Universal Space Network, Inc. (USN) announced today that it has been selected by Sirius Satellite Radio, the satellite radio broadcaster, to provide orbital telemetry and tracking services for Sirius’ three-satellite constellation. Sirius will begin broadcasting its 100-channel audio entertainment service at the end of this year.
"We are pleased Sirius has selected USN to provide telemetry services for this extraordinary and exciting new program," said Tom Ingersoll, USN president and CEO. "USN will provide S-band services for the Sirius satellite constellation from our ground stations in Alaska and Hawaii, and our partner station at the University of Chile in Santiago," Ingersoll said. USN will also provide and manage the communications channels necessary to take "downlinked" satellite telemetry data received at USN’s ground stations and reliably deliver it directly to the New York City-based Sirius Satellite Control Center.
Robert D. Briskman, Sirius co-founder and executive vice president, engineering, said, "USN brings an important element to Sirius’ ground segment operations by supplying S-band telemetry services."
With the addition of Sirius (www.siriusradio.com), USN has been awarded contracts to support 12 diverse space missions. Its customers include NASA, the Department of Defense, and several leading commercial space enterprises.
Founded by the aerospace pioneer and astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., Universal Space Network, Inc. (www.uspacenetwork.com) has built a multi-user, commercial satellite tracking ground station network. The mission of USN is to provide cost-effective satellite management and data services. USN provides its services to earth-orbiting assets, including scientific research, Earth study and global communications spacecraft. USN currently owns and operates three ground tracking stations in Hawaii, Alaska, and Perth, Australia, and provides four additional stations through collaborative partners in Maryland, Sweden, Chile and South Africa.
