Orbital Sciences has been awarded five spacecraft definition and design studies for NASA's Rapid Spacecraft Development Office (RSDO). Four of them may lead to satellite development and production programmes.
The 45 to 100-day studies are valued at between $50,000 and $150,000 each.
The win follows OSC's award earlier this year of a five-year contract from the RSDO for the design, production and testing of small and medium class satellites to be used as platforms for space science, Earth science and technology payloads.
OSC is developing six different spacecraft platforms for low Earth to geostationary orbit work, as part of a programme intended to reduce the time required to procure satellites (Flight International, 11-17 January).
The first five potential study missions for OSC are the Magnetospheric MultiScale mission, involving five identical spacecraft to be launched on a Delta II in late 2005; a spacecraft accommodation study for the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope; a preparatory "bridge" mission for the NASA/US Department of Commerce/Department of Defense next-generation environmental Earth observation satellites; an internet protocol-based satellite accommodation study and a two-mission Lightweight Rainfall Radiometer satellite.
Orbital Sciences and Canada's Teleglobe joint venture Orbcomm is cutting its workforce by a further 100 personnel to 300. The move follows a similar cutback in June.Orbcomm operates a fleet of small satellites providing data messaging services.
It is suffering from slow subscriber growth, while Teleglobe is reluctant to invest further in the project.
Orbcomm says it is changing its business plan to focus on top level customers. It believes it can still maintain and operate the satellite constellation.
Source: Flight International
