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Tracking satellite retired after 22 years of service

NASA decommissioned an aging tracking and data relay satellite this month after it linked ground controllers with space shuttles, the International Space Station and launching rockets for more than 22 years, according to agency officials.



"The TDRS 4 spacecraft had given us a great operational life span like we've been getting out of all the TDRS satellites," said Ted Sobchak, the space network project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

"However, it had passed its life expectancy. It was at over 22 years of service," Sobchak said.

Launched by space shuttle Discovery in March 1989, the tracking satellite most recently served over the Atlantic Ocean, supporting the final shuttle flights and relaying data from rockets blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Built by TRW, now part of Northrop Grumman Corp., TDRS 4 outlived its design life and saw service in four decades. It provided S-band, Ku-band and C-band communications.



"We used TDRS 4 operationally up until the point in time it could no longer support operations," Sobchak said. "We were using that one for shuttle missions through the end of the shuttle program."

TDRS 4's batteries degraded to the point where they could no longer continuously support the network's customers, according to NASA.

"The batteries on-board had insufficient capacity to support the operational needs of the spacecraft, so at that stage, we evaluated the alternatives and found the best alternative to NASA and the government was to decommission and [raise the orbit of] that spacecraft," Sobchak said.

Engineers turned off the satellite Dec. 9 after boosting its orbit above geosynchronous altitude, which is about 22,300 miles from Earth. Satellites in geosynchronous orbits hover over a fixed position on Earth's surface, allowing stable communications with the ground.

"We went through and executed all those procedures according to plan, including burning all the fuel and deactivating the spacecraft," Sobchak said. "It went well."

Many commercial and government satellites occupy the geosynchronous belt over the equator, so NASA raised TDRS 4's altitude out of the congested orbital space to free up room for new spacecraft.

"[TDRS 4] was operationally supporting spacecraft and launches up to the end," Sobchak said.

The TDRS network facilitates voice and data communication with the International Space Station, downlinks imagery from Earth observation satellites and orbiting observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope, and serves the U.S. government's national security satellite fleet.

Stretching almost 60 feet across and covered with seven antennas, TDRS 4 was the second satellite in the constellation to be retired. The TDRS 1 satellite, launched in 1983, was shut down in late 2009 after its communications equipment stopped functioning.

The second TDRS craft was lost in the shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

Sobchak said ground controllers activated the TDRS 3 satellite from storage mode to replace the retired TDRS 4 craft covering the Atlantic Ocean region.

Seven satellites remain operating in the TDRS system, and the first of three replacement spacecraft is due to launch in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Two satellites are covering the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, constantly linking research craft with ground terminals in White Sands, N.M., and Guam.

Before the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, ground controllers could only contact satellites and crewed spacecraft as they passed over a scattered network of ground stations.

The satellite system increased communications coverage of NASA missions from less than 20 percent of each orbit to nearly 100 percent of the time.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/25tdrs4/

PHOTOS: Discovery's mission to deploy TDRS 4
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1112/25tdrs4/photos/

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/contracts/120104-geoeye-wins-russian-contract.html

Tue, 3 January, 2012
GeoEye Wins Russian Property Mapping Contract
By Peter B. de Selding

 PARIS — Earth imagery provider GeoEye on Jan. 4 said it signed a new multimillion-dollar agreement with Russia's ScanEx company to complete a national map of Russian land properties.

 Under the contract, Herndon, Va.-based GeoEye will provide Moscow-based ScanEx with imagery from GeoEye's archive of data taken by the GeoEye-1 high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite. In the second phase in what GeoEye said is a multiyear agreement, GeoEye starting in 2012 will provide ScanEx with new imagery of Russian territory to support the creation of a nationwide map of land properties.

 This is the latest in a series of contracts ScanEx has signed with GeoEye and with Europe's Astrium Services, which operates the Spot 5 medium-resolution satellite and is building two similar follow-on spacecraft, Spot 6 and Spot 7.

 ScanEx's earlier contract with GeoEye, which GeoEye similarly characterized as valued at several million dollars, called for imagery to be provided by GeoEye's older Ikonos satellite.

 ScanEx is under contract to the Russian Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography to provide maps of all Russian property. Olga Gershenzon, ScanEx's founder and vice president, said in a Jan. 4 statement that the company has already mapped 49 million land parcels and placed them in a Web-based system for use by Russian government agencies and the public, with the Web portal attracting 12,000 visits per day.

  "It is important that ScanEx complete this project on deadline," Gershenzon said. "[T]o execute this contract, we are acquiring significant amounts of GeoEye-1 imagery."

[KrMolot]

Космическое агентство NASA представило портал для открытых проектов.[/url] Opennet.ru"]Космическое агентство NASA анонсировало создание нового сайта code.nasa.gov на котором представлена информация о развиваемых в NASA проектах с открытым исходным кодом. В настоящее время на сайте представлено 18 открытых проектов, среди которых реализация эффективных средств сжатия данных, симуляторы процессов, библиотека обработки изображений, системы визуализации и анализа данных, интерактивная 3D-карта мира. Для сотрудников NASA представлена инструкция с описанием особенностей создания открытых проектов и их публикации.

В будущем планируется создание дискуссионной площадки и предоставление средств для участия в проектах сторонних энтузиастов, например, будет предоставлен доступ к системам управления версиями, планирования разработки и отслеживания ошибок. Целью проекта является снижение барьеров для создания открытых проектов внутри агентства, предоставление средств для участия в таких проектов разработчиков со стороны и обеспечение прозрачности и публичной доступности процесса разработки. В конечном счёте планируется сформировать публичную площадку для превращения открытых концепций в практические реализации аппаратных и программных проектов, а также для оказания помощи в переводе существующих проектов на открытую модель разработки.

Источник: Opennet.ru

[Wishbone]

Пентагон планирует закрыть программу Defense Weather Satellite (исп. Northrop Grumman)

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-20/pentagon-said-to-propose-ending-6-8-billion-missile-satellite.html

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon will propose canceling a potential $6.8 billion Army missile program that pits Lockheed Martin Corp. against Raytheon Co., a Northrop Grumman Corp. weather satellite, and an Air Force light-attack aircraft, according to a government official.

 The Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, the Defense Weather Satellite System, and the plane are included on a list of weapons programs that would be terminated under the fiscal 2013 defense budget to be sent to Congress next month, according to the official, who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity before Defense Secretary Leon Panetta releases some budget details on Jan. 26.

 The three programs would be ended along with a 10-year-old initiative costing about $4 billion under which Boeing Co. is upgrading C-130 Hercules transports with modern cockpit electronics.

