Today LuxSpace Sàrl, an affiliate of OHB SE (Prime Standard, ISIN: DE0005936124), and its partner, ORBCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq: ORBC), announced the award of a four-year satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data service framework contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, EMSA is one of the largest consolidators of AIS data and is responsible for maritime safety, pollution-by-ship monitoring and ship security for the European Union and its Member States.
The EMSA framework contract is funded for up to 10.2 Million Euro for the fixed 4-year service period. The contract award was the result of a competitive bidding process among providers of space-based AIS data services.
LuxSpace will provide ORBCOMM’s global real-time data feed of satellite-based AIS (SAT-AIS) data, which will be used by EMSA, other EU agencies and EU Member States for ship tracking and other maritime navigational, safety and security applications.
“We are very pleased to be selected by EMSA as their SAT-AIS data service partner,” said Thomas Görlach, Managing Director of LuxSpace. “This achievement is an important step in our roadmap to establish further innovative services based on our next generation micro satellite product line, Triton-X.”
“The EMSA contract is a great win for ORBCOMM and our partner, LuxSpace, and we look forward to providing industry-leading satellite AIS data services to EMSA and its member states. ORBCOMM’s AIS service delivers comprehensive and reliable global coverage with high refresh rates, which provides a complete situational picture of vessel activity worldwide,” said Marc Eisenberg, ORBCOMM’s Chief Executive Officer.
Since 2009 LuxSpace has been in the SAT-AIS business both as micro-satellite manufacturer and AIS data service provider. LuxSpace, under contract with ORBCOMM, built two AIS-enabled satellites (VesselSat 1 & VesselSat 2), which were operated by ORBCOMM and provided AIS data services to various customers around the globe. Currently, an advanced AIS micro-satellite is under development using the LuxSpace Triton-2 platform through a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Jochen Harms, Coordinator of OHB Services added: “The successful development of space-based services by LuxSpace also supports and strengthens the position of the OHB Group in their service and application business.”
About LuxSpace Sàrl
LuxSpace Sarl of Luxembourg is an affiliate of OHB SE (Prime Standard, ISIN: DE0005936124), one of the three large space-systems companies in Europe. LuxSpace employs 43 high skilled personnel and provides know-how in the fields of space system engineering, micro satellite manufacturing, satellite simulator software development, communication subsystems for geostationary satellites and space based service application development.LuxSpace is also a recognised leading European partner in the domain of space-borne AIS (SAT-AIS).
Starting in 2008 LuxSpace is active in several technical aspects of SAT-AIS, from receiver development, payload design to satellite manufacturing. The launch of VesselSat 1 & 2 in 2011 and 2012 marked an important milestone in the LuxSpace company history.
Furthermore, LuxSpace has a strong service business with specific focus on AIS (Automatic Information System).
About ORBCOMM Inc.
ORBCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq: ORBC) is a leading global provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication solutions and the only commercial satellite network dedicated to M2M. ORBCOMM’s unique combination of global satellite, cellular and dual-mode network connectivity, hardware, web reporting applications and software is the M2M industry’s most complete service offering. Our solutions are designed to remotely track, monitor, and control fixed and mobile assets in core vertical markets including transportation & distribution, heavy equipment, industrial fixed assets, oil & gas, maritime, mining and government. In addition, ORBCOMM provides Automatic Identification System (AIS) data services for vessel tracking to improve maritime safety to government and commercial customers worldwide.
With nearly 20 years of innovation and expertise in M2M, ORBCOMM has more than 1.6 million subscribers with a diverse customer base including premier OEMs such as Caterpillar Inc., Doosan Infracore America, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., John Deere, Komatsu Ltd., and Volvo Construction Equipment, as well as end-to-end solutions customers such as C&S Wholesale, Canadian National Railways, CR England, Hub Group, KLLM Transport Services, Marten Transport, Swift Transportation, Target, Tropicana, Tyson Foods, Walmart and Werner Enterprises. For more information, visit www.orbcomm.com.
