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Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 5/97 HUGHES INTENSIFIES TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS by Wolfdietrich Hoeveler The structure of Hughes has always been difficult to understand for outsiders. Now, there is a new version. The Hughes Space and Communications Company together with the Hughes Communications Inc. will form the company's new Telecommunications and Space Group within Hughes Electronics, such joining this division's telecommunication activities of the car electrics specialist Delco, as well as, Hughes Network Systems, and Hughes DIRECTV®. Being the market leader for geostationary telecommunication satellites, Hughes Space and Communications continues to pursue the production of large geostationary satellites. In 1996, Hughes was holding a 51 percent market share in this segment, based on order value, and a 52 percent share based on the number of satellites ordered. The company currently has contracts for, is building or has launch-ready 42 satellites worth approximately $5,5 billion. The recent orders include two HS 601 satellites, one for the Orion Asia Pacific Corp. in Rockville, Maryland, and one for Japan Satellite Systems, Tokyo. Approximately 40 percent of all telecommunication satellites launched so far came from Hughes. If things go according to the company, it will continue to be this way. Even though the current plans call for a rationalization of the production, the high reliability of Hughes is to be retained. The El Segundo based company, which is assembly-line producing the spacecraft, does not want to give up this market advantage. Hughes states the reliability rate for the satellite operation to be around 99 percent, pointing out that none of the competitors can offer better numbers. Also, almost all of the Hughes satellites are operating longer than the contracts call for. Hughes company speakers evaluate the forecasts for the market of small satellites in low-earth orbits for mobile telecommunication networks as being critical. While these satellites can be smaller, they need less transmission power output because of their lower orbit, they have a shorter service time because of the higher fuel consumption for position corrections. Furthermore, these satellites supposedly require very efficient ground based receivers, making the operating systems more complex and more expensive than the ones needed to control geostationary satellites. Still, Hughes is not excluding this market segment from its business activities. A total of twelve HS 601s are under contract for the global communications network of ICO Global Communications, a London based operator of which the German Telekom and Hughes (with $94 million) among others are holding shares. The plans are that ten satellites will circle the earth in an orbit at only 10355 km of altitude beginning in the year 2000 (first launch in 1998). Two spacecraft will be held as a reserve. The satellites will be energized by gallium-arsenide solar cells which generate significantly more power than conventional silicon cells (up to 40 percent). This technology was first used with the Measat, a Hughes HS 376 which was launched in 1996 for Malaysia. Furthermore, the ICO satellites will be equipped with a different propulsion system (a simpler hydrazine system). The satellites with their C and S-Band transponders allow the simultaneous transmission of 4500 connections. Furthermore, the ICO satellites will carry a navigational payload which will be augmenting the position data from the US military GPS satellites for civil use, precise enough to allow the use of GPS as a landing system instead of the current instrument landing system (ILS). With these features, the US aviation administration FAA will offer the world's most modern air traffic control system beginning in 1998. The civil application of the large Hughes satellites has become a matter of interest for military battle field communication applications also. Lapsat® or example, which is a laptop computer in a briefcase with an integrated satellite receiver antenna. Hughes is making a point in saying that its telecommunication satellites contain mainly developments which have been financed exclusively through company funds. The only exceptions being the NASA contract for the world's first geostationary satellite, named Syncom, and a US Air Force order to develop the so called dual-spin technology. According to Hughes' company speakers, there has been no wide use of governmental funded technologies for commercial applications. From page 39 of FLUG REVUE 5/97 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 5/97 Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated March 30, 1997