Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (Nasdaq:LORL), announced the satellite the Company built for Intelsat is performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan. The satellite deployed its solar arrays as planned early this morning, following its successful launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Tomorrow (November 24), the satellite is scheduled to begin firing its main thruster in order to start maneuvering into geosynchronous orbit.
Also announcing the launch success is United Launch Alliance — the Company has now deployed its fourth commercial mission of 2009 as an Atlas V rocket successfully launched the Intelsat 14 (IS-14) commercial telecommunications satellite at 1:55 a.m. EST, November 13th. Blasting off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the launch was provided on behalf of Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services, which procured the Atlas V for this mission. Previous ULA commercial launches this year included the Delta IV GOES-O launch for NASA/NOAA on June 27, the Atlas V PAN mission on September 8th, and the Delta II WorldView-2 mission October 8th.
IS-14, to be located at 315 degrees East, will provide high-powered communication services through its C- and Ku-band, serving Intelsat network and government customers throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. IS-14 will replace Intelsat’s IS-1R satellite, once it enters service. The spacecraft also carries a hosted payload for the Internet Router in Space, or IRIS program, for CISCO, which expands on SS/L’s experience integrating hosted payloads on commercial satellites. The payload, on the Intelsat 14 satellite, is a demonstration of Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) for the U.S. military, which is expected to open up a number of commercial and military opportunities to improve communications connectivity around the globe.
Intelsat 14 is based on the Space Systems/Loral 1300 space-proven platform, which provides the power and flexibility to support a broad range of applications and is an ideal platform for hosted payloads and multi-mission satellites. With the launch of Intelsat 14, there are now 60 Space Systems/Loral satellites currently on orbit.
“IS-14 kicks off our 11-satellite investment campaign, the largest in our company’s history. This satellite provides capacity for our growing network services and government customers,” said Dave McGlade, the CEO of satellite owner Intelsat. “Our customers use our infrastructure as an essential component to deliver in-demand services that include cellular backhaul to enable wireless communications in remote regions, broadband networks for enterprise and oil and gas applications, and IP trunking services for Internet connectivity.”
The spacecraft also carries a hosted payload for the Internet Router in Space, or IRIS program, for Cisco. “We believe IRIS will extend broadband services on demand in the sky. The Cisco IRIS payload will merge communications received on various frequency bands and transmit them to multiple users,” said Steve Boutelle, Vice President, Cisco Global Government Solutions Group. “Once in service, the IRIS payload will support network services for voice, video and data communications, enabling U.S. military units and allied forces to communicate with one another using Internet Protocol (IP) and existing ground equipment.”
The Department of Defense Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) of IRIS will be managed by Cisco and Intelsat General Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intelsat. The Cisco IRIS payload will convert to commercial use following the three-month technology demonstration, set to begin in January 2010. The IRIS team expects to show that the payload will directly route an incoming signal on one of the satellite’s C- or Ku-band transponders to a number of ground receivers in either band while avoiding the time delay and cost of double-hopping the traffic through multiple teleports.
“We expect IRIS to connect the Internet with satellites in space for the warfighters who need seamless communication between ground-based networks and satellites used for communications,” said Kay Sears, president of Intelsat General. “Once the capabilities of IRIS are demonstrated, there could be a great deal of interest in this technology from a wide range of end users, both inside and outside of government.”
Cisco used the commercial Cisco IOS® Software for the on-board router, which is not unlike the routers used in Earth-based computer networks; however, it required radiation shielding for the harsh environment of space.
Another company contributing to the success of this launch comes from Switzerland which marks the launch of the very first Atlas V-400 rocket to feature an Interstage Adapter built by RUAG Space. This carbon fiber structure was built in Zurich and forms the link between the booster stage and the upper stage of the Atlas rocket.
In the future, RUAG Space will be sending an average of around three Interstage Adapters a year from Zurich to the USA. The company has meanwhile been furnishing the larger version of the Atlas rocket – Atlas V-500 – with payload fairings ever since 2003. Atlas rockets are constructed by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between the U.S. companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The ISA-400 Interstage Adapter is a nearly cylindrical structure with a diameter between 3.80 m at the bottom and 3.00 m at the top and a height of 4.20 m, which surrounds the engine of the Centaur upper stage during the first flight phase. Four minutes after launch, the upper stage separates from the Interstage Adapter and the remainder of the rocket and continues its flight with the payload to be placed in space.
The structure of the Interstage Adapter comprises an aluminium honeycomb core with carbon fiber face sheets, a design that allows the weight of the entire Interstage Adapter to be kept to around 730 kg while still enabling it to withstand the enormous loads encountered during launch. An insulation of cork is used to protect the interior of the adapter from the high temperatures produced by atmospheric friction during flight, a phenomenon that is capable of heating sections of the rocket’s exterior to several hundred degrees Celsius.
