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OrbComm Checks Out Okay
Dulles Va - August 4, 1998 - Orbital Sciences has reported that its latest batch of eight OrbComm data communications satellites, launched aboard the company's Pegasus XL rocket on Sunday, are performing precisely as planned during early in-orbit check-out.As a result of data gathered from a series of initial spacecraft testing procedures, a team of Orbital and OrbComm satellite engineers has determined that the main systems of all eight satellites are operating as expected. The Pegasus launch vehicle accurately placed the eight digital communications satellites into a precise orbit at an altitude of 825 kilometers (or 510 miles) above the Earth. These spacecraft represent the 13th through 20th satellites launched and deployed for the OrbComm system. At the present time, it has been determined that all eight satellites are generating the full electrical power levels for which they are designed, indicating that their solar arrays have properly deployed and are accurately tracking the sun. In addition, all eight satellites have been in reliable communications with OrbComm's ground network in the United States, consisting of four gateway Earth stations located in Washington State, Arizona, New York and Georgia, managed by an ultra-modern Network Control Center located in Dulles, Virginia. Orbital and OrbComm engineers will now begin a more extensive series of operational tests, expected to last for several months, preparing the new satellites for commercial service. When the eight new satellites become operational, the global availability of the OrbComm system will increase from approximately 9 hours per day, or about 40% availability, to approximately 17 hours per day, or about 70% availability, the percentage of time when a satellite is immediately available to transmit or receive messages. For the next OrbComm mission, Orbital expects to complete factory testing within the next several weeks of the third group of eight satellites that will represent the 21st through 28th spacecraft to be deployed for the OrbComm system. These OrbComm satellites, which were manufactured at Orbital's Germantown, Maryland facility, will be shipped to the company's Pegasus integration facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in August, leading to a Pegasus launch currently scheduled for September.
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