 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Orbcomm In Seventh Heaven
Dulles - December 2, 1999 - Orbital Sciences is preparing to launch seven OrbComm data communications satellites into low-Earth orbit aboard its Pegasus rocket, the company stated today. The Pegasus/OrbComm launch is currently scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 4, 1999 at approximately 1:51 p.m. (EST), with an available launch window of 1:46 p.m. to 2:01 p.m. This schedule is subject to completion of final pre-launch testing and acceptable weather conditions at launch time. The air-launched Pegasus rocket arrived at NASA�s Wallops Flight Facility in Southeastern Virginia yesterday after a five-hour cross-country flight that originated from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, where Orbital prepared the rocket for its mission and integrated the satellites. The mission sequence is expected to take just over one hour, from the time the Pegasus rocket is released from its L-1011 carrier aircraft, about 50 miles off the Virginia coast, to the time the seventh OrbComm satellite is deployed into orbit from the rocket�s final stage. Orbital plans to launch the OrbComm satellites into a circular orbit approximately 825 kilometers (or 510 miles) above the Earth, inclined at 45 degrees to the equator. Over the past three years, the Pegasus rocket has been one of the world�s most reliable launch vehicles, with 13 consecutive successful missions. In those missions, Pegasus rockets have successfully deployed a total of 35 satellites, including 24 for the company�s OrbComm Global L.P. affiliate. Once the seven new satellites are deployed, a team of Orbital and OrbComm satellite engineers will begin initial in-orbit check-out procedures, a process that can last up to three months. With the addition of the seven satellites launched in this mission, the OrbComm data communications network will consist of 35 satellites plus a worldwide ground network anchored by a state-of-the-art network control center in Dulles, Virginia and over 15 ground stations now in operation or under construction. OrbComm Global offers low-cost, narrow-band data communications services to industrial customers in over 190 countries primarily for tracking mobile assets, such as truck trailers, rail cars and shipping containers, and monitoring fixed assets, such as pipelines, utility meters and storage tanks.
Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Space
Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
