NASA Gives Aerojet Contract To Develop LOX/Liquid Methane Engine
NASA gave Aerojet, a GenCorp Inc. [NYSE: GY] unit, a contract to develop a 5,500 pounds/feet thrust liquid oxygen-liquid methane engine.
Two NASA programs, the Altair lunar lander program and the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) partnered to create the Propulsion Cryogenic Advanced Development (PCAD) project to support methane technology maturation and advancement.
The NASA PCAD project is managed jointly by Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The engine will provide the Altair lunar lander program with validated methane engine performance and technology risk reduction data prior to the Altair propulsion System Requirements Review (SRR) and Preliminary Design Review (PDR).
The objective of the new contract is to design, fabricate and begin testing an engine by January.
The Exploration Systems Architecture Studies, along with other NASA study activities, identified liquid oxygen-liquid methane propulsion systems as a promising option for future space vehicles.
These systems create the potential for substantial savings in overall systems mass when compared to conventional hypergolic systems.
This award will extend Aerojet LOX/liquid methane development expertise beyond the 100 pounds/feet Reaction Control Engine contract that currently delivers those engines to White Sands Test Facility for altitude testing.
The 100 pounds/feet engine program can operate on those fuels and has demonstrated a very fast pulsing capability in a flight type prototype.
Canada Rebuffs ATK Attempt To Acquire MacDonald Dettwiler Space Business
By Calvin Biesecker
An Alliant Techsystems [ATK] plan to bolster its capabilities and offerings for the space market took a hit this week when Canada rejected the pending $1.3 billion ATK acquisition of the space and related information systems business of the Canadian firm MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates.
In a brief letter to ATK dated April 8, Jim Prentice, Canadian minister of industry, said that “I am not satisfied that your investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.” Prentice said the company has 30 days to respond, although this period could be extended based on negotiations between ATK and the ministry.
At the end of the 30 days, Prentice said he will issue a decision once again if he is satisfied or not as to whether the ATK acquisition is of net benefit to Canada. If Prentice maintains his current stance, it would be the first time Canada has blocked an acquisition by a foreign company.
ATK said yesterday it remains in discussions with the Canadian government. JP Morgan aerospace and defense analyst Joseph Nadol said in a note to clients that “ATK believes that this initial rejection is simply part of the process that involves negotiations and could run several rounds, rather than the alternative characterization that this is a one step up-or-down decision.”
Media reports say ATK officials will visit with Canadian regulators next week to continue discussions about the acquisition.
The proposed acquisition has its share of opponents in Canada, who believe their country would be parting with a national asset. ATK announced its deal for MacDonald in January, saying the acquisition would allow it to become a full spectrum space company.
ATK has maintained all along that Canada would retain control of any sensitive assets, particularly the RADARSAT-2 earth imaging satellite.
Nadol, who doesn’t care for the acquisition due to risks in the space business combined with the added debt ATK would be taking on, said it still may be possible to salvage the deal if ATK is able to convince Canadian regulators that control of key national assets will remain with Canada.
MacDonald’s space business is involved in space robotics, satellite radar manufacturing, satellite to ground data transfer, the world’s largest global network of non- classified, commercial imaging satellite ground stations, and data processing to distribute solutions to a range of commercial, government and military customers.
Canada and many other nations limit the degree to which foreign firms may enter those countries, unlike wide-open U.S. policies.
In the United States, for example, foreign interests at various times have purchased Chrysler Corp., Bankers Trust, 7-11 stores, half ownership of Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, a championship golf course, a major-league sports team, American Oil Co., Arco, and much more, including defense-oriented firms such as Armor Holdings.
But in Canada, the government attempts to protect domestic industries. For example, it is on guard against foreign media dominating the country.
Northrop Signs SEAKR To Supply Satellites Gear For Up To 11 Years
More Northrop Deals With Suppliers May Be Inked This Year
Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] tapped SEAKR Engineering, Inc., of Centennial, Colo., to be an exclusive supplier for some satellite command and data handling equipment.
SEAKR completed the qualification phase of the Transition/Certification/Qualification (TCQ) effort required in the agreement prior to releasing production orders.
This TCQ completion is a key milestone marking the start of a five-year agreement, with two three-year renewal options.
The agreement enables Northrop to offer more competitive cost and schedule satellite solutions to the government, according to Northrop.
“This agreement is part of our strategic thrust to gain competitive advantage through partnerships with small companies,” said Alexis C. Livanos, corporate vice-president and president of Northrop Grumman Space Technology. “Outsourcing in certain business areas is good business practice and permits our company to be more cost competitive. In addition to our agreement with SEAKR, we hope to initiate several other agreements this year.”
