Technical Gliches Keep Coast Guard Satellite Grounded

HOMELAND SECURITY

Technical Gliches Keep Coast Guard Satellite Grounded

6/1/2008
By Stew Magnuson and Breanne Wagner

An experimental Coast Guard surveillance payload that was scheduled for launch aboard a commercial satellite at the end of 2007 has been delayed twice because of several technical problems, the Coast Guard said.

The demonstration payload, which was built and scheduled to be launched aboard a Cosmos rocket by ORBCOMM Inc. of Fort Lee, N.J., was designed to collect ship data from space and transmit them to ground stations.

But two significant technical issues delayed the launch to April of this year and most recently to mid-August, said Cmdr. Keith Ingalsbe, project manager for the Coast Guard’s nationwide automatic identification system, or NAIS, which was created to improve the ability to track maritime traffic. The service’s surveillance payload is outfitted with a receiver that was intended to collect data for NAIS.

The first delay was a result of concerns about the satellite’s solar panel arrays that are used to provide power, Ingalsbe said in an interview. The problem was compounded by transporting the spacecraft back and forth between Germany, where it was undergoing manufacturing and testing, and Russia, where the satellite was set for launch. Strict import and export requirements caused further delays, he said.

The launch date was pushed back a second time because of troubles with electromagnetic interference. During tests, engineers found that the satellite’s reaction wheel, which is used to point the spacecraft in a specific direction, was emitting an unusually loud noise that was interfering with the Coast Guard’s receiver signal. The noise exceeded ORBCOMM’s acceptable threshold and had to be fixed, Ingalsbe said.

The good news, he said, is that the company completed final tests in late April. “The problems that were identified have been addressed.”

In light of all the technical issues, the Coast Guard rescheduled the launch for Aug. 15. But “ORBCOMM has plans to launch a month or two before that date,” Ingalsbe said. The company is under contract to deliver receiver data to the Coast Guard by Aug. 30, he said, so it wants ample time to collect information.

Topics: Space, Homeland Security

Comments (0)

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Please enter the text displayed in the image.

Characters *

Legal Notice *

NDIA is not responsible for screening, policing, editing, or monitoring your or another user's postings and encourages all of its users to use reasonable discretion and caution in evaluating or reviewing any posting. Moreover, and except as provided below with respect to NDIA's right and ability to delete or remove a posting (or any part thereof), NDIA does not endorse, oppose, or edit any opinion or information provided by you or another user and does not make any representation with respect to, nor does it endorse the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other material displayed, uploaded, or distributed by you or any other user. Nevertheless, NDIA reserves the right to delete or take other action with respect to postings (or parts thereof) that NDIA believes in good faith violate this Legal Notice and/or are potentially harmful or unlawful. If you violate this Legal Notice, NDIA may, in its sole discretion, delete the unacceptable content from your posting, remove or delete the posting in its entirety, issue you a warning, and/or terminate your use of the NDIA site. Moreover, it is a policy of NDIA to take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable intellectual property laws. If you become aware of postings that violate these rules regarding acceptable behavior or content, you may contact NDIA at 703.522.1820.

I have read the legal notice.

Find an Article VIEW ALL ARTICLES