Home to the World's Largest Satellite Manufacturer
With the 1963 launch of Syncom, the world's first geosynchronous communications satellite, Boeing entered the satellite manufacturing business. The rigorous processes and quality control methods used in Boeing's satellite factory, known as the Boeing Satellite Development Center(SDC) have been refined through more than four decades of manufacturing experience gained from the construction of more than 200 commercial communications satellites, as well as government satellites and weather spacecraft and instruments. From single-country satellite systems, to regional communications services, to transoceanic systems to multi-country and global mobile communications networks, Boeing spacecraft cover the world.
Boeing offers a range of satellite sizes to suit varied power and capacity needs of our customers.
The body-stabilized Boeing 601 series' basic configuration features as many as 48 transponders and offers up to 4,800 watts. A higher-power version, the Boeing 601HP, features as many as 60 transponders and uses dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells and several new technologies to provide up to 8,700 watts.
With more than 80 versions ordered, the Boeing 601 satellite is the topselling spacecraft line. Customers in Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States who bought Boeing 376 models returned to purchase the Boeing 601. Other customers have purchased multiple Boeing 601 spacecraft.
In 1995, a more powerful bodystabilized satellite design was introduced. The Boeing 702 has the capacity for as many as 94 operational transponders, with 24 spares, and offers up to 18,000 watts of power. The first Boeing 702, Galaxy XI, was launched in December 1999. To date, customers in the United States, Canada, and The Netherlands have ordered the powerful Boeing 702.
In 1997, the Boeing GEO-Mobile spacecraft model was introduced. Designed for geomobile communications, the Boeing GEO-Mobile draws upon the technical heritage of the Boeing 601 and the technical advances inherent in the larger, more powerful Boeing 702. Five GEO-Mobile spacecraft have been ordered to date, with an option for a sixth.
Scientific Research and Meteorological Systems
Meteorological and research satellite systems perform a wide variety of tasks and provide an objective view of planet Earth. Boeing built the first geosynchronous satellite capable of meteorological observations, ATS-1, launched in 1966. Today, aboard a polar orbiter, a new microwave instrument penetrates clouds to determine wind speeds, soil moisture, ice coverage and age, and, for the first time, the exact location on land where rain is falling. A similar Boeing-built microwave imager is one of several instruments carried on the joint U.S.- Japanese Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, which began in 1997. In mid-2001, Boeing was awarded a contract for two Conical Microwave Imager/Sounder (CMIS) weather instruments for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
In 1998, the company won the competition to build the nextgeneration weather satellites for NASA/NOAA. Three new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, designated GOES N, GOES O, and GOES P, will provide more accurate location of severe storms and other weather phenomena, resulting in more precise warnings to the public. With these three GOES satellites, Boeing will have built eight satellites in the GOES series.
Astronauts setting foot on the moon were preceded by Surveyor lunar landers built at Boeing's SDC. In the mid-1960s, the spacecraft were sent to the moon to scout potential landing sites, leading the way for manned missions. The Galileo spacecraft, with its sophisticated Boeing-built probe, was launched in 1989 to explore the atmosphere of Jupiter. The probe arrived at the planet in December 1995, returning a wealth of scientific data. Meanwhile, incredibly detailed images of Venus' surface have been obtained by a Boeing-built radar onboard the Magellan spacecraft, which began orbiting Earth's twin planet in August 1990.
Boeing also supports the astronauts and NASA research in space. The company provided NASA's three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which relay communications between Earth and the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
National Security
The U.S. Department of Defense has also been an important customer. In January 2001, a satellite communications industry team led by Boeing was awarded a $160.3 million contract to develop Wideband Global SATCOM(WGS), a high-capacity satellite communications system to support the warfighter with newer and far greater capabilities than provided by current systems. In January 2002, Boeing received an additional $336.4 million to begin manufacturing the first two satellites, and today is under contract for a total of five spacecraft. With options for up to six Boeing 702 spacecraft, WGS carries a total potential contract value of $1.3 billion.
Boeing also built and launched 11 UHF Follow-On satellites for the U.S. Navy. These replaced existing spacecraft and provide the Defense Department with worldwide communications capabilities. Boeing served as a subcontractor on the Milstar program, providing elements for the satellites' electronic payloads. The company also develops the relay satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.
World's Largest Satellite Factory
Boeing is the world's leading manufacturer of geostationary satellites. The company, headquartered in Seal Beach, Calif., currently manufactures the body-stabilized Boeing 601 satellite and the body-stabilized Boeing 702, the world's most powerful communications satellite, and two lines of satellites designed to support mobile communications. At any given time more than a dozen of these powerful spacecraft are in varying stages of production.
Within the walls of Boeing's satellite factory, known as the Satellite Development Center (SDC), talented people create innovative space-based solutions that link, protect, and transform the world. Satellites designed here are manufactured, tested, and readied for shipment in the Integration and Test Complex (ITC). Encompassing approximately 1 million square feet, this state-of-the- art facility is the largest dedicated satellite factory in the world.
