February 18, 2024 | International, Land
September 11, 2018 | International, C4ISR
SES wants fleet of identical, interchangeable satellites
by Debra Werner
PARIS — Fleet operator SES plans to revolutionize satellite purchasing and operations.
Instead of buying individual satellites tailored for a specific job at a precise orbital location as it has for decades, the Luxembourg-based company is seeking homogenous satellites with digitally processed payloads it can reconfigure to perform any job in geostationary or medium Earth orbit.
“We will only buy one type of satellite going forward,” Steve Collar, SES president and chief executive, told reporters Sept. 10 at the World Satellite Business Week conference here. “Exactly the same spacecraft can be operated at 19.2 degrees, 23.5 degrees, 108 degrees East, it doesn't matter. We can put them wherever we want.”
If the SES board of directors approves the plan, SES will solicit proposals by the end of the month and begin purchasing in early 2019 the new 2.5 to 2.9-ton spacecraft offering approximately 12.5 kilowatts of power, said Martin Halliwell, SES chief technology officer, who leads the initiative.
Prior to announcing its plan, SES worked with 11 potential satellite vendors and selected three for continued cooperation. Company executives declined to name the vendors.
SES is embarking on this campaign because it expects satellites to be an integral part of evolving global communications networks. To perform that role, however, the industry will need to expand satellite production dramatically, Collar said.
“If we get the savings we think we will, we will be able to significantly scale our network without spending more or more modestly scale our network and spend less,” Collar said. “We haven't yet decided where that comes out.”
To further improve economies of scale, SES is encouraging manufacturers to share the new spacecraft design with other customers. “Let's make the party as big as possible,” Halliwell said. Collar added, “We think it will improve the economics of the whole industry.”
SES plans to stack three of its future satellites, which don't yet have a brand name, on rockets. The rockets could then drop them off in medium Earth or geostationary transfer orbit, as needed, Halliwell said.
SES operates 56 satellites in geostationary orbit and 16 O3B satellites in medium Earth orbit. The firm plans to launch four more O3B satellites in 2019. SES also is investing more than 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) in O3B mPower, a seven-satellite constellation built by Boeing for internet and data connectivity that is slated to begin launching in 2021.
SES's plans to fly the new reprogrammable satellites comes after mPower, Collar said.
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March 15, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Security
UAE and Israeli firms to collaborate on counter-drone system
The bilateral cooperation comes in the wake of the Abraham Accords signed Sept. 15 between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, highlighting a new era of diplomatic relations and potential defense agreements between the two countries.
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May 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace
US Air Force launches contest to replace the B-52 bomber’s engine
By: Valerie Insinna   15 hours ago WASHINGTON — General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and Pratt & Whitney will compete for the chance to outfit the U.S. Air Force's B-52 bomber fleet with new engines, with a contract award projected for June 2021. The Air Force released a request for proposals for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program to the three companies on May 19. The engine makers are already under contract to create digital prototypes, and they have until July 22 to submit final proposals, the solicitation stated. The Air Force operates 76 B-52s, each outfitted with eight TF33 engines. The service plans to order 608 new engines, plus spares and support, from the winner of the competition. The public version of the RFP obscures the estimated value of the program, which is projected to extend from 2021 to 2035. Pratt & Whitney, which manufactured the TF33 currently onboard the B-52, has stated it will propose the PW800. “Its industry-leading reliability, robust sustainment infrastructure, and significant fuel efficiency savings will greatly improve the legendary bomber and keep it flying for decades to come,” said Chris Johnson, Pratt & Whitney's executive director for mobility and diverse engine programs. "Our unique experience with the B-52, coupled with our expertise integrating commercial engines onto military applications, will deliver a low-risk, high-performance engine to power the Stratofortress fleet through 2050.” GE Aviation will put forward the CF34-10 and Passport engines, spokesman David Wilson said. “GE is the only company to have been involved in re-engining U.S. Air Force aircraft three times over,” he said. “Add in our deep experience powering six strategic bombers, entrenched support of air combat and the reverence we have for the role we play in protecting this country, and GE is the clear partner to ensure the B-52 is ready at all times for mission critical.” Rolls-Royce intends to offer its F130 engine, the company confirmed. “Rolls-Royce is excited to move to the proposal stage of the campaign and ready to demonstrate that the Rolls-Royce F130 engine is the perfect fit for the B-52,” Craig McVay, senior vice president for Rolls-Royce Defense, said in a statement. “The F130 is a highly reliable and proven engine which is already in commercial production. Our team is focused and energized, and eager to compete for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program and provide the best possible solution for the U.S. Air Force and the key missions of the B-52 weapon system.” The Air Force plans to operate the B-52 into the 2050s and sees new commercial engines as a way to reduce fuel burn and the time it takes to maintain the bomber. Last year, B-52 maintainers at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, told Defense News that modern engines would make it easier for crews to diagnose problems and make needed repairs. “I would like to know if I need to take that aircraft down out of the schedule and give it a new engine ahead of time,” said Lt. Col. Tiffany Arnold, 2nd Maintenance Squadron commander. “We could prioritize, we could understand the patterns of the engines in a way that we could maintain them better. And hopefully the new motor, whoever designs it, will have a shorter mean time between failure, and we can fly them longer.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/05/20/the-air-force-launches-a-contest-to-replace-the-b-52s-engine/