Boeing taps GE Aviation to provide Inertial Navigation Technology for its next-gen satcom system

GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, recently won a contract with Boeing to install inertial reference units for its wideband phased array satellite communications systems designed for airborne mobile communications.

The state-of-the-art units will provide the technology to deliver orientation and position using data from Global Positioning System (GPS) for next-generation satellite communications systems. The system can be used for surveillance, target acquisition and satellite antenna pointing purposes in land vehicles and airborne and seaborne applications. The reference units combine GPS and inertial data to deliver high-accuracy continuous location, heading, pitch and roll data in moving and stationary vehicles.

“Tactical inertial navigation is an area of expertise for our team,” GE Aviation VP and General Manager of Avionics George Kiefer said in a statement. “The inertial reference unit delivers continuous navigation data required for next-generation satellite communication systems in stationary and moving vehicles and aircraft.”

The cutting-edge Ka-band phased array satcom antenna system of Boeing enables customers to enjoy and take advantage of the significant increase in bandwidth provided by next-generation Ka-band satellites to deliver data between aircraft in-flight and the ground network. Boeing developed these communications antenna technologies to enhance platform capabilities to remain connected even when mobile.

US Air Force satellite successfully launched

The United Launch Alliance or ULA - a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin - successfully launched the US Air Force’s X-37B, an Orbital Test Vehicle or OTV developed by Boeing. The unmanned spacecraft is a reusable vehicle which is launched into space via a rocket, but reenters earth as a spaceplane. ULA said the launch took place at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station via the Atlas 5 rocket.

Reports indicate the Air Force’s shuttle is classified and thus, the organization has not released much information about the launch’s mission. After the launch, a news and media blackout immediately followed.

Experts say the X-37B might be carrying specialized sensors that are being tested for possible use in future satellites. The space vehicle is about one fourth the size of NASA’s Space Shuttle, and are the first vehicle since the end of the shuttle program, to be runway-landing.

 

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Boeing to build SES’ 11th spacecraft

American aerospace and defense giant Boeing has just snagged a contract to build SES 11th spacecraft, the SES 9 - a 702HP satellite to boost the Luxembourg-based satellite company’s transmission capacity in Indonesia, South Asia, and the rest of Northeast Asia.

 

Demand for satellite bandwidth capacity has been surging in Asia, and SES CEO, Romain Bausch, was happy to announce the agreement in Boeing as not only the latest effort to solidify business relationships but also improve the company’s global satellite fleet. SES currently has 52 geostationary satellite.

 

According to Craig Cooning of Boeing, the SES 9 will be outfitted with a xenon ion propulsion system, as well as a chemical bi-propellant system that remarkably reduces the launch weight of the vessel. The technology also allows the SES 9 to maximize payload capacity.

 

Aside from cutting-edge materials to be used in the satellite’s construction, the bird will also be equipped with 57 high-power ku band transponders to support the growing demand for bandwidth in target regions. The rise of mobile applications have also pushed demand for segment capacity in order to meet the growing needs in maritime communications, VSAT technology, broadcasting, telecom, mobile and fixed networks, as well as internet on satellite.

 

Based on the CASBAA forum, Asia is now the leading region in the satellite industry, providing operators and companies offering fringe technologies, new, diverse thriving markets.

 

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