[Satellite News 09-09-10] With demands for bandwidth ever increasing, satellite operators are becoming more demanding of their satellite manufacturers, senior technology executives from DirecTV, Hispasat and SES said at Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week.
Pay-TV operator DirecTV’s business requires the company to acquire a number of satellites and capacity, particularly as it offers its subscribers large numbers of HD channels. Phil Goswitz, DirecTV’s senior vice president of space and communications, said that because the operator has a philosophy that bigger is better, the company prefers to acquire one satellite at a time, rather than a multi-satellite procurement, in order to ensure better quality control.
“We constantly play with idea of going smaller, but it is never enough. We want the upper end of what manufacturers can do. Maybe satellites have got big enough. Maybe, we have accumulated enough risk on one satellite that we should stop, but we don’t,” said Goswitz. “You need to set up a competitive procurement for the satellite. If it is a bulk buy, you could end up in trouble. If you give them a challenging satellite, you get their best, and the best people. You need to challenge the industry. That is how you get quality. If you do more than one, you get the A team for the first one, but then you might get the B team afterwards. A well set-up single procurement is the way to go. I am not a fan of multi satellite procurement.”
SES Vice President of Planning and Engineering Michele Franci had a different view, saying that SES was not opposed to doing multi-satellite procurements. “If you have an opportunity to buy multiple satellites, it is an interesting option. So, it can make sense. The other side of that is putting all your eggs in one basket is a concern.”
For a smaller operator like Hispasat, which is targeting parts of Europe and Latin America, the key in any decision to acquire satellites is minimizing risk, according to Hispasat CTO Antonio Abad. “Performance is key. We need to deliver properly services to our customers. We want flight proven technology. We don’t take risks. We cannot afford to take risks.”
However, while the mantra maybe bigger is better for satellites, Abad believes there is still a market for smaller satellites, as long as launch prices come into line. “Bigger is better as far as new satellites are concerned. The problem is, in increasing the size of the satellites, we go beyond the range of certain launch vehicles, then the launch price for the Ariane could become expensive. There are still opportunities for smaller satellites. Speed to market is key. We need a launcher for smaller satellites. We find launch prices are not in line with small satellites. If we would have the possibility to have launchers for smaller satellites, we would see more satellites here.”
Franci believes that smaller satellites provide the benefit of a shorter time to market, which provides SES with the flexibility it needs going forward. “It takes an incredible amount of design to get a satellite design off the ground. The extent of which the industry can reduce the time to orbit would be good for us. That would be an incredibly beneficial advance for all of us. On the bus side, we have seen more efficient batteries and solar panels. Another area we hope to see improvements is on the propulsion side. It is still very old fashioned today.”
In terms of how technology can improve on new satellites, executives on the panel had numerous suggestions. Goswitz said DirecTV wants re-configurability, both in orbit, and before the satellite launches. “We want the ability to change the coverage during the lifetime of the satellite. We are currently developing a receiver antenna. Thales Alenia Space Espana is working on the next phase of the on-board processing system. We believe the costs for more flexible payloads are too high right now. I am a fan of boring stuff such as batteries and solar cells. That is how you get bigger satellites. Payload flexibility within the antenna and repeater is also key.”
According to Abad, Hispasat has been considering hosted payload improvements, and hopes that a simpler process of integration will come to fruition. “Hosted payloads are an interesting issue. They are a good opportunity to complement other business plans, and increase the size of the satellite. But, scheduling is a challenge and implementing a hosted payload can be a nightmare. It is not an easy thing to do.”
Pay-TV operator DirecTV’s business requires the company to acquire a number of satellites and capacity, particularly as it offers its subscribers large numbers of HD channels. Phil Goswitz, DirecTV’s senior vice president of space and communications, said that because the operator has a philosophy that bigger is better, the company prefers to acquire one satellite at a time, rather than a multi-satellite procurement, in order to ensure better quality control.
“We constantly play with idea of going smaller, but it is never enough. We want the upper end of what manufacturers can do. Maybe satellites have got big enough. Maybe, we have accumulated enough risk on one satellite that we should stop, but we don’t,” said Goswitz. “You need to set up a competitive procurement for the satellite. If it is a bulk buy, you could end up in trouble. If you give them a challenging satellite, you get their best, and the best people. You need to challenge the industry. That is how you get quality. If you do more than one, you get the A team for the first one, but then you might get the B team afterwards. A well set-up single procurement is the way to go. I am not a fan of multi satellite procurement.”
SES Vice President of Planning and Engineering Michele Franci had a different view, saying that SES was not opposed to doing multi-satellite procurements. “If you have an opportunity to buy multiple satellites, it is an interesting option. So, it can make sense. The other side of that is putting all your eggs in one basket is a concern.”
For a smaller operator like Hispasat, which is targeting parts of Europe and Latin America, the key in any decision to acquire satellites is minimizing risk, according to Hispasat CTO Antonio Abad. “Performance is key. We need to deliver properly services to our customers. We want flight proven technology. We don’t take risks. We cannot afford to take risks.”
However, while the mantra maybe bigger is better for satellites, Abad believes there is still a market for smaller satellites, as long as launch prices come into line. “Bigger is better as far as new satellites are concerned. The problem is, in increasing the size of the satellites, we go beyond the range of certain launch vehicles, then the launch price for the Ariane could become expensive. There are still opportunities for smaller satellites. Speed to market is key. We need a launcher for smaller satellites. We find launch prices are not in line with small satellites. If we would have the possibility to have launchers for smaller satellites, we would see more satellites here.”
Franci believes that smaller satellites provide the benefit of a shorter time to market, which provides SES with the flexibility it needs going forward. “It takes an incredible amount of design to get a satellite design off the ground. The extent of which the industry can reduce the time to orbit would be good for us. That would be an incredibly beneficial advance for all of us. On the bus side, we have seen more efficient batteries and solar panels. Another area we hope to see improvements is on the propulsion side. It is still very old fashioned today.”
In terms of how technology can improve on new satellites, executives on the panel had numerous suggestions. Goswitz said DirecTV wants re-configurability, both in orbit, and before the satellite launches. “We want the ability to change the coverage during the lifetime of the satellite. We are currently developing a receiver antenna. Thales Alenia Space Espana is working on the next phase of the on-board processing system. We believe the costs for more flexible payloads are too high right now. I am a fan of boring stuff such as batteries and solar cells. That is how you get bigger satellites. Payload flexibility within the antenna and repeater is also key.”
According to Abad, Hispasat has been considering hosted payload improvements, and hopes that a simpler process of integration will come to fruition. “Hosted payloads are an interesting issue. They are a good opportunity to complement other business plans, and increase the size of the satellite. But, scheduling is a challenge and implementing a hosted payload can be a nightmare. It is not an easy thing to do.”
