[SatNews] Airbus Defence and Space hails a series of decisions taken at European Space Agency (ESA) Ministerial Council meeting in Luxembourg that underline the member states’ support for, and commitment to safeguarding Europe’s continued independent access to space and its part in the world’s space adventure.
“This summit will go down in history as a bold step forward for European Space. The decisions taken today represent a new boost for the launcher industry, the basis for all space activities, and for the overall European space sector and its thousands of employees whose expertise and passion keep the industry moving forward. I would like to pay tribute to the outstanding work that the member states and their space agencies have carried out under the coordination of the European Space Agency since the Naples meeting, in late 2012”, said François Auque, Head of Space Systems. “In particular, I would like to thank the ESA General Director, Jean-Jacques Dordain, the Ministers in charge of space, and the representatives of the space agencies for their trust.”
Airbus Defence and Space is delighted that Human Space Flight will continue, notably with the Orion capsule’s European service module, building on the success of the ATV program, and that the International Space Station will continue to operate through this decade. The decisions taken in Luxembourg will also enable ongoing support for the future of telecommunications, most notably through Anysat, and will strengthen Copernicus, Europe’s Earth monitoring and observation program.
“Airbus Defence and Space and its partners in the European space industry will now put all their efforts and know-how into taking up the challenge and delivering. The European adventure in space has only just begun,” added Mr. Auque.
Additionally, Airbus Defence and Space has added BGAN services to its M2M Proximity platform—this new version introduces real-time access to remote terminals with high maintenance savings potential.
With this evolution of the platform, all BGAN terminals in an M2M network can be accessed for reconfiguration, updating and maintenance without physical intervention via satellite. The ability to update software and troubleshoot via Proximity will help service providers and end- users save significant maintenance costs whilst ensuring high uptime for critical M2M data communication with equipment in often remote locations.
In addition to interacting with the BGAN M2M terminal using SMS commands, terminals can now also be remotely accessed via the user-friendly Proximity Portal. The new version provides a wealth of information on a terminal‘s status via a clear graphical user interface. Within the portal a terminal can be put on stand-by or re-activated and data usage can be checked, while Tracking and Geo Fencing parameters can be controlled to add an additional level of security. An engineer can also quickly determine the Inmarsat beam number, signal level and retrieve log files, making the functionality especially relevant for live troubleshooting without needing an engineer on site.
The new functionality is part of the next generation of the Airbus Defence and Space Proximity M2M platform. The Enterprise Satcom business unit has re-developed the system to meet the evolving needs in the M2M sector, with the goal of establishing one entry point for all M2M applications using satellite connectivity and terminals with standard methods.
"We will continue to invest in the evolution of Proximity, and we plan to have improved ergonomics and an additional reporting capability ready within a few weeks“, said Danny Cote, head of Enterprise Satcoms in Airbus Defence and Space. "M2M is a key area of our research and development activities, as we expect the satellite based M2M market to double in the next 10 years.“
For additional information regarding Airbus D&S, please visit http://www.airbusdefenceandspace.com/
