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Orbital-built BSAT-2a GEO Bird Shipped To Kourou
Kourou - Feb. 7, 2001 Orbital Sciences said Wednesday that its first smaller GEO satellite - BSAT-2a - for Japan's Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation has arrived at its launch site in Kourou for final processing ahead of an Ariane 5 launch March 2. The BSAT-2a satellite will be located at 110 degrees East and is the first of a pair of direct-to-home digital television broadcasting platforms. Orbital expects the BSAT-2b satellite to be launched later this year. Arianespace Flight 140, the ninth Ariane 5, will also launch Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 teleco bird along with Japan's direct broadcasting satellite ese B-Sat 2a. Over the coming weeks, engineers from B-SAT, Orbital and Arianespace will integrate the satellite with the launch vehicle and perform an extensive series of tests to ensure the combined systems of the satellite and rocket are properly working together. "We are very pleased to have reached this important milestone in the BSAT- 2 satellite program," said Dr. Ali Atia, President of Orbital's communications satellite group. "At the same time that we are preparing to launch and commission BSAT-2a, we are also focusing our efforts on completing, testing and delivering the BSAT-2b satellite for launch later this year." Orbital is also working on another GEO satellite program, the N-STAR c communications spacecraft for Japan's NTT DoCoMo. On that program, Orbital is partnered with Lockheed Martin Corporation, the prime contractor, to provide the satellite platform, perform the integration of the payload with the satellite bus, conduct pre-and post-shipment testing and arrange for launch services. The BSAT-2 and N-STAR c satellites are based on Orbital's "STAR" family of smaller GEO satellite platforms, which are able to accommodate most types of commercial communications payloads. The STAR design is an attractive alternative to the larger, more costly GEO satellites offered by the industry's traditional suppliers. The STAR satellites are smaller and are significantly less costly to acquire and launch, a perfect fit for customers in the early stages of building their business or established companies that wish to add incremental capacity to their network. Orbital is one of the largest space technology and satellite services companies in the world, with 1999 total enterprise revenues (including revenues from unconsolidated affiliates) of approximately $915 million. The company, headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs about 4,500 people at major facilities in the United States, Canada and several overseas locations. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Orbital Sciences Arianespace SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express The latest information about the Commercial Satellite Industry
Globalstar Buys Central American Satellite Gateway Operator
Milpitas CA (SPX) Jan 11, 2006Globalstar recently announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the stock of Globalstar Americas Telecommunications, Globalstar Americas Holdings, and Astral Technologies Investments. |
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