 The satellite for environmental monitoring is in the initial stages so there's no specific dollar value for savings from calling it off. The Air Force planned to buy two satellites. Northrop Grumman said in May it received authorization and funding to proceed with development for a projected initial launch in 2018. The Pentagon requested $445 million in fiscal 2012.

 The Senate's defense appropriations panel in its fiscal 2012 bill called for terminating the program, citing "a difficult and confusing set of management issues." The final House-Senate negotiated version spared the satellite while cutting funds.

 Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote said the Falls Church, Virginia-based company had no comment "until the Air Force publicly issues a statement on the status of the program."

[Salo]

http://www.itar-tass.com/c19/322558.html

11:20 23/01/2012
Компания "Боинг" построит и запустит для ВВС США 8-й и 9-й спутники серии WGS широкополосной глобальной системы связи "Сатком"

ВАШИНГТОН, 23 января. (АРМС-ТАСС). Компания "Боинг" построит и запустит для ВВС США 8-й и 9-й спутники серии WGS (Wideband Global SATCOM) широкополосной глобальной системы связи "Сатком". Соответствующее решение об этом приняло командование ВВС, одобрив оформленный ранее опцион на постройку 8-го спутника и утвердив план строительства 9-го космического аппарата WGS. Об этом сообщил представитель "Боинга".

Постройка спутников будет осуществлена в рамках контракта стоимостью 673 млн дол и части дополнительных средств, выделенных в рамках контракта стоимостью 1,09 млрд дол, анонсированного ВВС в сентябре 2011 г.

По словам вице-президента и генерального менеджера "Боинг спейс энд интеллидженс системз" Крэга Конинга, принятое ВВС решение о 8-м и 9-м спутниках серии WGS позволит расширить орбитальную группировку этих космических аппаратов и обеспечить устойчивый круглосуточный информационный обмен между командирами боевых подразделений вооруженных сил США, развернутых по всему миру.

Спутники WGS-8 и WGS-9 присоединяться к другим четырем спутникам этой серии в модификации "блок-2". Эти спутники расширят глобальную сеть переключаемой радиочастотной связи, позволяющей передавать видеоданные системы воздушной разведки, наблюдения и сбора данных на скоростях, в три раза превышающих скорости передачи данных, обеспечиваемые спутниками серии WGS в варианте "блок-1".

Постройка спутника WGS-9 финансируется в рамках кооперационного соглашения, достигнутого ВВС США с Канадой, Данией, Нидерландами, Люксембургом и Новой Зеландией. Это соглашение расширяет международную кооперацию по постройке спутников после введения в действие аппарата WGS-6, создание которого также профинансировало в 2008 г. правительство Австралии.

В рамках программы WGS 19 января с.г. с космодрома на мысе Канаверал был успешно запущен четвертый спутник WGS-4, который в этой серии является первым космическим аппаратом в варианте "блок-2".

Все спутники WGS строятся на платформе "Боинга" 702HP, которая оснащена высокоэффективным ксенон-ионным электроракетным двигателем, развертываемыми панелями тепловых радиаторов, усовершенствованными трехпереходными панелями солнечных батарей на арсениде галлия, которые обеспечивают работу высокомощной полезной нагрузки, устанавливаемой на платформе.

[Sharicoff]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/awx/2011/11/04/awx_11_04_2011_p0-390314.xml&headline=USAF%20May%20Cut%20Northrop%20Satellite%20Program&next=10

USAF May Cut Northrop Satellite Program
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Nov 4, 2011

Грохнули таки DWSS: http://www.spacenews.com/military/air-force-draws-final-curtain-dwss.html

[Salo]

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/01/25/ex-isro-chairman-nair-3-others-banned-from-govt-work-for-antrix-devas-deal/#respond

Ex-ISRO Chairman Nair, 3 Others Banned From Gov't Work Over Antrix-Devas Deal
Posted by Doug Messier
on January 25, 2012, at 6:33 am


ISRO's former chairman and three other officials have been disciplined for their roles in the controversial Antrix-Devas Multimedia S-band deal:

 In an unprecedented disciplinary action, four of the biggest names in the space community, including former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair, have been barred from occupying any government position — current or in future — for their role in the Antrix-Devas deal, in which a private company was accused to have been wrongfully allotted S-band frequencies for radio waves.

 A Bhaskarnarayana, former scientific secretary in ISRO; K R Sridharmurthi, former managing director of Antrix which is the marketing arm of ISRO; and K N Shankara, former director in ISRO's satellite centre, are the others who have been penalised, according to an order issued by the Department of Space on January 13, 2012....

 The order, sent to all Secretaries of the Government of India and Chief Secretaries of state governments and Union Territories, says that these "former Officers of the Department of Space shall be excluded from re-employment, committee roles or any other important role under the government".

 Further, the order states that "these former officers shall be divested of any current assignment/consultancy with the government with immediate effect". Ministries and departments concerned have been asked to communicate necessary action taken towards the same to the Department of Space.

Under the controversial deal signed in January 2005, Devas agreed to lease 90 percent of two S-band satellites that would be built by ISRO. S-band frequencies are used to deliver a variety of satellite services to mobile devices.

The deal was approved by the Cabinet, and it attracted little attention until November 2009, when questions were raised within ISRO. A review was begun within weeks of Nair leaving his post as the space agency's chairman on Oct. 31, 2009.

The government subsequently voided the deal, saying the bandwidth was needed for national needs. Officials claimed that ISRO failed to tell Cabinet officials that the two satellites would be 90 percent leased by Devas when it obtained approval to build the spacecraft.

Critics have attacked the agreement as an insider deal awarded without competitive bidding that improperly benefited a commercial company at the expense of the public good. They view it as an example of the rampant favoritism and corruption that infests the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Devas officials have defended the agreement, saying it was done properly. The company is appealing the decision to void it.

The disciplinary actions against Nair and the other former officials followed two reviews conducted last year by outside committees appointed by the prime minister. Nair and other officials targeted in the probe feel they have been mistreated by investigators:

 Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's efforts to get to the bottom of the controversial contract between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd on allocation of S-band spectrum has run into fresh controversy after those reportedly held guilty of wrong-doing by a committee headed by former CVC Pratyush Sinha picked holes in the report and complained the probe was conducted in haste.
The most prominent among them, Gopalan Madhavan Nair, former chairman of Isro, regarded as India's 'Moon-man' said in his letter to the Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth that no-one was given an opportunity to face the committee and present their case...
Technocrats and bureaucrats reportedly named by the Pratyush Sinha Committee, which probed the controversial Antrix-Devas contract on allotment of S-band spectrum, are shocked that basic principles of natural justice were not followed by the high-level team (HLT) during its inquiry.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, they said that the committee reportedly drew up its conclusions on the basis of written replies from them and notes made on files connected with the contract.
Though they made frantic efforts to meet the committee and present facts and figures in person, none got an opportunity to do so.