SEAKR Engineering, founded in 1983, supplies spacecraft data storage and processing systems. A small business, the company is primarily engaged in developing, making and selling advanced technology solid state data processing and mass storage systems for aerospace, military and rugged applications.
To date, SEAKR delivered more than 100 spacecraft subsystems to NASA, the Department of Defense, and prime contractors.
Orbital Gets Satellite Contract From SES Americom
SES unit SES Americom ordered a satellite from Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB], Orbital announced.
This will be the third satellite in a multi-bird contract that was announced last May.
The first and second satellites ordered were AMC-5R and a ground spare. That ground spare will now become AMC-1R, and a new ground spare will be produced for future use.
Planned for launch in the second half of next year, AMC-1R will go to geosynchronous Earth orbit at 103 degrees West longitude.
With 24 transponders in each frequency band (C and Ku), AMC-1R will initially operate at 101 degrees West, and then move to its permanent home at 103 degrees West.
Orbital will serve as the prime contractor for the new spacecraft, which is based on the most powerful version of the STAR 2 satellite platform.
AMC-1R and the identical ground spare will be hybrid satellites; a portion of each frequency payload will be cross-strapped, allowing signals to be transmitted to the satellite in one frequency and received in the other.
The spacecraft will generate approximately five kilowatts of payload power and will have two deployable reflectors. Delivery of AMC-1R is scheduled for the middle of next year, for launch in the second half by Sea Launch on the Zenit-3SLB vehicle called Land Launch.
Raytheon, Boeing Join To Seek Joint Missile Contract
Raytheon Co. [RTN] and The Boeing Co. [BA] joined forces to seek the Army-Navy Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) contract.
The award by an Army office at Huntsville, Ala., is expected in the July-September quarter.
The JAGM program will produce a single missile solution for rotary and fixed wing platforms. With an expected in-service date of 2016, JAGM replaces the BGM-71 TOW, AGM-114 Hellfire and AGM-65 Maverick missiles.
Raytheon would be the prime contractor on the team’s bid.
The missile is being designed to defeat moving and stationary targets at extended ranges in all types of weather. When available, JAGM will be launched from a variety of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, including the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, AH-64D Apache Longbow, MH-60R Seahawk, AH-1Z Super Cobra, Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAV, Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, and Warrior Unmanned Aircraft System.
ESA Taps Thales Alenia Space For $483.3 Million Satellite
The European Space Agency gave Thales Alenia Space $483.3 million (€305 million) contract to provide the first Sentinel-3 earth observation satellite, the space agency announced today.
The satellite would be devoted to oceanography and land-vegetation monitoring, as part of the European GMES program. As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the satellite’s design, development and integration.
The contract was signed today in Paris by Volker Liebig, ESA Director of Earth Observation, and Pascale Sourisse, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space, in the presence of Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, officials from the European Commission, the French Ministry of Research and Higher Education and Dominique Bussereau, French Secretary of State for Transport at the Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development & Land Management Ministry.
Underlining the value of this mission for Europe, Volker Liebig commented: “This satellite is an important element of GMES and will enable Europe to observe important ocean parameters.”
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) aims at delivering environment and security monitoring services and is being led by the European Commission. It is Europe’s response to the ever-increasing demands of effective environmental policies and is at the same time the European contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).
ESA is responsible for the implementation of the GMES Space Component, a package of earth observation missions involving ESA, EU/ESA Member States and other partners. Central elements of this Space Component are the five families of Sentinel missions.
Sentinel-3 will provide crucial data for information services to the European Union and its Member States as part of GMES. The services to be fed data cover areas such as climate change, sustainable development, environmental policies, European civil protection, development aid, humanitarian aid and the European Common Foreign & Security Policy.
The Sentinel-3 mission will produce a consistent, long-term set of remotely-sensed marine and land data for (operational) ocean state analysis, forecasting and service provision. A comprehensive measurement system facilitating global ocean and land observation is required in order to provide data for advanced numerical forecasting models.
Sentinel-3 will determine parameters such as sea surface topography, sea/land surface temperature, ocean colour and land colour with high-end accuracy and reliability. For this purpose, it carries an advanced radar altimeter and a multi-channel optical imaging instrument.
To achieve near-global coverage and meet all scientific requirements, Sentinel-3 will be placed in a high-inclination, sun-synchronous polar orbit. Near-realtime data processing and delivery will allow operational services to profit continuously from the mission.
ESA carried out the Sentinel-3 definition phase in 2005 and 2006, drawing on an industrial consortium led by Thales Alenia Space. The implementation phase started last fall, and the launch of the first Sentinel-3 satellite is planned for 2012.