Jacques van Oene
February 1st 05, 06:12 PM
Contact: Barron Beneski, (703) 406-5000,
Orbital's IBEX Satellite Selected By NASA For Newest Small Explorer
Scientific Mission
Mission to Map Edge of Our Solar System and Study Galactic Cosmic Rays
Satellite Designed for Launch Aboard Pegasus Rocket Into 150,000-Mile-Apogee
Orbit
Combined Value for Satellite and Launch Vehicle of Approximately $60 Million
(Dulles, VA 1 February 2005) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB)
announced today that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) has selected the company's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)
satellite to carry out the next mission in its Small Explorer (SMEX) series
of scientific spacecraft. Orbital is a key member of the IBEX mission team,
which is led by Principal Investigator Dr. David McComas of the Southwest
Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. The IBEX satellite is based on
Orbital's MicroStar spacecraft design, a lightweight, multi-role platform of
which dozens are already in orbit performing communications and remote
sensing missions.
The IBEX spacecraft is designed for launch on Orbital's PegasusŪ rocket,
which is procured by NASA's Kennedy Space Center under a separate contract.
A solid rocket motor, provided by Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK), is used
to boost IBEX into its highly elliptical Earth orbit, with an apogee of
approximately 150,000 miles (or nearly two-thirds of the distance to the
Moon). Together, the satellite and launch vehicle contracts have an
estimated combined value of approximately $60 million. The IBEX mission is
scheduled for launch in 2008 and will be designed for an in-orbit duration
of at least two years.
"Our team is delighted to be working with Orbital on IBEX," said Dr.
McComas. "The combination of their small satellite capabilities and Pegasus
launch vehicle makes them a unique partner for this exciting new mission."
Commenting for Orbital, Mr. Howard Runge, who will serve as Orbital's IBEX
Spacecraft Manager, said, "We are thrilled with NASA's selection of the IBEX
mission for the Small Explorer program. We congratulate Dr. McComas and his
team at the Southwest Research Institute for their outstanding work
developing the IBEX mission concept and leading the winning proposal effort.
We look forward to working with the IBEX team and NASA to successfully
perform this mission."
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer is a remarkable mission of exploration
and discovery that provides the first global images of the boundaries
between our solar system and the interstellar medium that fills our galaxy.
This investigation fills in the critical missing piece of understanding in
the connection of our Sun and solar system to the galaxy, fulfilling
requirements from recent NASA and National Research Council plans and making
fascinating connections to even more distant astrophysical phenomena. IBEX
also addresses a serious challenge facing human deep-space exploration by
studying the region that shields out the vast majority of galactic cosmic
ray radiation. As a result, IBEX is an important early step beyond the solar
system and into the galactic frontier.
Orbital has supported NASA's SMEX program for many years with reliable
launch services and spacecraft. Recent SMEX missions on which Orbital has
played a key role include the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic
Imager (RHESSI), launched aboard Pegasus in February 2002, and the Galaxy
Evolution Explorer (GALEX), built by Orbital and launched aboard Pegasus in
April 2003. Orbital is also building and launching the next SMEX mission,
the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite, scheduled for a
September 2006 launch aboard Pegasus.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small space systems for military,
commercial and civil government customers. The company's primary products
are launch vehicles and satellites, including missile defense boosters that
are used as interceptor and target vehicles, ground- and air-launched
rockets that deliver satellites into orbit, and low-orbit, geostationary and
planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing and scientific
missions. Orbital also offers space-related technical services to government
agencies and develops and builds satellite-based transportation management
systems for public transit agencies and private vehicle fleet operators.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
Orbital's IBEX Satellite Selected By NASA For Newest Small Explorer
Scientific Mission
Mission to Map Edge of Our Solar System and Study Galactic Cosmic Rays
Satellite Designed for Launch Aboard Pegasus Rocket Into 150,000-Mile-Apogee
Orbit
Combined Value for Satellite and Launch Vehicle of Approximately $60 Million
(Dulles, VA 1 February 2005) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB)
announced today that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) has selected the company's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)
satellite to carry out the next mission in its Small Explorer (SMEX) series
of scientific spacecraft. Orbital is a key member of the IBEX mission team,
which is led by Principal Investigator Dr. David McComas of the Southwest
Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. The IBEX satellite is based on
Orbital's MicroStar spacecraft design, a lightweight, multi-role platform of
which dozens are already in orbit performing communications and remote
sensing missions.
The IBEX spacecraft is designed for launch on Orbital's PegasusŪ rocket,
which is procured by NASA's Kennedy Space Center under a separate contract.
A solid rocket motor, provided by Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK), is used
to boost IBEX into its highly elliptical Earth orbit, with an apogee of
approximately 150,000 miles (or nearly two-thirds of the distance to the
Moon). Together, the satellite and launch vehicle contracts have an
estimated combined value of approximately $60 million. The IBEX mission is
scheduled for launch in 2008 and will be designed for an in-orbit duration
of at least two years.
"Our team is delighted to be working with Orbital on IBEX," said Dr.
McComas. "The combination of their small satellite capabilities and Pegasus
launch vehicle makes them a unique partner for this exciting new mission."
Commenting for Orbital, Mr. Howard Runge, who will serve as Orbital's IBEX
Spacecraft Manager, said, "We are thrilled with NASA's selection of the IBEX
mission for the Small Explorer program. We congratulate Dr. McComas and his
team at the Southwest Research Institute for their outstanding work
developing the IBEX mission concept and leading the winning proposal effort.
We look forward to working with the IBEX team and NASA to successfully
perform this mission."
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer is a remarkable mission of exploration
and discovery that provides the first global images of the boundaries
between our solar system and the interstellar medium that fills our galaxy.
This investigation fills in the critical missing piece of understanding in
the connection of our Sun and solar system to the galaxy, fulfilling
requirements from recent NASA and National Research Council plans and making
fascinating connections to even more distant astrophysical phenomena. IBEX
also addresses a serious challenge facing human deep-space exploration by
studying the region that shields out the vast majority of galactic cosmic
ray radiation. As a result, IBEX is an important early step beyond the solar
system and into the galactic frontier.
Orbital has supported NASA's SMEX program for many years with reliable
launch services and spacecraft. Recent SMEX missions on which Orbital has
played a key role include the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic
Imager (RHESSI), launched aboard Pegasus in February 2002, and the Galaxy
Evolution Explorer (GALEX), built by Orbital and launched aboard Pegasus in
April 2003. Orbital is also building and launching the next SMEX mission,
the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite, scheduled for a
September 2006 launch aboard Pegasus.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small space systems for military,
commercial and civil government customers. The company's primary products
are launch vehicles and satellites, including missile defense boosters that
are used as interceptor and target vehicles, ground- and air-launched
rockets that deliver satellites into orbit, and low-orbit, geostationary and
planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing and scientific
missions. Orbital also offers space-related technical services to government
agencies and develops and builds satellite-based transportation management
systems for public transit agencies and private vehicle fleet operators.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info