Boeing Satellite Development Center
Encyclopedia
The Boeing Satellite Development Center is a major business unit of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It brought together Boeing satellite operations with that of GM Hughes Electronics' Space and Communications division.
' Hughes Aircraft Company
formed the Aerospace Group within the company, divided into:
In 1953 the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
(HHMI) was formed, and Hughes Aircraft reformed as a subsidiary of the foundation. The charity status of the foundation allowed Hughes Aircraft to avoid taxes on its huge income. In 1961 the two Aerospace Group divisions were reformed as Hughes Space and Communications Company.
Hughes Space and Communications Company launched the first geosynchronous communications satellite, Syncom
, in 1963.
On April 5, 1976 Howard Hughes died at the age of 70, leaving no will. In 1984 the Delaware Court of Chancery
appointed eight trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who decided to sell Hughes Aircraft to General Motors for $5.2 billion — this transaction was completed in 1985. GM merged Hughes Aircraft with its Delco Electronics
unit to form Hughes Electronics. This group then consisted of:
In 1995 Hughes Space and Communications Company became the world's biggest supplier of commercial satellites. In 1997 GM transferred Delco Electronics from Hughes Electronics to its Delphi Automotive Systems and later in the year sold the aerospace and defense operations of Hughes Electronics (Hughes Aircraft) to Raytheon
.
Hughes Space and Communications Company remained independent until 2000, when it was purchased by Boeing and became Boeing Satellite Development Center.
In 2005 Boeing Satellite Systems sold Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices to L3 communications.
The purchase of Hughes Space and Communications Company in 2000 gave Boeing an impressive range of products for design, manufacture, launch and support of satellites. This was in addition to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' other space assets, e.g. Delta launch vehicles, older-generation GPS satellites, and Rocketdyne
and Rockwell
's space operations (which include much of the hardware used in NASA's manned space program, such as the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, rocket engines, etc.)
Currently projects at the Boeing Satellite Development Center (spacecraft being designed, built, tested, or prepared for launch) are satellites made for XM (satellite radio
), DirecTV
(satellite television
), MSV (satellite mobile telephony
), Spaceway (data networks
), GPS (satellite navigation
), and for the Wideband Global SATCOM system
and TSAT projects (military communications). Designs for ISAT (military orbital radar
demonstrator), for additional GOES
satellites (meteorology
), and for other spacecraft, are currently being developed and proposed.
History
In 1948 Howard HughesHoward Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
' Hughes Aircraft Company
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
formed the Aerospace Group within the company, divided into:
- Hughes Space and Communications Group
- Hughes Space Systems Division
In 1953 the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United...
(HHMI) was formed, and Hughes Aircraft reformed as a subsidiary of the foundation. The charity status of the foundation allowed Hughes Aircraft to avoid taxes on its huge income. In 1961 the two Aerospace Group divisions were reformed as Hughes Space and Communications Company.
Hughes Space and Communications Company launched the first geosynchronous communications satellite, Syncom
Syncom
Syncom started as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites, all of which were developed and manufactured by Hughes Space and Communications...
, in 1963.
On April 5, 1976 Howard Hughes died at the age of 70, leaving no will. In 1984 the Delaware Court of Chancery
Delaware Court of Chancery
The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...
appointed eight trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who decided to sell Hughes Aircraft to General Motors for $5.2 billion — this transaction was completed in 1985. GM merged Hughes Aircraft with its Delco Electronics
Delco Electronics
Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana.The name Delco came from the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., founded in Dayton, Ohio by Charles Kettering and Edward A...
unit to form Hughes Electronics. This group then consisted of:
- Delco Electronics Corporation
- Hughes Aircraft Company
- Hughes Space and Communications Company
- Hughes Network Systems
- DirecTV
In 1995 Hughes Space and Communications Company became the world's biggest supplier of commercial satellites. In 1997 GM transferred Delco Electronics from Hughes Electronics to its Delphi Automotive Systems and later in the year sold the aerospace and defense operations of Hughes Electronics (Hughes Aircraft) to Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
.
Hughes Space and Communications Company remained independent until 2000, when it was purchased by Boeing and became Boeing Satellite Development Center.
In 2005 Boeing Satellite Systems sold Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices to L3 communications.
Current operations
Hughes added the following to Boeing's portfolio:- HS-376 — MEASATMEASATMEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd., formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd is a Malaysian communications satellite operator.MEASAT is the name of a line of communications satellites owned and operated by the company.As of 2006, the MEASAT satellite network consists of three geostationary...
