EMS Technologies, Inc. is
announcing today the signing of a technology license agreement with the
Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University (APL).
Under the
agreement, APL, a leading U.S. university affiliated research center, has
granted EMS the opportunity to obtain exclusive rights to develop and market
deep space microwave signal amplifiers and potentially other dual-use high
technologies.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
However, EMS stated
the agreement encompasses proprietary technology and know-how for solid-state
power amplifier (SSPA) products the company could produce for interested
government and commercial space customers, including APL itself.
In recent years, the Applied Physics Laboratory has been awarded numerous
contracts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to
develop scientific payloads and spacecraft for NASA missions, including a
$600 million award in June for missions to explore the relationship between
the Earth and the Sun.
“Making this technology commercially available through EMS Technologies
could help lower the government’s cost for future deep space missions,” says
Joseph J. Suter, Technology Programs director in APL’s Technology Transfer
Office.
“EMS is gaining access to the technological and engineering strength of
one of the leading R&D institutions in the world.
We are hopeful that the
relationship will improve EMS’ existing product lines and also develop new
markets for APL-invented technologies — a definite ‘win-win’ for the space
business,” says Nick Fuhrman, director of NASA Business Development at EMS
Technologies’ Space & Technology Group/Atlanta.
For more than 15 years, engineers of APL’s Space Department have developed
SSPA technology that has been used in several space missions.
The amplifier
technology covered by this agreement is currently being adapted by APL to fly
in NASA’s APL-managed MESSENGER (Mercury Surface Space Environment,
Geochemistry and Ranging) mission to be launched in 2004.
EMS has also provided SSPAs for a number of NASA missions, including the
Mars 2001 Odyssey scientific reconnaissance spacecraft, set to enter Mars
orbit on October 24, 2001.
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. is a leading innovator in the design and
manufacture of wireless and satellite solutions, and focuses its unique range
of advanced technologies on the needs of broadband and mobile information
users.
The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, employs almost 2,000 people
worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Brazil, Montreal and
Ottawa.
For more information, visit EMS on the World Wide Web at
www.ems-t.com .
About The Applied Physics Laboratory
The Applied Physics Laboratory is a not-for-profit laboratory division of
Johns Hopkins University.
APL conducts research and development primarily for
national security and for non-defense projects of global significance.
For
information, visit www.jhuapl.edu .
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to
future opportunities or potential in space markets.
Actual results could
differ materially from those statements as a result of a wide variety of
factors including, but not limited to, technological developments by both the
Company and its competitors, and availability of funding for investments in
major new satellite programs.