It is not clear what legal recourse the four former officials have to appeal the decision.

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/spacecom-verge-ordering-large-ka-band-satellite.html

Thu, 26 January, 2012
Spacecom on Verge of Ordering Large Ka-band Satellite
By Peter B. de Selding

 PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Spacecom of Israel, whose planned expansion beyond the Middle East and Europe is starting with the Africa-centered Amos 5 spacecraft that began commercial service on Jan. 25, expects to order a large Amos 6 satellite equipped with Ka-band spot beams in addition to C- and Ku-band transponders within weeks, a Spacecom official said Jan. 25.

 Tel Aviv-based Spacecom has been discussing Amos 6 for nearly two years but did not issue a formal request for proposals to prospective manufacturers until last summer. A request for final bids is being sent out in the coming days, with a decision on the builder to be made before April, Spacecom Marketing Vice President Gil Ilany said in an interview.

 Spacecom operates the Amos 2 and Amos 3 satellites at 4 degrees west. The relatively small spacecraft — the two combined have 48 transponders — were launched in 2003 and 2008, respectively, and are more than 90 percent full.

 Amos 5, built by ISS Reshetnev of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, with a payload provided by Thales Alenia Space of France and Italy, was launched in December as one of two passengers aboard a Russian Proton rocket. The satellite carries a total of 68 transponders in C- and Ku-band, and will open a new orbital slot for Spacecom at 17 degrees east.

 In a Jan. 25 statement on the satellite's start of commercial service, Spacecom Chief Executive David Pollack said Amos 5 ushers Spacecom "into a new era, further turning us into a multi-regional satellite operator."

 Amos 5 completed its in-orbit checkout a week earlier than planned. Ilany said the satellite is operating as designed and will offer substantial revenue growth to Spacecom. Amos 5 was 55 percent filled with customer contracts before launch. Ilany declined to speculate on what the fill rate will be at the end of the year, but said Spacecom views Africa as a market that is still growing rapidly.

 Several satellite operators, notably Intelsat of Washington and Luxembourg and SES of Luxembourg, have said the arrival of massive fiber capacity on the African coastline has cut into some satellite demand, even if the region presents solid growth prospects in the medium term.

 Both companies have said they expect what may be an overcapacity of satellites over Africa to stabilize as demand in Africa's interior grows and absorbs the existing satellite bandwidth now pointed at African markets.

 Ilany said the arrival of cable will have an effect on satellite demand in some regions, but that its broader effect will be to stimulate the appetite of landlocked regions for the same broadband and other telecommunications services now available on the coasts.

 "Take a nation like DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo]," Ilany said. "They have a relatively small coastline where the cable arrives, but it will not be long before residents of the capital and other cities will want what fiber can provide. Satellite is the most efficient way of providing this."

 Spacecom has a full-time staff of 12 salespeople working the African market and expects that prevailing market prices will remain firm, as a whole, in sub-Saharan Africa as growth in cellular backhaul and what he called "DTT backhaul," or satellite carriage of digital terrestrial television to rural regions, more than compensates for a demand dip on the coasts.

 Amos 5 was one of the first non-Russian commercial contracts won by Reshetnev, with a contract price of $157 million including the satellite's construction and launch. At the time it was considered a remarkably good deal for Spacecom.

 The Russian manufacturer was several months late in delivering the satellite, a delay that caused Spacecom to scramble to meet African demand by leasing an aging satellite — AsiaSat 2 — from AsiaSat of Hong Kong in February 2010. Named Amos 5i and placed at 17 degrees east to await Amos 5, the older satellite was running low on fuel and could not last long enough to provide a smooth customer handoff to Amos 5.

 Spacecom said in a Jan. 25 filing with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it has reduced its payments to ISS Reshetnev by $13.5 million to compensate for the satellite's late arrival.

 In a Jan. 23 submission to the stock exchange, Spacecom said an arbitration panel issued a split decision in its disagreement with AsiaSat on compensation for the AsiaSat 2/Amos 5i experience. The panel ruled that Spacecom must pay AsiaSat $10 million, but AsiaSat's demand for a share of the Amos 5 revenue for two years was rejected.

 Spacecom's next launch is the Amos 4 satellite under construction by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), with the payload provided by Thales Alenia Space.

 Amos 4's launch has slipped from 2012 to 2013. Spacecom has signed a launch reservation with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., for a launch aboard a geostationary-optimized Falcon 9 rocket that is still in development. Ilany said Spacecom is reviewing its options for the launch and has not decided on a launch service provider.

 Amos 4 will operate at 65 degrees east and expand Spacecom's operations further eastward.

 Ilany said an Indian beam in Ku-band will offer capacity in the Indian Ocean region, including Pakistan. The beam will be steerable to shift over Southeast Asia depending on how demand develops, he said. A second Ku-band beam will cover 80 percent of the Russian population in addition to Kazakhstan. Amos 4 will carry 24 transponders.

 Amos 6, which may include the financial backing of the U.S. or French export-credit agencies, will be bigger than Amos 2, 3 and 4 combined, carrying a total of around 80 transponders in C-, Ku- and Ka-band.

 Amos 6, whose launch is tentatively scheduled for 2014, will be co-located with Amos 2 and Amos 3 at 4 degrees west, and ultimately will replace Amos 2 upon its retirement in 2017.

 "Within three years we will be a company with five satellites at three orbital slots," Ilany said.

 Spacecom, which reported $77 million in revenue in 2010 and an EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, equivalent to 62 percent of revenue, posted revenue of $62 million for the nine months ending Sept. 30, with an EBITDA of 56.5 percent of revenue, the company said in a Jan. 17 stock market filing.

[Salo]

Wallops Evolving Into Smallsat Launch Center
Jan 26, 2012
 
By Frank Morring, Jr.

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, long a center for sounding rocket science campaigns, is becoming a site for small satellite launches as well, according to NASA's new chief technologist.

Mason Peck, a Cornell professor who assumed a two-year assignment managing NASA's open-ended technology-development effort Jan. 3, toured the venerable launch site on Virginia's eastern shore Jan. 24, and found it a promising spot for smallsat work.

The center is developing its own "six-pack" dispenser that would be able to launch the equivalent of six cubesats on a commercial launch vehicle, says Peck, who has been an advocate of cubesat work for students in his academic role. And Wallops has three launch pads for commercial orbital launches, including a new pad nearing certification to loft Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares commercial cargo launcher.

