August 21, 2009
NEWTOWN, Pa. - The JCSAT-12 communications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) for SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (SKY Perfect JSAT) of Japan, was successfully launched today from Kourou, French Guiana. Lift-off occurred at 6:09 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) aboard an Ariane 5-ECA launch vehicle provided by Arianespace of Evry, France. Initial contact with the satellite was confirmed at 7:17 p.m. EDT from Lockheed Martin's satellite tracking station in Uralla, Australia.
JCSAT-12 is a high-power hybrid satellite consisting of 30 active Ku-band transponders and 12 active C-band transponders that will provide broadcast and broadband services to Japan, Oceania, the Asia-Pacific region and Hawaii. JCSAT-12 is designed for a minimum service life of 15 years and will serve as a back up satellite for other SKY Perfect satellites following in-orbit check of all systems. The spacecraft was delivered to the launch site in Kourou 22 1/2 months after the contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin.
JCSAT-12 marks the 38th Lockheed Martin-built A2100 spacecraft and the fifth delivered to SKY Perfect JSAT. Lockheed Martin delivered JCSAT-9 through JCSAT-11 and N-SAT-110. The company is currently manufacturing JCSAT-110R, which is scheduled to launch in 2011, and JCSAT-13, which is planned for delivery in 2011 with a launch date to be announced at a later time.
"The Lockheed Martin team's ability to maintain program schedule throughout all phases of design, engineering and test was instrumental in our being able to deliver JCSAT-12 to the launch site in less than 23 months," said Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems General Manager Marshall Byrd. "We're extremely pleased that our trusted partner, SKY Perfect JSAT, will be able to fulfill their business plan requirements and efficiently implement additional backup satellite service for their customers."
The Lockheed Martin A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft series is designed to meet a wide variety of telecommunications needs including Ka-band broadband and broadcast services, fixed satellite services in C-band and Ku-band, high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku-band frequency spectrum and mobile satellite services using UHF, L-band, and S-band payloads. The A2100's modular design features a reduction in parts, simplified construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and cost.
The A2100 spacecraft's design accommodates a large range of communication payloads. This design modularity enables the A2100 spacecraft to be configured for missions other than communication. The A2100 design has been adapted for geostationary earth orbit (GEO)-based earth observing missions and is the baselined platform for Lockheed Martin's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series-R (GOES-R) program. In addition, the A2100 serves as the platform for critical government communications programs, including the Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Mobile User Objective System satellites. The A2100 also serves as the spacecraft platform for Lockheed Martin's GPS III program.
About SKY Perfect JSAT
SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation is a leader in the converging fields of broadcasting and communications. It is Asia's largest satellite operator with a fleet of 12 satellites, and Japan's only provider of both multi-channel pay TV broadcasting and satellite communications services. With 3.7 million subscribers, SKY Perfect JSAT delivers a broad range of entertainment through its SKY PerfecTV!, SKY PerfecTV! e2 and SKY PerfecTV! HIKARI platforms, the most extensive in Japan. In addition, through satellite communications service coverage that extends across Japan and the rest of Asia, Oceania, Hawaii and North America, the Company supports safety, security and convenience for society.
About Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems is a unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; ballistic missiles; missile defense systems; and nanotechnology research and development.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
Technorati Tags:
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Space systems
No comments:
Post a Comment