EchoStar Satellite Services [Nasdaq: SATS], announced today the launch of its Spacecraft Command and Control Services for the commercial satellite industry around the globe. EchoStar made the announcement in advance of this week’s Satellite 2009 Conference in Washington, D.C.
EchoStar can deliver telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) services for satellites as well as provide transfer orbit services (TOS) for spacecraft following launch. With more than eight years of experience performing TT&C operations on its own satellites, EchoStar can provide security and reliability through built-in redundancies and back up capabilities from locations in the U.S. or around the globe.
EchoStar offers the following TT&C services:
- Station-keeping operations, including maneuver planning and orbit determination.
- Spacecraft health monitoring, including real-time telemetry monitoring and alarm response, anomaly investigation and quarterly health reports.
- Bus and payload operations engineering.
- Two fully redundant Spacecraft Operation Centers in Wyoming and Arizona staffed 24 hours per day.
- Transfer orbit services providing precision tracking capability from two Ku-band, 13-meter, full-motion antennas.
EchoStar is an experienced commercial satellite operator exclusively using the widely adopted EPOCH Integrated Product Suite TT&C software tools from Integral Systems Inc.
“EchoStar has been flying spacecraft since 2001 and has recently increased its control to 11 spacecraft,” said Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services. “By using a single type of spacecraft control software that can be applied to a wide of variety of satellites, EchoStar can deliver reliable, flexible and customizable TT&C services for all types of commercial space operators.”
EchoStar also has extensive knowledge and skill providing TT&C services on satellites in geostationary and inclined orbits utilizing both local and remote antenna resources.
“We are experienced in all aspects of supporting the deployment of both satellites and associated ground systems,” said David Bair, senior vice president of Spacecraft Programs and Operations at EchoStar. “Our experience includes numerous spacecraft design reviews, system validation tests at manufacturer facilities, TOS and in-orbit tests (IOTs). It is significant to note that our spacecraft operations centers were planned, outfitted, integrated and tested by our own staff.”
(Image: EchoStar’s Spacecraft Operations Center (SOC), located at the Company’s Gilbert, Arizona uplink facility. This facility is used to provide TT&C services for spacecraft.)
