Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a Loral Space & Communications
company, announced that it has won a contract to build
MTSAT-1R, an advanced multi-functional satellite for air traffic
control and weather observation, for Japan’s Ministry of Transport
(MOT).
When delivered in 2002, the MTSAT-1R satellite will provide
communications and navigational services for aircraft, and will gather
weather data for users throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region — as
far south as Australia/New Zealand.
We are proud to have earned once again the trust of MOT,“ said Dr.
John Klineberg, president of SS/L. ”This new assignment affords us the
opportunity to show our continuing commitment to innovation and to
providing our customer with the best possible state-of-the-art
satellite solution.“
SS/L is a significant provider of both environmental and
telecommunications satellites for the Japanese market. The company has
built 14 satellites for Japan, including the first two SUPERBIRD
telecommunications satellites and two N-STAR communications satellites
for Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT), one of the world’s largest
telephone companies.
All integration and ground testing of MTSAT-1R will be completed
at SS/L’s facilities in Palo Alto. The launch vehicle and the launch
site have yet to be selected.
Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) will use MTSAT-1R to increase
the efficiency of aircraft flight routes, provide flexible flight
profile planning, enhance air travel safety, and improve the quality
of aeronautical communications. To that end, it will be positioned at
an orbital slot of 140 degrees East longitude, where it will provide
high-quality digital voice and data communications in the L, Ku, and
Ka bands.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) will use MTSAT-IR to
deliver observed data to a processing station and provide cloud
imagery and continuous weather data from around the region, such as
cloud and vapor distributions, cloud-motion wind vector, sea surface
temperature, and information on typhoon, low pressure, and frontal
activity. MTSAT-IR, which will be the successor to the GMS 1-5
satellite series, will also collect data from data collection
platforms.
MTSAT-1R will be a version of SS/L’s three-axis, body-stabilized
1300 bus. The 1300’s modular design is flight-proven and has an
excellent record of reliable operation. SS/L’s 1300 buses are designed
to achieve highly reliable and long useful orbital life – through use
of a bipropellant propulsion system and a momentum-bias system for
excellent station-keeping and orbital stability. Solar arrays and
nickel-hydrogen batteries provide uninterrupted electrical power. In
all, SS/L satellites have amassed a total of more than 700 years of
successful operation orbit.
MTSAT-1R will use many of the state-of-the-art technologies
developed for the current five-satellite U.S. Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellite program, called GOES I-M, for
which SS/L is the prime contractor. The new spacecraft will provide 10
years of service in its aeronautical mission and five years in its
meteorological mission.
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is a premier designer, manufacturer,
and integrator of powerful geostationary (GEO) satellites and
satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of related services,
including mission control operations and procurement of launch
services. Based in Palo Alto, California, SS/L has an international
list of commercial and governmental customers whose applications
include broadband digital communications, wireless telephony,
direct-to-home broadcast, video broadcasting, environmental
monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L is ISO 9001 certified. For
more information, visit www.ssloral.com
Loral Space & Communications is a high technology company that
concentrates primarily on satellite manufacturing and satellite-based
services, including broadcast transponder leasing and value-added
services, domestic and international corporate data networks, global
wireless telephony, broadband data transmission and content services,
Internet services, and international direct-to-home satellite
services. For more information, visit www.loral.com.