Within the walls of the ITC, virtually every aspect of satellite manufacturing is accomplished, such as design, fabrication, and component integration, as well as testing at the unit, subsystem, and completed spacecraft levels. At the conclusion of this assemblyline process, most satellites are placed into shipping containers and transported to nearby Los Angeles International Airport for flights to launch sites around the world.
Relying on established spacecraft designs that form the basis of a Boeing satellite coupled with strict quality initiatives, engineers build customized payloads and systems for commercial, civil, and government customers. Quality satellite manufacturing and process initiatives were validated from the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 5 certification, and Aerospace Standards (AS) 9100 certification. Initially certified in 2004, Boeing continues to hold these certifications. In 2006, the Space and Intelligence Systems division, which includes the Satellite Development Center, received the highest honor from the California Conference for Excellence, in response to an application for a California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE) award. The CAPE adheres to the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems joins only three other companies in the award's history to achieve a gold level award in the large manufacturing category. The result: world-class processes producing satellites backed by more than 2,000 years of reliable in-orbit operation.
To achieve a production-line process, the ITC is organized into areas of specialization, such as structures, propulsion, payload integration and test, antenna fabrication, solar array assembly, and spacecraft integration and test.
As a spacecraft is constructed, it passes through each of these areas, which are referred to as "bays." When a spacecraft enters the 60-foot High Bay, it undergoes final integration and systems test. Specialized test equipment, alignment tools, and large rollover fixtures, which allow technicians to reposition the spacecraft for easy access, are featured in the High Bay.
Throughout the past decade, the High Bay has expanded by thousands of square feet, including a state-of-the-art combination anechoic/near-field chamber and a thermal stress test facility. The High Bay now contains two anechoic chambers used to test communications payloads. They shield units under test from outside radio waves that might interfere with the test. The near-field range is used to check the beam pattern of a spacecraft by simulating the transmission of a communications beam from geosynchronous orbit to Earth.
The factory also contains a Mass Properties Laboratory, which performs final weighing and spin balancing of spacecraft to ensure they meet weight, center-of-gravity, dynamic balance, and moment of-inertia requirements. The spin rates used in testing vary between 30 and 100 rpm. Rigorous thermal vacuum, vibration, acoustic, and shock tests are performed in the Space Simulation Laboratory. These testing methods enable Boeing to simulate the environmental rigors spacecraft will encounter during launch and throughout their lives in space in order to verify that the spacecraft are 100% ready for reliable operation.
The large vibration tables simulate the forces of a rocket booster lifting off from the launch pad. Spacecraft are vibrated in different directions and with a range of intensities to verify the soundness of design and quality of workmanship. The largest table is capable of shaking spacecraft with up to 50,000 pounds of force.
An acoustic test chamber can accurately replicate the intense acoustic energy levels that spacecraft experience during rocket launch. The chamber, 60 feet tall, 30 feet wide, and 35 feet deep can generate up to approximately 165 db of sound.
Thermal vacuum chambers are used to simulate the heat of the sun and the coldness and vacuum of space. There are four chambers in the Space Simulation Laboratory. The largest of these measures 35 feet wide, 45 feet deep, and 40 feet high at the center. Weighing one million pounds, it's one of the largest such chambers in the world and can test two Boeing 702 satellites simultaneously. The chamber can attain wall temperatures ranging from -320°F to +250°F. Heating elements placed very close to the spacecraft can simulate the infrared solar heating of approximately 1.5 suns. While subjected to this stressful environment, the spacecraft is powered up and all systems and functions are checked.
The origins of the ITC can be traced back to the early 1940s. The factory was originally owned by The American Motors Corporation for production of the Nash Rambler automobile.
In 1955, Howard Hughes purchased the 500,000- square-foot facility for $3 million and methodically began its evolution from an automobile manufacturing plant to today's satellite factory. Major modifications to the facility in 1992, which included the consolidation of the Integrated Satellite Factory and companywide restructuring, resulted in an improvement in satellite manufacturing productivity of approximately 49% and reduced cycle time from satellite order to delivery by approximately 30%.
In 2000, the Hughes satellite organization became a welcome addition to the Boeing family. Boeing is committed to owning and operating a state-of-the-art, dedicated satellite factory. The benefits are two-fold: not only is the company poised to support future demand, but the ultimate, and most important, benefit is the delivery of a final satellite or instrument that excels in technical design, operational ability, and reliability.
Research and Development
To maintain its leadership in supplying the best, most modern products, Boeing is continuing research and development in many technical areas. Advanced space power and power conditioning systems are being developed, as well as highspeed signal processors, to meet future requirements.
The company has also developed a xenon ion propulsion system, which offers considerably more power, and lighter weight, as compared to chemical bipropellant systems.
Satellite Systems That Make a Difference
Boeing continues to pioneer technologies and to discover new applications for a wide variety of systems that make a difference in our world today and create possibilities for tomorrow.
We are committed to expanding knowledge of and appreciation for commercial, civil, and military space activities.