The first flight-test of Antares will carry a few cubesats supplied by Ames Research Center that are designed to vet the use of smart-phone hardware as low-cost cubesat avionics.

"In this particular case we're not building something radically new at NASA at the component level," Peck said in a telephone press conference. Instead, it's the system that is bringing together these commercial parts, putting them on a commercial launch vehicle. That's very exciting. This is pointing in the direction to a commercial space capability in our country, and I think in the years to come you're going to see this growing more and more."

That first flight of Antares, a liquid-fueled rocket developed under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program to seed private-sector vehicles able to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, will come as soon as the new Antares pad is certified.

"There are a number of items that have to be checked out [including] all of the fluid systems," says Bill Wrobel, director of the NASA flight facility. "Relative to timing, it's hard to say, other than that folks are working night and day to get forward on that. Our hope is they'll turn it over fairly soon."

Wallops has launched more than 14,000 rockets since its first lifted off July 4, 1945. Most of those were suborbital sounding rockets, but in addition to the long-standing launch capabilities, the facility has processing and fabrication capabilities that may be useful as NASA looks for low-cost ways to test nascent technologies in space. Those include the six-pack dispenser, which Peck called a "Pez dispenser for cubesats" that can handle a mix of as many as six cubesats (6U) measuring up to 10 x 20 x 30 cm.

"They are capable of building some small, cubesat-scale satellites," Peck says. "They're even pushing technology boundaries in connection with those things. So in the future if things keep going the way they are, we're going to keep seeing a lot of small satellite work out of Wallops."


Raytheon Concept

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2012/01/26/10.xml&headline=Boeing%20Steps%20Up%20Satellite%20Rates

Boeing Steps Up Satellite Rates

Jan 26, 2012
 
By Michael Mecham

Boeing says the big news in pulse manufacturing is not limited to production ramp-ups in its 737 factories in Washington. It also is making news in manufacturing satellites on an assembly line in El Segundo, Calif.

Boeing Satellite Systems has four identical Global Positioning System IIF satellites pulsing through an assembly line with 13 distinct manufacturing "post" positions as part of a U.S. Air Force contract with a total value of $1.35 billion.

"Similar to an aircraft assembly line, the GPS IIF pulse line efficiently moves a satellite from one designated work area to the next at a fixed rate," GPS Program Director Jan Heide says.

In normal satellite production, work is brought to the satellite rather than the satellite moving to workstations.

Along with requiring tooling designed for a moving production line, pulsed manufacturing includes measuring the progress of the build against a predetermined schedule. If one station falls behind, it receives immediate attention to assure that the whole process is not roadblocked. This lean manufacturing technique is applicable where the assembled units are identical, or nearly so. Since the 12 satellites in the updated Air Force GPS constellation are identical, that contract lent itself to the process much more so than regular commercial work where customer requirements can vary considerably.

Although Boeing applied some pulsed production on the first two GPS IIF spacecraft, it could not fully achieve rate production because those satellites were subject to detailed program and design reviews to assure that the Air Force was satisfied with the design. GPS IIF-1 was launched in May 2010; GPS IIF-2 in July 2011.

By the time the third and fourth in the series were constructed, Boeing had worked through its manufacturing and testing processes to implement a fully lean, pulsing system. Those spacecraft are now in storage, awaiting launch. Boeing expects the third GPS IIF launch between July and September 2012.

[instml]

Section of bridge collapses after struck by rocket vessel

The ocean-going cargo vessel used to transport rocket stages from the manufacturing factory in Alabama to the two primary U.S. launch sites in Florida and California struck a bridge in southern Kentucky Thursday night, causing a section to collapse.

The Eggner's Ferry Bridge, which crosses Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River, was opened to traffic in 1932.

Known as the Delta Mariner, it is owned and operated by Foss Marine. The shipping firm transports United Launch Alliance Delta 4 and Atlas 5 components to Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The ship was carrying rocket parts to Cape Canaveral from the factory in Decatur, Alabama, when the crash occurred at U.S. Highway 68 and Kentucky Highway 80 over the Tennessee River Thursday at 8:15 p.m. Central Time.

"There are no injuries on the Mariner or the bridge. Initial inspections have shown that the flight hardware being transported was not damaged," ULA said in a statement.

A further update from the rocket-maker says the vessel was hauling an Atlas 5 rocket first stage and Centaur upper stage for the Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-2) mission scheduled to launch in April and an interstage adapter for NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission scheduled to launch in August.

"There is no schedule impact to either launch date expected at this point," ULA says.

"The Mariner cargo area of the ship and the flight hardware did not experience any damage. The hardware is well instrumented and all data from these instruments is being reviewed to confirm that there were no issues."

A remarkable aerial image shows the missing outer section of the bridge that was completely knocked away from the collision. The center spans of the bridge remain standing in that view.

The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation.

Local news reports say there were cars traveling across the bridge when the accident happened, but no one was hurt.

Maps show the Mariner was heading northward on a course to intercept the Mississippi River on the week-long, 2,000-mile trek from Decatur to Cape Canaveral.

The 312-foot roll-on, roll-off ship was commissioned in 2002. See file photos of the Mariner delivering a Delta 4-Heavy to Vandenberg.

Video and pictures can be seen on the local NBC affiliate's website here and here.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/27mariner/

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/awst/2012/01/23/AW_01_23_2012_p0116-404701.xml&headline=Launch%20Vehicle%20Competition%20Increases&next=0

Launch Vehicle Competition Increases

Jan 27, 2012

By Frank Morring, Jr.

Launch industry managers worldwide will go after government markets as the industry continues its recovery from a downturn that has brought a reduction in the number of competitors in the market and forced the remaining players to restructure.

While the reduction of launch vehicle operators and an increase in launch opportunities is driving recovery for the survivors, an expected decline in satellite purchases and rise in the number of launch vehicle operators down the road could fuel greater competition in coming years.

The downturn meant many players could not afford to stay in business. Forced to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009, Sea Launch Co. conducted no launches between April 2009 and mid-2011. Other players, such as the United Launch Alliance (ULA), pulled out of the commercial market to focus almost entirely on government contracts. Launch operators in India, China and Japan, and many in Russia, also rely almost exclusively on government contracts.

This left the commercial market dominated by International Launch Services (ILS) with its Proton launch vehicle and Arianespace with the Ariane 5. The Ariane 5 program has also been restructured. The European Space Agency (ESA) is relieving the cash-strapped French space agency CNES of its Ariane 5 management responsibilities. EADS took over as prime contractor, and Arianespace continues to market and launch the rockets from Kourou, French Guiana. With ESA at the helm, the Ariane 5 has a greater chance of receiving guaranteed minimum launch orders from ESA member nations.

