Space & Technology News

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GD Canada Powers Experiments Aboard International Space Station

On October 29, 2014, two General Dynamics Canada power supplies officially landed on the International Space Station destined to become part of a new research laboratory being assembled on the space station.

The European-Russian Plasma Krystall-4 (PK-4) research laboratory is a permanent installation within the space station and will be used to conduct experiments on complex plasmas. The General Dynamics Canada PS3200 power supplies will be used within the control and video unit of the research lab.

(Components of the “PK-4” plasma crystal laboratory prior to transportation to the International Space Station: experiment unit; rack drawers for electricity supplies; communications and data collection. Photos Credit: OHB System AG)

According to OHB System AG, the developer of the PK-4 research laboratory, plasma accounts for more than 99 percent of visible material in space.Complex plasmas (which are made up of ions, electrons, inert gas and micro-particles) can be explored most easily in weightless conditions as this avoids particle sedimentation. The experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station may help to gain a better understanding of plasmas and make improvements in industries where they are used. This is the first application of GD Canada power supplies in space.

The compact PS3200 power management system was designed to withstand harsh environments on combat vehicles, making it a good fit for the International Space Station. 

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General Dynamics to Design, Build and Support Anchor Stations for Canada's Mercury Global Project

Network Of Ground Stations Will Enable Canada's Department Of National Defence To Access The Wideband Global Satellite Communications System, Providing Rapid And Secure Communications For The Canadian Armed Forces.

OTTAWA, Ontario, Nov. 13, 2014 -- General Dynamics Canada has been awarded two contracts on the Mercury Global Project. The first contract is for the design-and-build of a network of Mercury Global anchor stations valued at CDN $59.1 million. Through this network of antennas, the Department of National Defence will access the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) constellation and will be able to provide high speed secure communications for deployed Canadian Forces around the globe. The second contract provides ongoing in-service support and is valued at CDN $8.5 million.

The Mercury Global project is the name given to Canada's participation in, and leverage of, the WGS system. WGS will provide high-capacity, assured and secure satellite access for communications that are vital to the Government of Canada. "The sophisticated sensors and information technologies used by modern militaries require access to high-bandwidth communication channels," said David Ibbetson, vice president, General Dynamics C4 Systems International. "We look forward to providing this secure and reliable communication channel and building on our extensive communications experience. Providing this critical capability to our Canadian Armed Forces helps ensure mission success and the safe return home of our troops."

Under the contract, General Dynamics Canada is responsible for the construction and installation of seven anchor stations across Canada. The anchor station antennas will be manufactured by General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies. Under the support contract, General Dynamics Canada will provide in-service support for up to 17 years, including 24x7 monitoring, helpdesk, mission planning, Field Service Representation, repair and overhaul, and engineering support.

Through the Mercury Global program, General Dynamics Canada will facilitate the transfer of specialized WGS satellite communications knowledge and technology to Canada. Such transfer will stimulate Canadian industry in the field of satellite communications and support the creation of Canadian high-technology jobs in the future.

General Dynamics Canada and General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies are part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

For information about General Dynamics Canada, please go to www.gdcanada.com.

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General Dynamics Awarded Contract for Jabiru-1 Satellite Communications and Antenna System

NewSat has announced that General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies has been awarded the contract to provide four large antennas and associated electronics for the Jabiru Satellite Program.

The multi-million dollar supply agreement consists of four 13.2 meter antennas, three of which are Ka-band, that will be used as communication gateways to carry customer traffic to the Jabiru-1 satellite. The fourth antenna is a Ku-band antenna and will be used for the control of the satellite itself. Two of these antennas will be located at NewSat’s Adelaide teleport facility, one at NewSat’s Perth teleport facility and the remaining antenna at a third-party teleport, to facilitate Jabiru-1 communications and anchor customer traffic. (Photo of GD SATCOM built antennas below)

General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies has proven expertise and heritage with the provision of large Ka- and Ku-band antenna systems. As a result, the company has earned the position as a preferred antenna system provider and integrator to a number of major satellite operators by providing in excess of fifty systems of this type over the past five years. 

Commenting on this key ground system development, NewSat Chief Technology Officer, David Ball said:

"Yet another significant milestone on the path to the launch of Jabiru-1, it is exciting to share ground systems progress that is crucial to Jabiru-1 commercial operation. General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies is a leading supplier of large antenna systems to the industry and their systems are ideally suited to our requirements for Jabiru-1 communications ... We recently held the Critical Design Review for the antenna systems with the [GD SATCOM] team and the project is on track for the delivery and installation of the antenna systems in 2015.”

