pictures. News of the detection was rapidly transmitted to scientists, where typically, it could take months to learn a remote volcano was active. Scientists normally would need to take measurements at the volcano to detect the same type of event. Researchers at JPL and GSFC will test the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment on Erebus and other volcanoes for the next several months.<br /><br />Future versions of the software also may be used to track dust storms on Mars, search for ice volcanoes on Europa, and track activity on Jupiter's volcanically active moon Io.<br /><br />NASA's New Millennium Program developed both the satellite and the software. The Program is responsible for testing new technologies in space.<br /><br />(source: NASA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Launch Services<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />SpaceShipOne Reaches Space<br /><br />(21 June 2004) Early on Monday morning, SpaceShipOne sped to the edge of space, becoming the first privately funded manned spacecraft to reach an altitude of more than 100 km.<br /><br />The White Knight carrier aircraft with SpaceShipOne slung underneath it took off from Mojave Airport. About an hour later the two craft reached an altitude of 5000 feet and SpaceShipOne was released. After release, SpaceShipOne's hybrid rocket, which burns rubber using nitrous oxide as an oxidiser, fired for 80 seconds taking the manned craft to an altitude of just over 100 km.<br /><br />After reaching the edge of space the craft began its fall back to Earth, finally gliding back to Mojave airport to land about an hour and three quarters after taking off.<br /><br />SpaceShipOne was piloted by 62 year old test pilot Mike Melvill.<br /><br />The flight was not without incident, however. During the spacecraft's rocket powered ascent it suddenly veered 90 degrees left. The pilot corrected the problem by rolling to the right but discovered a fault in one of the trim control motors. Switching to backup controls he completed the flight. The problem put SpaceShipOne 30 km off course and reduced the final altitude achieved by the flight which was only some 120 m higher than the 100 km altitude required to qualify as a space flight.<br /><br />Also, during the rocket powered ascent, the pilot also heard a load bang caused by a buckling cover over a tail nozzle. This did not have any impact on the flight.<br /><br />SpaceShipOne is now the front runner to win the Ansari X Prize, a US$ 10 million prize for the first privately funded team to launch three people into space achieving an altitude of at least 100 km and to repeat the flight within two weeks with the same craft.<br /><br />SpaceShipOne was designed by Burt Rutan's company Scaled Composites and was funded by Paul Allen.<br /><br />On Friday (18 June) Mojave Airport received a commercial spaceport licence from the Federal Aviation Authority's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The licence allows the airport to be used for the launches of horizontal takeoff reusable launch vehicles.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />In Orbit<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Epoch IPS System Selected for Operations of XTAR-EUR Satellite<br /><br />(24 June 2004) Integral Systems Inc has announced a contract with Loral Skynet to support the operations of XTAR's XTAR-EUR satellite. Under an agreement with XTAR, Loral Skynet engineers from its Hawley, Pennsylvania, Earth Station, using a unique, trans-Atlantic ground control system, will operate the XTAR-EUR satellite through antennas installed at Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial's (INTA) Maspalomas ground station in the Canary Islands.<br /><br />Epoch is the only true commercial off the shelf (COTS) satellite control system with a proven capability to operate diverse fleets of satellites with a single system. Today, the delivered Epoch control system at Skynet supports four different satellite types from three different satellite manufacturers, including Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) (1300), Lockheed Martin (A2100 and Series 7000) and Astrium (Eurostar 2000). Loral Skynet's system uses Integral Systems' Epoch IPS to provide complete real-time command and control system as well as flight dynamics, automated scheduling, procedure execution and offline trending and analysis functions.<br /><br />(source: Integral Systems)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Launches<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />GPS 2R-12<br /><br />Launched: 23 June 2004<br />Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida<br />Launcher: Delta 2<br />Orbit: MEO, apogee: 20,300 km, perigee: 20,100 km: inclination: 55.0°<br />International Number: 2004-023A<br />Name: GPS 2R-12<br />Owner: US Air Force Space Command<br />Contractor: Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems<br /><br />GPS 2R-12 is a US Air Force navigation satellite which will join the existing GPS constellation of 28 satellites.<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Business<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Capgemini and SFR join Alcatel Galileo Consortium<br /><br />(25 June 2004) The Eurely consortium, formed by Alcatel, Finmeccanica and Vinci Networks, is now joined by Capgemini, one of the world’s providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services and SFR, the second mobile operator in France.<br /><br />This consortium is short-listed to become the Galileo concessionaire, the civilian radio-navigation system initiated by the European Commission and the European Space Agency. The Eurely consortium is reinforcing its partnership strategy to better serve the program needs.<br /><br />The Galileo positioning system is based on a constellation of thirty satellites providing global coverage. It will serve both institutional needs and commercial expectations in terms of positioning as well as precise and dependable time. This system will be compatible with the American GPS system.<br /><br />(source: Alcatel Space)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />iDirect Technologies Opens Hong Kong Office<br /><br />(18 June 2004) iDirect Technologies has opened an office in Hong Kong to support market share growth within the Asia and Pacific Rim regions. iDirect has experienced recent contract wins for hub and remote broadband Internet protocol (IP) satellite networking equipment with three major operators in Indonesia, Jakarta and Mongolia. The company continues to see a much larger market opportunity developing.