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Satellite Communications Industry - Launch Services and Manufacturers
By Editor | November 8, 2007
This article covers the companies in the satellite communications industry that provide satellite communications launch vehicles to include the hardware and software inside those vehicles. It will also discuss those companies in the satellite communications industry that provide launch sites and other services to the satellite communications industry.
In the satellite communications industry there are several hundred companies that design and manufacture launch vehicles and the parts for those vehicles.
There are companies like AeroAstro that specialize in the development of small low cost launch vehicles and their components. Now I don’t know about you, but the term “low cost” is not something I want to be associated with if I am traveling several miles above the earth’s surface.
Then there are companies that specialize on even smaller components. These components may be small in size but are very important in function. Advanced Products is a manufacturer of metal and polymer seals for the extreme environments that equipment in the satellite communications industry is required to operate in.
Of course for a satellite communications vehicle to launch it needs a rocket and the ability to control its attitude. Companies like Aerojet provide these products along with companies like AITech Defense Systems that manufacture flight computers that will calculate attitude and use of rockets, calculate speed and other functions that require instantaneous calculations that humans are not capable of doing.
Those rocket systems need propellant or fuel to get the vehicle in the air and there are companies in the satellite communications industry that specialize only in propellants like Air Products and Chemicals.
The one thing the satellite communications industry has in common is the need, from start to finish, for control. While humans are behind the decision making for the launch, mission and recovery, mission control systems like those manufactured by Altair Aerospace provides the automation necessary for mission control centers to track and control the satellite communications vehicles mission.
Once a mission is complete a satellite communications vehicle sometimes is required to re-enter orbit and be recovered without damage. They are sometime required to stop or change speed in orbit. The satellite communications industry also has companies that specialize in this area as well as manufacturing parachute systems and decelerators.
The satellite communications industry would not be able to function without those locations from which satellite communications vehicles could be launched. Companies like Alaska Aerospace Development operate locations conducive to the launch of satellite communications equipment in locations such as Kodiak Island in Alaska.
Of course the government contractors aren’t the only institutions making money of the satellite communications industry. Companies like Beal Aerospace Technologies work for and develop launch vehicles that are privately funded by companies or individuals.
Last but not least with the the growth of privately funded space vehicles we start to see an expanded use beyond the satellite communications and exploration fields. Launch vehicles are now used by companies like Diffinity Inc who conduct space burial services that include launching the remains with DNA samples and a CD with biographical information of the deceased into Earth’s orbit.
I believe soon that you will start seeing more use of privatized launch companies in the satellite communications industry for launch of private satellites that could more than likely be used for surveillance functions for Private Investigation and Legal firms, private security contractors such as Blackwater as well as many more uses.
Topics: Satellite Communications Industry |