During the downturn, the heightened competition reduced costs to a point where launch providers and manufacturers were barely turning a profit. Now, as the industry corrects itself and the number of providers drops, costs are rising. The trend of increasing prices and profitability for launch providers and manufacturers is expected to continue.

Future demand for launch services remains a concern, and Arianespace and ILS may face increasing competition. Sea Launch resumed operations in 2011, delivering Eutelsat's Atlantic Bird 7 spacecraft into orbit Sept. 24, followed by the launch on Oct. 6 of Intelsat 18. For its part, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is promising to sell launches significantly below current market rates. And managers worry that many satellite operators will make fewer purchases after completing the extensive fleet upgrade programs now underway. Additionally, budget cuts could force governments worldwide to purchase fewer satellites.

Major launch vehicle manufacturers span the globe. Europe's EADS Astrium produces the Ariane 5; ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin that manufactures and markets the Delta IV and Atlas V; TsSKB Progress and Khrunichev are Russian producers of launch vehicles, with Progress manufacturing the Soyuz and Khrunichev building the Proton; and China Great Wall Industries supplies the Long March series of expendable launch vehicles.

SpaceX's offer to reduce costs and improve efficiency has attracted the attention of the U.S. government. In October 2011, the U.S. Air Force issued a memorandum of understanding with the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA that serves as a joint agreement on the process they will use to allow new companies such as SpaceX to compete to provide launch services.

Lower prices could boost growing demand in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and northern Africa. The need to replace satellites in orbit will provide a steady stream of contracts for launch providers in any event.

According to the FAA, there were 74 space launches worldwide in 2010—the latest year for which full data are available—23 of which were commercial. The 74 launches carried 110 payloads into orbit—33 commercial spacecraft and 77 non-commercial civil government, military or nonprofit payloads.

U.S.-built vehicles conducted four commercial launches in 2010, accounting for 17% of the global commercial launch market. In 2010, Russia led with 13 commercial launches, capturing 57% of the market. Europe conducted six Ariane 5 commercial launches in 2010, a 26% market share.

The 23 commercial launches in 2010 carried 44 payloads into orbit. Among these, 31 provide commercial services, five were carried on behalf of civil government agencies, and eight were carried for militaries.

The remaining 51 orbital launches conducted in 2010 were non-commercial. Four of these ended in failure: India's GSLV Mk. II, carrying GSAT 4, and GSLV carrying Insat 4D; South Korea's KSLV 1, carrying STSAT 2B; and Russia's Proton-M, carrying three Glonass-M navigation satellites. Of the remaining payloads lofted by non-commercial launchers, 31 were for non-commercial civil government purposes, 29 were for military use, and four were for nonprofit missions.

According to the FAA, revenues from the 23 commercial launch events in 2010 were valued at $2.45 billion, an increase of about $43 million over commercial revenues for 2009. Commercial launch revenues in 2010 were estimated for the U.S. at $307 million; Russia, at $826 million; and Europe, at $1.32 billion. Payments for launch services are typically spread over 1-2 years prior to launch, but in the FAA's calculations, revenue is counted in the year a customer's payload launches.

In 2006-10, there was an average of 71 orbital launches per year worldwide. In the period, the U.S. performed 19 commercial launches; Russia and Europe, 56 and 27, respectively; the multinational Sea Launch, 16; China, two; and India, one.

Reusable space launch vehicles hold the promise of lowering the cost to access space considerably—SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says such vehicles could reduce the capital cost of a space launch to about $50,000—and a number of space tourism and commercial space companies have expressed an interest in developing them.

For example, XCOR Aerospace of the U.S. is working on a reusable suborbital vehicle known as the Lynx that will take off and land like a traditional airplane, though its fully reusable rocket propulsion system will be able to boost the spacecraft on a 30-min. flight to 330,000 ft. Another commercial spacecraft company, Blue Origin, plans to develop a reusable booster to carry its seven-seat space capsule.

The leader in the race to bring tourists into space is Virgin Galactic. Its reusable SpaceShipTwo will launch on a suborbital trajectory from an airborne platform and then glide to a horizontal runway landing. In late September 2011, SpaceX announced that it, too, will begin development of a reusable booster.

While much of the innovation in the reusable launch vehicle field comes from private companies, in 2010 the U.S. Air Force began a program to develop the Reusable Booster System (RBS) Pathfinder. The design would utilize a reusable first stage and an expendable second stage. According to Air Force plans, the RBS would replace its current launch vehicles, the Atlas V and Delta IV, around 2030.

The U.S. is shifting gears from a government-owned-and-operated approach to sending astronauts to space, to a commercial approach. The new program, championed by President Barack Obama, has become extremely controversial, with many members of Congress opposed to giving up an in-house manned space program. Under a compromise, NASA will continue to fund private companies while also developing its own launch vehicle, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), for which it plans to use elements from both the space shuttle program and Ares rockets.

With William N. Ostrove/ Forecast International/ www.forecastinternational.com

[instml]

No impact to two ULA missions following Delta Mariner accident
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/no-impact-ula-missions-delta-mariner-accident/

[instml]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27868.0

[instml]

Грузовое судно врезалось в автомобильный мост на востоке США

Грузовое судно врезалось в опору автомобильного моста "Эггнер" через искусственное озеро в американском штате Кентукки. Как сообщили в пятницу американские СМИ, в результате аварии обрушились сразу две секции переправы.

По данным властей, судно "Дельта маринер" длиной почти 100 метров перевозило детали космических ракет и другое космическое оборудование. В четверг вечером корабль снес одну из центральных опор моста, что привело к частичному обрушению конструкции.

Пострадавших в результате инцидента нет. В момент происшествия на упавших в воду секциях моста автомобилей не было, однако несколько водителей остановились всего в нескольких метрах от шестиметровой пропасти.

В настоящее время ведется расследование происшествия. По одной из версий, причиной случившегося могли быть плохие погодные условия - в момент аварии шел дождь.