<br /><br />Additionally, iDirect has named K.W. Chan as Vice President of Sales and Managing Director of Asia/Pacific Rim. Mr. Chan will be responsible for managing the company's operations out of the new Hong Kong office and will be leading the effort to expand the company's customer-focused approach to this growing market.<br /><br />The new office contact information is as follows:<br /><br />iDirect Hong Kong Limited<br />35/F Central Plaza<br />18 Harbour Road<br />Wanchai, Hong Kong<br /><br />KW Chan, Regional Vice President / Managing Director<br />tel: +852-2802-0201<br />fax: +852-2802-0204<br /><br />(source: iDirect Technologies)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />RaySat Completes US$ 10 Million First Round of Financing<br /><br />(24 June 2004) RaySat Inc, a supplier of in-motion, low-profile, phased-array satellite antennas, has announced the closing of a US$ 10 million first round investment led by Benchmark Capital and assisted by Seed Partners.<br /><br />With RaySat's first-generation TorpedoRay antennas, passengers on high-speed trains in Europe are now able to access broadband Internet while in motion. The current round of financing will help the company address the multi-billion dollar rear-seat entertainment market in the United States with its next-generation StingRay antenna. StingRay was designed to receive broadband data and live satellite TV broadcasts in moving vehicles such as minivans, SUVs, RVs, trucks and boats.<br /><br />Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, RaySat is led by experienced entrepreneurs who have created and managed leading telecommunications companies. The company is chaired by Yoel Gat, previously the Chairman and CEO of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd, a world leader in VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite communications. Samer Salameh recently joined as President & CEO. Mr Salameh is an industry veteran who most recently served as CEO of rStar Corporation, which provides satellite-based telephony and high-speed Internet access. Prior to that, he was President and CEO at Telmex North America Ventures, where he managed a portfolio of companies including CompUSA. From 1997-2000, he served as Chairman and CEO of Prodigy Communications Corp. where he grew revenues from US$ 20 million to over US$ 300 million in two years and transformed the company into one of the largest consumer DSL Internet service providers in the US.<br /><br />The two entrepreneurs are joined by Liav Even-Chen, CFO, a former partner at Ernst & Young. Mr Even-Chen gained invaluable experience in the financing of high-tech companies while working at Ernst & Young in Palo Alto.<br /><br />(source: RaySat)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Products and Services<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Actel's Space-Flight FPGAs Now Available From UMC Wafer Foundry<br /><br />(21 June 2004) Actel Corporation's radiation-tolerant RTSX-S family of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) is now available from UMC's wafer foundry. With the new family, called RTSX-SU, Actel now provides customers with an alternate source for its 0.25-micron devices, which have been widely adopted for radiation-intensive space-flight applications.<br /><br />To ensure the newly available devices meet the requirements of space-flight systems, the RTSX-SU devices from UMC passed a number of stringent qualification, reliability and radiation tests. In addition, Actel also announced that the RTSX-SU FPGA devices have been improved to reduce ICCI in-rush current, resulting in easier system design.<br /><br />The UMC RTSX-SU devices are pin-compatible to the RTSX-S devices available from MEC. Software to support the UMC RTSX-SU FPGAs is also available.<br /><br />The antifuse-based RTSX-SU family includes the 32,000-gate RTSX32SU and the 72,000-gate RTSX72SU (16,000 and 36,000 ASIC gates respectively) and offers system performance in excess of 250 MHz. Actel's RTSX-SU family is built on a foundation of hardened latches, which eliminates the need for triple-module redundancy (TMR). Traditional FPGAs, which do not use hardened latches, force the user to implement TMR using software or a large portion of the device's programmable logic.<br /><br />The RTSX-SU devices from UMC are available for shipment today. Pricing for the family starts at US$ 3,300 each in 25-unit quantities.<br /><br />(source: Actel)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />First HDTV Satellite Programming Solution for Hotels<br /><br />(22 June 2004) LG Electronics Inc and LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation are bringing satellite-sourced programming in high-definition television (HDTV) to hotel guests for the first time. The end-to-end solution delivers high-definition digital video to the guest room television from both the satellite dish and the off-air antenna.<br /><br />The new system is based on an LG-developed off-air platform that transcodes satellite-delivered HDTV channels (such as HDNet, HBO-HD, Showtime HD, ESPN HD and Discovery HD Theater) for delivery to hotel rooms.<br /><br />The signals, which will be encrypted to provide digital content protection, take advantage of the industry-standard digital television reception technology that will be built into virtually all TVs over the next three years in accordance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.<br /><br />Guests will be able to enjoy HDTV's quantum leap in picture quality, video performance, and audio with available broadcast and satellite network programming. All satellite and off-air HD content is seamlessly integrated with LodgeNet's sigNETure TV system (delivering digital on-demand movies, music, TV programming and games) - so guests can enjoy easy access to everything with a single remote control.<br /><br />This is made possible by the companies' industry-first HDTV solution, which uses the LG transcoder to convert both satellite and broadcast-delivered digital TV signals for delivery through the hotel's coaxial cable to an industry-standard receiver in the guest room.