July 23 — Today at the 2013 New Space conference Skycorp Incorporated (Skycorp) will introduce the Spacecraft Life Extension System (SLES). The purpose of the SLES is to extend the useful lifetime of Geostationary (GEO) satellites.
The SLES accomplishes this by docking and mating with a GEO satellite and then takes over the task of attitude control and station keeping. This is a simple mechanical interface, similar to a tug guiding a larger ship at sea. There is no fuel transferred or electrical connection to the GEO satellite.
Skycorp founder and CEO Dennis Wingo states; “It is the goal of the SLES to provide up to ten additional years of operating life to a geostationary asset for about one third the replacement cost. This provides a clear financial benefit to the satellite operator”.
Skycorp has worked over the past four years to continue to lower the cost of its original SLES design and the concept of the cooperative operation of two spacecraft in GEO orbit. Skycorp has a global patent portfolio for the life extension system (U.S. patent 6,945,500, European Union [England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands], EP1654159B1, and Hong Kong HK1091789).
Skycorp has a signed letter of intent for the implementation of the SLES with an undisclosed customer. The first available mission for the SLES is in the winter of 2016. Skycorp is working closely with the insurance underwriter community to bring this new capability to market which will improve satellite operator margins and provide means to reduce losses in the space insurance sector.
For additional information: www.skycorpinc.com
Point of Contact
Dennis Wingo, CEO Skycorp Incorporated
310-403-1346
Email: info@skycorpinc.com
Skycorp Incorporated
Mountain View California, 94041