Ежедневно по мосту "Эггнер", построенному в 1930-е годы, проезжали почти три тысячи автомобилей. Полиция организовала объездные маршруты для транспорта, ведутся работы по ликвидации последствий аварии, сообщает ИТАР-ТАСС.

http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=698016

[Salo]

Salo пишет:

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/01/25/ex-isro-chairman-nair-3-others-banned-from-govt-work-for-antrix-devas-deal/#respond
 Ex-ISRO Chairman Nair, 3 Others Banned From Gov't Work Over Antrix-Devas Deal

В развитие темы о скандальной отставке Мадхавана Наира:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/others/%E2%80%98devas%E2%80%99tating-denouement-743

'Devas'tating Denouement

January 29, 2012
Behind the veil of secrecy that obfuscates the Indian government's unprecedented action against a celebrated space scientist, Gopalan Madhavan Nair, and his former colleagues, are a plethora of questions that beg answers. The main question is this: Is there a scam at all in the allotment of satellite transponder capacity — not spectrum, as is being commonly misinterpreted and misunderstood to equate it to the 2G telecom scam — by ISRO's commercial arm, Antrix Corporation, to a private company, Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd? Or, are Dr Nair and the others being hung out to dry in a hurry over a perfectly legitimate affair, admittedly suffering from procedural lapses, because the UPA-II, already reeling under a series of scams, does not want to be hit by allegations of inaction on yet another one?

At least one of the two committees that probed the contract has reportedly pointed to 'procedural lapses', albeit no loss to the government. This report, along with that of the latest probe team, which also had Isro Chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan as one of its members, are now 'secret'
documents, with ISRO turning down every request -- even those from RTI activists -- for access to them.
Worse, the Department of Space (DoS) has not told these scientists where they erred, but painted them black in a first-of-its-kind step by the five-decade-old organisation. Dr Nair and the others are distraught that they were tried in much haste, and not even given a chance to face the committee headed by former CVC Pratyush Sinha to explain the Devas deal.
Ironically, an ex-officio member secretary of the probe panel itself, Dr Raghunandan Nadadur, who was additional secretary, DoS, quit the civil services when he found that he was also being held responsible for wrongdoing. The government, however, has maintained silence about a senior bureaucrat based in New Delhi, evidently wary of his connections with the first family of UPA ally, DMK.
While the former Isro chairman plans to move court, former executive director of Antrix K.R. Sridhar Murthi, who has also been blacklisted, is devastated. "Insinuations are being hurled at us without anyone making an effort to understand the basic difference between space-based S-band Spectrum and Terrestrial Spectrum — or the fact that Antrix had allotted transponders in a similar manner to other customers as well in the past.
It's traumatic for me, I spent several years trying to increase the revenues
for Antrix by signing on more customers."
Even as these space scientists bemoan their misfortune, there are indications of an impending political storm over the Antrix-Devas contract.
The government is certain to face the heat from within and outside. While DMK leaders have been waiting for an opportunity to settle scores with the Congress over the 2G telecom scam, in which former minister Raja and DMK leader M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi had to go to jail, the BJP is likely to target the PMO soon after Assembly elections in five states. Many also dread that documents available with the said Delhi-based bureaucrat, who is well connected to the Karunanidhi family, could spell more trouble for the PMO.
For Indian space scientists, the latest row has revived unpleasant memories of the damage wrought to the space programme and their morale by the "spy scandal" that erupted in 1995 following the arrest of Maldivian women Mariam Rasheeda and Fawzia Hussain and Isro scientists Nambi Narayanan and Sasikumaran. It took a couple of years for the CBI, IB and other agencies to realise that it was just a case of much ado about nothing — the women had merely overstayed their visas, but there were no honeytraps or salacious tangles with the scientists. The episode muddied the reputation of top space scientists at a time when Isro was on the verge of achieving self-reliance in launching one-ton satellites with the PSLV.
In 2009, when the row over the Antrix-Devas deal first made headlines, Isro was basking in worldwide acclaim for the Chandrayaan-I mission and was on the threshold of crossing another milestone with an indigenous cryo-engine powered GSLV. The controversy took many twists and turns, culminating in the harsh action against Dr Nair and his colleagues, a move that has demoralised scientists and engineers in Isro.
"It's impossible for us to work on ambitious projects like launching an Indian into space. And with such punitive action over contracts, it will be difficult to sign up new customers for our launch vehicles or offer to build and launch satellites for them," said a senior scientist.
So, what, or rather who, triggered such a furor over this contract?
Space scientists suspect the hand of the powerful cartel of terrestrial telecom firms in making the Devas deal a controversial one. In fact, some of them did initially write to Dr Nair before he stepped down as Isro chairman in November 2009, asking him to reconsider the Antrix-Devas contract. As soon as he left, Isro scientists allege, they managed to spark trouble for the organisation and the man who led it during its halcyon days.
Dr Nair vows that he did no wrong (see interview) and that his successor, K.
Radhakrishnan, chose to speak "half-truths" though he was aware of all details of the contract. For reasons best known to him, Dr Radhakrishnan has decided to keep mum.
But it's the deafening silence of the likes of renowned space scientists like Prof M.G.K. Menon, Prof U.R. Rao and Dr K. Kasturirangan, which adds to the mystery surrounding the whole controversy. They know the truth - whether their former colleagues erred while inking the pact with Devas or have been pronounced persona non-grata for no fault of theirs.
With the truth at stake, and reputations, the country's shining jewel — Isro — could well lose its glow and turn into another non-performing public sector enterprise. And the scientific community, already seething with rage at the manner in which Dr Nair and others were blacklisted, could give up pursuit of cutting-edge technologies. That's the big worry now.

[kroton]

Грузовое судно врезалось в автомобильный мост на востоке США

однако несколько водителей остановились всего в нескольких метрах от шестиметровой пропасти.

http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=698016

Это как же меряли?

[Salo]

http://www.gazeta.ru/science/2012/01/24_a_3972025.shtml

Итоги-2011
— 24.01.12 13:10 —

Текущее состояние российской группировки спутников зондирования Земли не соответствует потребностям экономического развития страны, особенно на фоне бурного развития отрасли в мире. Кроме традиционного лидера США наращивает мощности Китай. Даже некосмические державы стремятся обзавестись собственными спутниками дистанционного зондирования, рассказывает в своей лекции на «Газете.Ru» заместитель генерального директора ИТЦ «СКАНЭКС» Алексей Кучейко.

 Алексей Кучейко

Зам. гендир ИТЦ "СКАНЭКС", к.т.н.

Родился в 1960 г. в Ленинграде.

В 1982 г. закончил Военный инженерный институт им. А.Ф. Можайского, кандидат технических наук.

Служил в Вооруженных Силах СССР и России до 2000 года. Область интересов – анализ космических систем зарубежных стран.

Автор более 100 публикаций и научных работ в разных изданиях. Заместитель генерального директора ИТЦ "СКАНЭКС".

Отец двоих сыновей.


