Fri, Nov 12, 2004
Production To Begin Early Next Year
Orbital Recovery Ltd. has completed
its second round financing for the ConeXpress Orbital Life
Extension Vehicle (CX OLEV), marking a major program milestone that
allows production of the first "space tug" to begin in early 2005,
followed by the initial operational mission approximately 36 months
later.
The company is now fully funded with the addition of major European
industrial investors -- the Swedish Space Corporation and SENER of
Spain. These companies join Dutch Space of The Netherlands, which
became the lead investor of the company in April.
Also contributing is the European Space Agency, which has
co-funded the definition phases of the CX OLEV initiative in its
ARTES 4 Public-Private Partnership program.
"We are delighted to welcome the Swedish Space Corporation and
SENER to our consortium, making our company fully funded," said
Orbital Recovery Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Phil Braden. "This
core industrial team brings extensive experience and provides us
access to the very best in European technology and know-how."
"With only days to go until SMART-1 lunar capture, it is an
exciting prospect to be able to bring that experience to bear on an
innovative and challenging European commercial venture," said
Swedish Space Corporation CEO Claes-Göran Borg. "We look
forward to contributing to its success."
"The CX OLEV project is a technological challenge and we are
extremely pleased to participate in it as an industrial
shareholder" said Alvaro Azcárraga, SENER Managing Director
of the Space Department. This concept introduces a revolutionary
new way of doing business for the telecom operators."
"This is one of the rare occasions to unlock a novel commercial
space market niche in a public private partnership approach," said
Ben Spee, Chief Executive Officer of Dutch Space.
The CX OLEV will serve as an orbital "tugboat" - providing the
propulsion, navigation and guidance required to maintain
telecommunications satellites in their proper orbits for years
beyond the normal fuel depletion.
Primary mission of the CX OLEV will
be to prolong the in-service lifetimes of expensive geostationary
orbit telecommunications satellites, which currently are junked
when their on-board fuel supply runs out. The space tug will also
be equipped for other essential services to operators, such as
providing the graveyard burn or effect plane changes for inclined
satellites.
Orbital Recovery Ltd. has identified more than 70
telecommunications satellites in orbit today that are candidates
for life extension using the CX OLEV.
Swedish Space Corporation will develop the spacecraft telemetry,
tracking and command (TT&C) subsystem and contribute to the
on-board data handling design using its experience that includes
the European SMART-1 lunar exploration probe. Additionally, the
ground control station(s) and CX OLEV Mission Operations will be
provided by the Swedish Space Corporation.
SENER will develop the CX OLEV’s attitude and orbit control
subsystem (AOCS), which includes both the rendezvous phase as well
as the orbit and station keeping of the target spacecraft after
docking with the CX OLEV. This company is now responsible for
Planck satellite AOCS, and participates in the design for this
subsystem in Herschel and GALILEO.
Dutch Space is the prime contractor for the CX OLEV’s
spacecraft development and production. In a unique approach to
spacecraft development, the company will build the CX OLEV based on
a payload adapter that is used on every mission of the Ariane 5
launcher. This allows flight-proven hardware to serve as the
structure for the spacecraft, and opens regular launch
opportunities for the space tug on Ariane 5.
Orbital Recovery Ltd. signed a long-term, exclusive launch services
contract in May with Arianespace, covering the initial three
flights of the CX OLEV on Ariane 5. Additional launches will be
ordered in sets of three missions.
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