Lockheed Martin Successfully Integrates First Modernized A2100 Satellite Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1 Communication



- A team of engineers and technicians at Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has completed the integration of the company's first modernized A2100 satellite. The spacecraft, known as Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1, now moves into final assembly and testing, on track for launch in the second quarter of 2018.
Built for Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, the satellite will provide advanced telecommunications capabilities, including television, internet, telephone and secure mode communications, to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
"We've modeled this activity in our virtual reality lab hundreds of times, but this is the first time we've performed the integration activity of our modernized A2100 satellite in a clean room," said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "Mating the scalable modules together in a precise method was a critical step for the program, and the team did an exceptional job."
This milestone on a modernized A2100 satellite sees the hybrid propulsion integrated with the payload module and transponder panels. Using a combination of electrical Hall current thrusters and liquid apogee engine, the propulsion subsystem serves as the structural backbone of the satellite and is essential for maneuvering it into its final orbit as well as keeping it on station throughout its mission. 
The modernized A2100 builds on a flight-proven bus that is the foundation for more than 40 satellites in orbit today. Through an internally-funded, multi-year modernization effort, Lockheed Martin has enhanced the spacecraft's power, propulsion and electronics, while also adopting the latest advanced engineering and manufacturing techniques to decrease production costs and timelines. There are five modernized A2100 satellites currently under contract to Lockheed Martin. They are designed for a host of missions and customers around the globe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Qatar airways Expands its patnership with UnionPay International

Image
Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that it is extending its partnership with international bank card network UnionPay to an additional 31 countries and regions, providing a convenient payment option for even more Qatar Airways passengers around the world when booking tickets on the airline’s website. Customers in countries including Qatar, Kuwait, India, Oman, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil and South Africa, among others, will be able to take advantage of UnionPay’s secure payment option when booking tickets on the airline’s website to more than 150 destinations on Qatar Airways’ extensive global network. The expansion of the agreement was signed on 28February 2018 at a special ceremony held at the UnionPay head office in Shanghai, represented by Mr. Marwan Koleilat, Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Asia Pacific; and Mr. Larry Wang, UnionPay International Vice President. Under the expanded agreement, Qatar Airways and UnionPay will embark upon greater collaboration for various sal
Read more

Japan Coast Guard Bolsters Fleet with additional H225 order.

Image
Airbus Helicopters has secured an additional order of one H225 helicopter from the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), bringing JCG’s H225 fleet to ten units. JCG currently operates three AS332s and five H225s, both from the Super Puma family. With this new order, the customer’s Super Puma fleet will grow to 13 units by March 2021, becoming the largest Super Puma operator in Japan. The new H225 will join the rest of the fleet in security enforcement, territorial coastal activities, as well as disaster relief missions in Japan. “We are honoured by the renewed H225 order from our customer of over 25 years, as it bears testament to the quality of our long-standing partnership and our customer’s full trust in Airbus’ products and support. We are also delighted to see how our Super Puma helicopters continue to perform excellently in all the missions. With its inherent versatility and reliability, we know the H225 will continue to be a capable workhorse for the JCG’s missions. The Airbus Helicopters
Read more

Boeing Sending Last Shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson Back to Space

Image
Chris Ferguson, who led the final space shuttle mission, will make his fourth spaceflight when he and NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Nicole Mann take the new Boeing [NYSE: BA] CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft to the International Space Station. The three pioneers will help restore American access to space from U.S. soil, a capability that ended when the shuttle was retired seven years ago. Mann will also make history as the first female astronaut on the inaugural crewed flight of a new U.S. spacecraft. “We’re immensely proud of Chris and thrilled he will be part of first Starliner crew,” Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said. “We congratulate all the astronauts chosen to fly to the space station on commercially developed systems. We’re taking important steps for this nation and toward development of a thriving commercial space ecosystem.” Ferguson has been an integral part of the Starliner program since retiring from NASA and
Read more