Improved Reliability of Satellites and Launchers Critical [LOR references]
satellitetoday.com
Monday, Feb 8
by Paul Dykewicz
The high-profile failure of the PanAmSat Corp. [SPOT] Galaxy IV
satellite, the loss of 14 birds in three launch disasters and an assortment of
other satellite anomalies last year highlight the critical need for increased
reliability of spacecraft and launch vehicles, a panel of the world's top
satellite executives said at the opening session of the SATELLITE 99
conference yesterday (2/3).
A reduction in the number of satellite and launch failures is essential for the
industry's continued growth and its ability to retain the confidence of
service users, who could easily turn to another technology, said Greg
Clark, president and CEO of Loral Space and Communications
[LOR]. The industry also is expected to consolidate as more alliances are
struck in an attempt to bulk up for an array of broadband, multimedia
services. Few global satellite systems will remain as independent service
operators, the panelists agreed.
"A single in-orbit or launch failure can be an enormous setback to the
company that suffers it and affects the entire industry," Clark said. "Failures
of this kind must be reduced. Satellite manufacturing companies must build
quality in all aspects. The industry must hold subcontractors responsible for
the reliability of their products."
The need to build reliable systems is more important to the satellite industry
than competing fiber optic service providers because fiber can be pulled up
and replaced to correct a problem. The same fix is not possible with
satellites that orbit the Earth, Clark said.
"We put a satellite on a shaky rocket and fire it up into space," Clark said.
Satellite manufacturers need to plead with launch service providers to
boost their success rates and reduce launch delays, he argued.
John Connelly, chairman and CEO of GE American Communications
[GE] (GE Americom), said the "significant" reliability problems
encountered last year must be remedied. He recommended that companies
adopt a number of changes to accomplish this goal.
"It really is back to the basics," Connelly said. He recommended:
Operators relay satellite performance information to the
manufacturers;
Manufacturers ensure that their engineers receive the information on
flight performance;
Aggressive monitoring of satellite and launch vehicle manufacturers;
A renewed emphasis on the importance of ensuring the quality of
every part of a spacecraft or launch vehicle;
Testing of absolutely everything - testing what is flown; flying what is
tested; and
Slip the launch schedule when needed to ensure a spacecraft will
perform reliably when launched.
Fred Landman, PanAmSat's president and chief executive officer,
presented the several thousand attendees at SATELLITE 99 with a tape of
the unflattering television coverage that his company received when its
Galaxy IV satellite malfunctioned last year and knocked out 90 percent of
the pagers in the United States for at least a day. The videotape was
intended to poke fun at the company's travails with the failed satellite, but
also served as a reminder that such mishaps undermine the public trust in
satellite technology and must be avoided in the future.
"We can't as an industry keep attracting those kinds of headlines,"
Landman said. "Satellite manufacturers and launch services operators are
really on the line to perform and to perform well."
Conny Kullman, director general of Intelsat, said the need to emphasize
quality is vital, especially with the organization's plan to expand its delivery
of Ka-band services for broadband applications to supplement its existing
C-band and Ku-band services.
Intelsat also is moving ahead with its attempts to restructure itself from an
intergovernmental treaty organization into a streamlined, private company
to compete with others in the industry on an equal footing, Kullman said. A
key to Intelsat's growth will be Internet-related services, he added.
"Fifty percent of Intelsat's new business last year came from Internet
applications," Kullman said.
To further capitalize on that trend, Intelsat will introduce and grow its
interactive and multimedia services, expand its multimedia
store-and-forward business and develop a future generation of satellites to
offer broadband/multimedia applications.
Volker Stenier, director of commercial affairs and multimedia at Eutelsat,
said his organization that is owned by 47 member nations will follow the
trend toward privatization and deepen its involvement with partners around
the world to step out beyond its traditional regional focus. One example is
Eutelsat's new partnership with Canada's Teleglobe that gives it access to
the North American market.
"Our European customers will have to be able to provide services in North
America," Steinier said. Eutelsat also intends to use its access to
Teleglobe's Canadian teleport to provide one-stop service for North
American content providers that serve Europe.
Eutelsat already has the largest satellite fleet, the greatest range of services
and the biggest coverage area of any operator in Europe, Stenier said. Not
satisfied with the status quo, Eutelsat will privatize as a French company to
enhance its commercial flexibility and best exploit its assets, he added. The
company also will be among those looking to offer expanded multimedia,
digital television and Internet services.
Romain Bausch, director general of Societe Europeenne des Satellites
(SES Astra), said he expects mergers and acquisitions at all levels of the
industry. With such consolidation, competition and the pressure to enhance
profitability will rise, he added.
SES Astra also is preparing to become a major player in the broadband
communications arena, Bausch said. His company recently took the bold
move of buying a major stake in AsiaSat. SES Astra now is looking to
partner with independent regional operators in other parts of the world to
expand its reach beyond its current coverage area that spans 74 percent of
the world's markets, he added. "Regional satellite operators have no
future," he said.
Industry-wide, important milestones will be achieved this year that include
the commercial development of narrowband low-Earth-orbit satellite
systems, demonstrating the technical availability of Ka-band as a return
channel for broadband, two-way communications and the continued
consolidation and globalization of satellite service providers, Bausch said.
Paul Dykewicz is senior analyst of Satellite News.
SATELLITE 99 Show Coverage
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