Early well. The third satellite also is on track for early delivery.“When we finished IS-22 and I heard we did it in 29 months,Space & Intelligence Systems team has continued to keep an eyeon cycle time. It will deliver that payload ahead of schedule as delivery satellite provider to offer business, government and military magazine, and Intelsat became the first customer. TheThe 702MP design was introduced to the market in 2009 inI was pretty amazed,” said Patrick Cooke, a structural analystengineer with the space systems team. “We’ve never done a firstbuild that fast. It’s a credit to the hard work of a lot of people.”Frontiersspacecraft is engineered to hold both a primary and secondarypayload. A secondary, or “hosted,” payload enables a commercial customers a faster, more economical way to get into space Boeing team completes new 702MP than buying a dedicated satellite. medium-power satellites in record time successful 702HP (high-power) spacecraft is part of an aggressiveThe introduction of a medium-power variation of Boeing’s By Diana Eastman strategy by Space & Intelligence Systems to re-establish its business in the burgeoning commercial satellite market. Fto market is critical for sellers and buyers. payloads as game-changers,” said Jim Simpson, vice president of-“We are known for our technical excellence and breadth of experience, but staying competitive means we also must offer affordable,flexible and creative solutions. We see the 702MP and hostedIn the satellite business, the pressure is magnified. Therom celery to cellphones, the time it takes to get a product worldwide demand for services—such as mobile communication, Business Development for the Space & Intelligence Systems division. Earth observation and space surveillance—increases daily. But it The 702MP is not a completely new design—it’s an evolutionary takes years to manufacture a complex spacecraft that can provide model that draws heavily from the flight-proven 702HP, which the needed capability for a life span of almost two decades. reduces the risk for customers. The satellite’s modular design Typically a new satellite gets built and tested in three to five enables it to be scaled to different communication needs. years. But Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems employees in The division has kept the 702MP affordable in part by empha- El Segundo, Calif., are turning that standard on its head. sizing standardization in design, electronics, supplier agreements They completed the company’s first 702MP (medium-power) and production. Streamlining efforts in the satellite factory also has satellite in just 29 months, one month ahead of the aggressive reduced costs and increased throughput. schedule set with its customer Intelsat, a Luxembourg-based pro- “Our employees understand the marketplace and our need vider of global mobile communications. The spacecraft, designated for speed,” Simpson said. “Their success in building a new, Intelsat 22, or IS-22, was launched in March and is now on orbit high-quality satellite in record time is a big deal and has led and providing video, network and voice service to customers. to a very satisfied customer.” n With the second 702MP on deck for an August launch, the diana.b.eastman@boeing.com 14 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Frontiers August 2012 Issue
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