В 2011 году на орбиты вокруг Земли запущены 23 гражданских, коммерческих и военных космических аппарата (КА) съемки Земли, среди которых, к сожалению, всего два российских – один военный и один метеорологический спутник. На орбиту были выведены 19 спутников с оптической аппаратурой съемки Земли, принадлежащих 13 странам (Индия, Сингапур, Аргентина, Иран, США, Китай, Россия, Украина, Нигерия, Турция, Япония, Франция, Чили). На качество съемки в оптическом диапазоне влияют освещение (день или ночь), а также наличие облачности. Также были запущены два спутника (японский и китайский) с радиолокаторами с синтезированной апертурой (РСА).

Этот способ позволяет получать радиолокационные изображения земной поверхности и находящихся на ней объектов независимо от метеорологических условий и уровня естественной освещенности местности с детальностью, сравнимой с аэрофотоснимками.

Два метеорологических КА России и США выведены на геостационарную и низкую полярную орбиты. Отметим, что речь идет о гражданских, коммерческих и военных спутниках дистанционного зондирования Земли (ДЗЗ) с оптико-электронной и радиолокационной аппаратурой, позволяющей получать изображения с пространственным разрешением от низкого (1–4 км) до сверхвысокого (<1 м). Мы не принимали во внимание спутники ДЗЗ для исследований атмосферы, океанов и льда, не формирующие изображений поверхности Земли, образовательные спутники классов нано- и пико- с микрокамерами, автоматические зонды с аппаратурой съемки поверхности Луны и других планет, а также военные космические аппараты, запущенные по секретным программам: информация в открытой печати по ним отсутствует.

По интенсивности запусков спутников с аппаратурой съемки Земли результаты 2011 года оказались рекордными за последние 12 лет. После относительно стабильного семилетия 2000–2006 годов (в среднем по 10–16 космических аппаратов) число запусков спутников для съемки Земли постепенно росло (в 2007 году – 19; 2008-м – 21; 2009-м – 22 спутника), за исключением провального 2010 года (14 спутников).

По национальной принадлежности новые спутники съемки Земли в 2011 году распределились между 13 различными странами (в 2010-м – среди 9 государств; 2009-м – 11; 2008-м – 8 ).

Лидерами по числу спутников стали Китай (5) и США (3),

по два спутника ДЗЗ запустили Россия, Индия, Нигерия и Япония. Сингапур стал оператором первого национального спутника ДЗЗ. Китай запускает больше всех в мире спутников ДЗЗ уже третий раз за последние пять лет (2010 и 2007), в другие годы лидировали США (2009) и Германия (2008 ).

В приведенной статистике запусков не учтены два студенческих образовательных наноспутника массой 2–3 кг с микрокамерами съемки Земли, созданные студентами Индии и США. Образовательные наноспутники с микрокамерами стали регулярно появляться на орбите 3–4 года назад. В 2010 году университеты Японии, Индии и Китая запустили 5 таких спутников массой менее 5 кг. Короткоживущие наноспутники (обычно до 1 года) не оказывают влияния на мировой рынок геоинформатики, но говорят о доступности технологий ДЗЗ и новых подходах к подготовке молодых специалистов в ведущих космических державах.

Российские образовательные спутники – сегодня крайне редкое явление, несоразмеримое по масштабам с коммерческими запусками Роскосмосом зарубежных полезных нагрузок.

Учитывая плачевное положение с кадрами на предприятиях отрасли, Роскосмос вполне мог бы предложить для профильных российских вузов программу запуска образовательных спутников дистанционного зондирования Земли в качестве бесплатных попутных нагрузок.

Как и в 2010 году, особенностью 2011 года для отрасли съемки Земли из космоса стало наращивание орбитальных группировок спутников видовой разведки (лидеры – США, Китай и Япония), что можно объяснить политической и экономической нестабильностью в мире. Другая особенность – увеличение числа стран-операторов систем ДЗЗ – связана с естественными потребностями экономического развития государств в современном информационном обществе.

К началу 2012 года с учетом новых и ранее запущенных спутников самыми крупными национальными системами спутников ДЗЗ (военными, гражданскими и коммерческими, без учета метеоспутников), как и ранее, обладают 4 страны-лидера – США, Китай, Германия и Индия. США обладает не менее 20 спутниками, Китай – не менее 15, Германия – 12, Индия – 10.

Две американские компании GeoEye и DigitalGlobe являются мировыми лидерами и монополистами в области поставки цветных изображений полуметрового разрешения. Несмотря на монопольное положение в самом доходном сегменте рынка,

основную часть доходов двух компаний (75–80%) приносит оборонный заказ по 10-летней программе EnhancedView (EV) общей стоимостью $7,35 млрд

(ежегодные контракты по $250 млн на компанию), предусматривающей госзакупку ресурсов коммерческих спутников в интересах Национального агентства геопространственной разведки NGA.

Компания DigitalGlobe в рамках программы EV специализируется на оперативной поставке геоинформации в течение 24 часов после приема на сеть станций (проект Rapid Delivery of Online Geospatial-Intelligence – RDOG). В 2011 году были развернуты 4 новых станции вдоль экватора, позволяющие принимать информацию со спутников сразу после съемки объектов в Азии. В 2012 году будут введены в строй ещё 3 станции. В рамках нового годичного контракта «Усовершенствованная программа доведения геопространственной информации» (Enhanced GEOINT Delivery – EGD) военным клиентам через веб-сервис будут поставляться картооснова, данные плановой съемки в течение 24 часов после приема и данные оперативной заказной съемки в течение 3–5 часов после приема. Аналогичные сервисы в дальнейшем предполагается предложить коммерческим заказчикам. Обе компании продолжали финансировать разработку спутников 3-го поколения GeoEye-2 и WorldView-3 с разрешением 25–30 см, которые после запуска в 2013–2014 годах откроют новые перспективы для развития рынка.

Китай в течение 5 последних лет создал многоцелевую орбитальную группировку спутников ДЗЗ, состоящую из нескольких космических систем – видовой разведки, океанографии, картографии, мониторинга чрезвычайных ситуаций, мониторинга природных ресурсов.

Для сравнения, в орбитальной группировке ДЗЗ России в 2011 году было всего три спутника.

В 2011 году Китай запустил два спутника видовой разведки метрового разрешения YG-12 с ОЭС и YG-13 с РСА. Впервые запущен многоцелевой спутник мониторинга природных ресурсов ZY-1-02C в интересах министерства земельных ресурсов, который по параметрам аппаратуры (разрешение 2,3м (PAN) и 5м/10м (MS) в полосе съемки шириной 54 км и 60 км) аналогичен французскому SPOT-5. По данным прессы, спутник был изготовлен в рекордно короткие сроки – в течение 20 месяцев без импортных компонентов.