<br /><br />The set-top box integrates ATSC digital HDTV, traditional analogue (NTSC) programming signals and now satellite HDTV signals, along with digital content protection and the interactive functionality of LodgeNet's video-on-demand system card. This solution represents an additional product breakthrough for LodgeNet's interactive television systems, which use a specialised satellite distribution network and digital platform to bring on-demand entertainment to more than 435,000 hotel rooms today.<br /><br />(source: LG Electronics)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />JPL Verifies Error-Free Performance of Maxwell's Space Computer<br /><br />(22 June 2004) Maxwell Technologies Inc has reported that NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has independently verified the testing results and methodologies the company used to demonstrate the virtually error-free performance of Maxwell's SCS750 super computer for space.<br /><br />According to Larry Longden, Maxwell's director of technology and marketing, the testing regimen simulated the harsh radiation environments electronic components encounter in space, including the effects of solar flares.<br /><br />To reduce the likelihood of a radiation-induced processor error, Maxwell's design employs "triple modular redundancy" and "voting scheme" architecture, meaning that three identical processors run the same program at all times and "vote" on each operation. If one processor disagrees with the other two, the three processors are resynchronised without user intervention, and the SBC continues to provide error-free operation.<br /><br />JPL's analysis confirmed Maxwell's conclusion that the SCS750 architecture can provide upset rates comparable to or lower than computers employing rad-hard processors. It also found that the SCS750 processors detected and corrected all single processor errors under heavy ion irradiation, and that power cycling of the processors was never required for correction.<br /><br />Longden noted that, by employing the latest commercial IBM PowerPC 750FM silicon-on-insulator processors, Maxwell's SCS750 can deliver up to 1,000 times the processing power of competing products using "rad-hard" processors.<br /><br />(source: Maxwell Technologies)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Stratos Introduces Always-on Data Comms Service for Smaller Maritime Vessels<br /><br />(18 June 2004) Stratos Global Corp has announced the availability of Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS) for Inmarsat Fleet F33, bringing the benefits of always-on connectivity and data- transmission-based billing to smaller maritime vessels, including leisure, fishing, and coastal patrol boats. Stratos is the first Inmarsat service provider to formally announce the launch of this enhancement to Fleet F33.<br /><br />MPDS for Fleet F33 features persistent connectivity at speeds up to 64 kb/s incoming from the satellite and up to 28 kb/s outgoing from the terminal. This always-on, higher-speed option is particularly suited to IP-based data applications, such as Web surfing, intranet access and e-mail. MPDS connectivity is available within Inmarsat's spot beam coverage area and users pay only for the amount of data sent and received, rather than the amount of time they are connected.<br /><br />Fleet F33 from Stratos features a small, lightweight antenna and reduced- size on-deck equipment specifically designed for usage and installation on smaller maritime vessels that were previously unable to access this technology due to the size and cost of the terminal hardware.<br /><br />In addition to MPDS, Fleet F33 also provides global digital voice connectivity and an integrated data service option that is ideal for fax and batched data transmission, including file transfers. The integrated data service option, available within Inmarsat's spot beam coverage areas, provides fax service at 9.6 kb/s, as well as effective dial-up data transmission speeds of up to 40 kb/s using optional V40/V42 compression.<br /><br />The Fleet family of solutions, which also includes Fleet F77 and Fleet F55, is the next generation of maritime satellite communications services, having evolved from the highly successful Inmarsat A, B and M systems, but using lighter-weight, stabilised antennas to provide both ocean-going and coastal vessels with comprehensive voice, fax and data communications services, including e-mail and Internet access.<br /><br />(source: Stratos Global)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />People<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Michael Wholley Selected as NASA General Counsel<br /><br />(25 June 2004) Administrator Sean O'Keefe has selected retired Marine Brigadier General Michael Wholley as the NASA General Counsel, effective immediately. Wholley succeeds Paul G. Pastorek and joins NASA after a distinguished career of public service in the Marine Corps.<br /><br />As the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps/Director, Judge Advocate Division, he managed the active and reserve Marine legal community of more than 1,500 attorneys, paralegal and civil service support staff.<br /><br />He was commissioned through the Naval ROTC program at Harvard University after receiving his BA degree, magna cum laude, in History and Literature. He holds a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School; an LL.M degree from George Washington University in Environmental Law and Land Use; and a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the College of Naval Warfare.<br /><br />NASA also announced the appointment of John (Jack) Mannix, former Associate General Counsel for General Law, and Keith Sefton, Chief of Staff to the General Counsel, as Deputy General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for Management and Administration, respectively.<br /><br />(source: NASA)<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Press releases should be sent to: newsfeed@microcomsystems.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Microcom makes no charge for this service and makes no payments for the use of material. Microcom makes no warranties about the quality of this service and accepts no liability for mistakes and errors. Use of this service is taken as confirmation of acceptance of these conditions.<br /><br />If you require further information contact Microcom by email: info@microcomsystems.co.uk<br /><br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />This newsletter, and archives dating back to January 2000, can be viewed on the web at
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