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Orbital to build Horizons-2 communications satellite ORBITAL SCIENCES NEWS RELEASE Posted: August 30, 2005 Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that Horizons-2 Satellite, LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between PanAmSat Corporation and JSAT Corporation, has ordered one geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite, which will be based on Orbital's industry-leading STAR small satellite platform. The spacecraft will carry the name Horizons-2 and will be launched into a PanAmSat-licensed orbital slot at 74 degrees West Longitude over the United States. The new order calls for a 22-month on-ground delivery schedule. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. "Once again, our smaller-sized STAR GEO satellite platform has proved to be the ideal choice for satellite operators that seek an optimal balance between satellite capacity and customer demand," said Dr. Ali Atia, head of Orbital's commercial GEO satellite business unit. "We are delighted to add JSAT to the list of blue-chip customers who have adopted the 'STAR small satellite solution,' an industry trend of which PanAmSat has been the leading proponent." The new satellite is the fifth that has been ordered through the company's association with PanAmSat, which originally became a customer in 2001. Prior to the Horizons-2 joint venture order with JSAT, PanAmSat had previously purchased from Orbital three C-band satellites for U.S. domestic communications services, and a hybrid (C and Ku bands) satellite for international services. "We are pleased to announce the purchase of the Horizons-2 satellite which extends two significant partnerships that PanAmSat has developed over the past five years," said Joe Wright, CEO PanAmSat. "First, PanAmSat and JSAT will double capacity in our Horizons joint venture, which has already proven to be a highly successful for both companies. This satellite will provide Ku-band growth capacity in North America for PanAmSat in 2007 through the next decade. And secondly, we are extending our relationship with Orbital Sciences as our primary supplier of small satellites which have become a critical part of our business strategy going forward." The first C-band satellite, Galaxy 12, was launched in 2003 and the second, Galaxy 14, was launched earlier this month. The last of the original three-satellite order, Galaxy 15, was recently shipped to the launch site in preparation for a launch in September. A fourth satellite was ordered earlier this year, the hybrid PAS-11, which is currently in the design and manufacturing phase. The Horizons-2 satellite will carry 20 active high-power Ku-band transponders. The satellite will generate approximately 3.5 kilowatts of payload power and will weigh about 2,300 kg at launch. About Orbital |
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To gain a new perspective on space shuttle Discovery's ascent and gather additional imagery for the return to flight mission, NASA dispatched a pair of high-flying WB-57 aircraft equipped with sharp video cameras in their noses.
When space shuttle Discovery launched its two solid-fuel booster rockets were equipped with video cameras, providing dazzling footage of separation from the external fuel tank, their free fall and splashdown in the sea.
Mounted atop a modified Boeing 747, space shuttle Discovery was ferried across the country from Edwards Air Force Base, California, to Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Shuttle fuel tank ET-119 is loaded onto a barge at Kennedy Space Center for the trip back to Lockheed Martin's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The tank will be used in the investigation to determine why foam peeled away from Discovery's tank on STS-114 in July.
Launch of the GOES-N weather observatory aboard a Boeing Delta 4 rocket is postponed at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter lifts off aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier hold a news conference from Agency Headquarters in Washington on August 18 to announce a delay in the next shuttle flight from September to next March. (38min 02sec)
Explosives topple the abandoned Complex 13 mobile service tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This video was shot from the blockhouse roof at neighboring Complex 14 where John Glenn was launched in 1962.