В конце 2011 года Франция осуществила долгожданный запуск первого спутника двойного назначения Pleiades-1 полуметрового разрешения, который может нарушить монополию американских компаний на поставку цветных снимков с разрешением менее метра. Франция в ближайшие 3 года планирует создать на орбите группировку из 2 КА Pleiades-1, -2, SPOT-6, -7 в дополнение к 4 уже действующим (SPOT-4/-5 и военным Helios-2A/2B).

В Индии успешно эксплуатируется национальная группировка, в состав которой входят 10 аппаратов различного назначения, в том числе Resourcesat-1, -2, картографический Cartosat-1, спутники 2-го назначения с аппаратурой метрового разрешения Cartosat-2, -2A, -2B, военные спутники RISAT-1 и TES 1, исследовательские и экспериментальные КА IMS-1, Mega-Tropique.

В 2011 году Япония активизировала деятельность в области ДЗЗ, запустив сразу два спутника видовой разведки IGS-O4 и -R3, в результате чего состав системы был доведен до 5 аппаратов. На 2012 год запланированы запуски 5 спутников ДЗЗ: два военных IGS-R4 и IGS-O5 Demo, исследовательский КА GCOM-W1 Shizuki с комплектом аппаратуры ДЗЗ низкого разрешения, коммерческий микроспутник WNISAT-1 с ОЭС низкого разрешения и гражданский КА ASNARO с аппаратурой полуметрового разрешения.

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4 ЦНИИ Министерства обороны РФ - работы института[/size]

Одним из градообразующих предприятий Юбилейного был и остаётся 4 ЦНИИ Министерства обороны РФ

Институт был создан в 1946 г., и это положило начало всей ракетно-космической отрасли страны. А в 1989 году Институту было присвоено наименование 4 Центрального научно-исследовательского института Министерства обороны.

Огромны заслуги Института в прошлом, но и не менее важны в настоящем времени.

За последние годы Институтом и при непосредственном его участии получены следующие результаты.

В интересах РВСН:

    создание в рамках ОКР «Яре» и развёртывание современных РК подвижного грунтового и стационарного шахтного базирования с модернизированными и перспективными командными пунктами и средствами боевого управления и связи;

    работы по созданию РК «Авангард-Р», который находится на этапе подготовки к лётным испытаниям; разработка технических предложений по НИР «Неизбежность» и «Молодец», проведённых в интересах обоснования целесообразности создания перспективных РК стационарного и подвижного (железнодорожного) базирования;

    подготовка ТТЗ на ОКР «Сармат» и начало работ по созданию перспективного РК стационарного базирования с жидкостной МБР; работы по созданию перспективного боевого оснащения, в том числе блоков индивидуального разведения с перспективными средствами преодоления ПРО (ОКР «Прорыв»); работы по поддержанию боевой готовности и продлению сроков эксплуатации существующих РК в рамках комплекса ОКР «Зарядье»; работы по развитию СБУ РВСН, направленные на развитие центральных пунктов управления (ОКР «Грот», «Утёс-1»), создание звеньев АСБУ (ОКР «Сигнал-А1»). разработку перспективного подвижного командного пункта (ОКР «Размах 4») и продление сроков эксплуатации существующих командных пунктов.

В интересах Космических войск: создание и совершенствование космических систем и комплексов различного назначения, таких как «Кобальт-М», «Персона», «Лиана», «Кондор», «Лабиринт-В», «Канопус-СТ», «Меридиан», «Родник-С», «Муссон-2», «Барс-М» и др.; средств НАКУ космическими аппаратами, разгонными блоками и ракетами-носителями в рамках (ОКР «Управление», «Свист», «Конвенция», «Стажёр», «Синего-рье», «Интеграция» и др.); средств развёртывания и восполнения орбитальных группировок (ОКР «Ангара», «Русь», «Плесецк», «Персей», «Туркестан» и др.); автоматизированных информационных систем управления (ОКР «Вешняк-М», а также работы серии «Заря»).

В интересах ВМФ: сопровождение работ в рамках ОКР «Булава-30» и «Лайнер» по созданию БРПЛ для оснащения ими перспективных подводных ракетоносцев.

Научный потенциал Института позволяет выполнять эти работы. Более 50% научных сотрудников являются дипломированными учёными, имеющими учёное звание «профессор», «доцент», «старший научный сотрудник».

С 1 декабря 2010 г. проведена очередная реорганизация ФГУ «4 ЦНИИ Минобороны России». В настоящее время Институт в составе 5 научных центров (РКС, ПВО, AT и В, ЭРАТ и РКО) предназначен для проведения научных исследований актуальных проблем военной теории и практики строительства, развития, подготовки и боевого применения стратегических ядерных сил и сил воздушно-космической обороны как функциональных компонентов Стратегических сил сдерживания, авиации Сил общего назначения Российской Федерации, а также объединённой системы противовоздушной обороны государств - участников Содружества независимых государств.

С 7 октября 2011 г. 4 ЦНИИ Минобороны России преобразован в федеральное бюджетное учреждение «4 Центральный научно-исследовательский институт ракетных, космических и авиационных систем Министерства обороны Российской Федерации».

Начальник 4 ЦНИИ полковник А.Г. Мильковский

Источник: газета "Спутник"

http://yubik.net.ru/publ/23-1-0-4769

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http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120127-melco-admits-overcharging.html

Fri, 27 January, 2012
Japan's Melco Admits Overcharging Government
By Space News Staff

 Japan's top satellite manufacturer publicly admitted to and apologized Jan. 27 for overcharging the government on a number of unspecified military and civilian contracts.

 In a public statement, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Melco) of Tokyo apologized to Japan's Ministry of Defense, Cabinet Office Satellite Intelligence Center and civilian Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Cabinet Office Satellite Intelligence Center manages Japan's Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) constellation.

 Melco said an internal audit triggered by inquiries from the three agencies had revealed evidence of overcharging. The press statement did not issue any details on the amounts involved, the work done or the number of contracts.

 Melco, the prime contractor on most of Japan's scientific satellites as well as the IGS system, manufactures space hardware at its Kamakura Works west of Tokyo. According the Ministry of Defense, Melco was the country's No. 2 supplier of defense equipment in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, with sales to the ministry amounting to 101.6 billion yen ($1.3 billion). In addition to satellites, its products include missiles, radar systems and other equipment.

 In a Jan. 27 statement, the Ministry of Defense said it had "temporarily" suspended dealings with Melco and would launch a broader probe of its contracts with the company.

 In the late 1990s, Japan's other major satellite builder, NEC Corp. of Tokyo, was temporarily barred from bidding on government contracts for similar reasons. Several senior executives with that company served jail time.

 In its statement, Melco offered a "deep apology" for "the trouble" it had caused.