Jabiru-1 is Australia’s first commercial Ka-band satellite and will deliver over 7.6GHz of “new” capacity, providing flexible Ka-band coverage to meet the growing demand from government and enterprise across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. 

VIDEO: Watch General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies at work!  GD SATCOM Technologies is a business unit of General Dynamics C4 Systems, learn more at: http://www.gdc4s.com/space

For further information on NewSat, please visit: http://www.newsat.com/ 

Source: NewSat Press Release and Satnews Daily

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56 years ago today, a space agency was born … Happy Birthday NASA!

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We went down for the launch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft which was carrying 5,000 pounds of scientific equipment and supplies for use by the crew of the International Space Station. Checkout some photos from our visit to the Kennedy Space Center with NASA's Social Media Team. #NASASocial 

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SpaceX Dragon launches to the ISS

NASA Television coverage of the September 21 launch of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on the company’s CRS-4 mission to the International Space Station. The s...

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Landsat 8: Monitoring the Earth's Surface

Landsat 8, also known as the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, is a NASA satellite mission that provides detailed imagery of the earth. The Landsat satellites continuously record the entire land surface of the earth from space. The data from these satellites is used to track changes on the earth’s surface and is used by scientists and people who work in agriculture, education, business, science and government agencies.

Why Landsat 8 Is Important Every day, Landsat 8 provides more than 400 detailed images that scientists, private industry, and resource managers use to monitor changes and make informed decisions. Landsat 8 is used to make decisions that affect everyone on our plant to include: 

Providing detailed images of changes to the earth due to natural disasters such as fire, landslides, and floods. 

Helping farmers analyze the health of their crops & identifying potential diseases. 

Assisting water managers to make decisions by identifying possible pollution, as well as locating clean water for refugees in arid countries.

  How General Dynamics C4S Supports Landsat 8 The General Dynamics C4S team provides the systems engineering and integration services for the ground-based command and control system for the Mission Operations Element (MOE). The team had to ensure that the Landsat 8 ground system and ground communications were tested, verified, and validated. The GDC4S team combined a number of computers and highly specific software to ensure that the Mission Operations Center team could talk to the spacecraft and fluently communicate information needed to keep Landsat 8 operating smoothly after launch. For their outstanding work on the Landsat 8 ground systems, the General Dynamics C4S team received a prestigious Goddard Award for Engineering in 2013 (Team members pictured below). 

Fun Fact about Landsat 8 - The satellite travels over 4 miles every second and only takes 16 days to take images of the over 57 million square miles of land on earth. Great video from NASA on Landsat 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvDuBG9KlQU

Landsat data is FREE and available to the public at: http://earthnow.usgs.gov/ 

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NASA | TDRS: The Network That Enables Exploration

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System or TDRSS is NASA's network of specialized communications satellites that orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. As the name suggests, TRDSS allows NASA and other agencies to communicate to and from satellites, spacecraft and the International Space Station via ground control stations on Earth. 

General Dynamics has supported TDRS program for 30+ years through our work in helping NASA operate, upgrade and maintain the ground system terminals.  

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Behind the Scenes w/ NASA and GD!

From putting a man on the Moon to its countless scientific and technological achievements over the last 58 years, NASA is known for many things … One thing you may not know about NASA is that they also have one of the most effective social media strategies in the U.S. Government. When I received an opportunity to meet NASA's Social Media team and go behind the scenes for the SpaceX4 mission launch … I did not hesitate to accept.

As the Digital Communications Director at General Dynamics C4S, I'm always looking for interesting ways to talk about the technology we develop and the customers we support.  While I have spent some time learning about the radio telescopes we build for astronomers around the world, this will be my first look into GD's role in supporting NASA's satellite and communications networks.

Over the next few days I'll be blogging, posting and tweeting about some of very cool programs and technology that General Dynamics works on with NASA. I hope you like it!   -Mike Neal (@MikeNealGD)

GD's Social Media Channels to Follow:

Twitter: http://bit.ly/GDonTwitter

Facebook: http://bit.ly/GDC4S

Instagram: http://bit.ly/GDInstagram

Google+: http://bit.ly/GDonGplus