, Marcopolo, and others. - HS-601 — ProtoStar II, and others.
- HS-702, now the Boeing 702Boeing 702Boeing 702 is a communications satellite design. The Boeing Satellite Development Center tailors the payload of each Boeing 702 to meet customer specifications based on a modular design but with usually more than seventy transponders....
- US Navy UHFUltra high frequencyUltra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
replacement- Military version of HS601 - NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Tracking and Data Relay SatellitesTDRSA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is a type of communications satellite that forms part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System used by NASA and other United States government agencies for communications to and from independent "User Platforms" such as satellites, balloons, aircraft,...
— Communications with Space ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
and International Space StationInternational Space StationThe International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. - NASA Geostationary Operational Environmental SatelliteGeostationary Operational Environmental SatelliteThe Geostationary Satellite system, operated by the United States National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service , supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research. Spacecraft and ground-based elements of the system work together to provide a continuous...
s. - HSGEO Mobile — Based on the 702 bus, for Thuraya Satellite CommunicationsThurayaThuraya , the Arabic name of the Pleiades, is a regional satellite phone provider. Its coverage area is most of Europe, the Middle East, North, Central and East Africa, Asia and Australia....
, United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, and soon for SkyTerra.
The purchase of Hughes Space and Communications Company in 2000 gave Boeing an impressive range of products for design, manufacture, launch and support of satellites. This was in addition to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' other space assets, e.g. Delta launch vehicles, older-generation GPS satellites, and Rocketdyne
Rocketdyne
Rocketdyne was a Rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, California, United States. The company was related to North American Aviation for most of its history. NAA merged with Rockwell International, which was then bought by Boeing in December, 1996...
and Rockwell
Rockwell
- People :* Dick Rockwell, an American comic strip and comic book artist, nephew of Norman Rockwell* Francis W. Rockwell, a United States Congressman from Massachusetts* Francis W...
's space operations (which include much of the hardware used in NASA's manned space program, such as the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, rocket engines, etc.)
Currently projects at the Boeing Satellite Development Center (spacecraft being designed, built, tested, or prepared for launch) are satellites made for XM (satellite radio
Satellite radio
Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...
), DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
(satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
), MSV (satellite mobile telephony
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
), Spaceway (data networks
Telecommunications network
A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...
), GPS (satellite navigation
Global Navigation Satellite System
A satellite navigation or SAT NAV system is a system of satellites that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. It allows small electronic receivers to determine their location to within a few metres using time signals transmitted along a line-of-sight by radio from...
), and for the Wideband Global SATCOM system
Wideband Global SATCOM system
The Wideband Global SATCOM system is a satellite communications system planned for use in partnership by the United States Department of Defense and the Australian Department of Defence. The system is composed of the Space Segment satellites, the Terminal Segment users and the Control Segment...
and TSAT projects (military communications). Designs for ISAT (military orbital radar
Space-Based Radar
Space-based radar refers to space-borne radar systems that may have any of a variety of purposes. A number of earth-observing radar satellites, such as RadarSat, have employed synthetic aperture radar to obtain terrain and land-cover information about the Earth.Space-Based Radar is a proposed...
demonstrator), for additional GOES
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
The Geostationary Satellite system, operated by the United States National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service , supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research. Spacecraft and ground-based elements of the system work together to provide a continuous...
satellites (meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
), and for other spacecraft, are currently being developed and proposed.
Subsidiaries
- SpectrolabSpectrolabSpectrolab, headquartered in Sylmar, California, is a subsidiary of The Boeing Company that manufacturers space solar cells and panels. It is also a subsidiary of the Boeing Satellite Development Center, which is a unit of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. It was founded in 1956 by Alfred E. Mann,...
— world's leading manufacturer of space solar cells and panels - Electron Dynamic Devices - sold to L3 communications in 2005.
External links
- Boeing Satellite Development Center
- Complete list of past satellites and space probes from Boeing Satellite Systems
- Complete list of current navigation and communications satellites projects at Boeing Satellite Systems
- Complete list of satellites built on the 376, 601, and 702 platforms (almost every BSS satellite is an adaptation of one of these three designs)
- Boeing contributions to space exploration projects, past (e.g. X-15, ApolloProject ApolloThe Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
) and current (e.g. ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
, ISSInternational Space StationThe International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
) - includes the work of companies since acquired by Boeing, such as Rockwell InternationalRockwell InternationalRockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
and North American AviationNorth American AviationNorth American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
.