The business relationship between GMV and Optus dates back to 2008, when GMV supplied two of its own flagship products, matool (mission analysis tool) and focusgeo (orbital dynamics system) for this operator’s entire fleet. As part of the Optus-10 project, GMV will extend the capacity of the orbital dynamics system, initially designed as operational support of a station keeping strategy and common collocation for the whole fleet. The new version includes new capacities such as orbit determination and automation of operations by means of autofocus.

 

The Optus-10 satellite belongs to the SS/ LORAL FS-1300 platform to be launched in 2013 for at least a 15-year service period. GMV has built up a good working knowledge of this platform from its previous experience in many programs such as EB2A for Eutelsat, H1E and Amazonas 3 for Hispasat and Thor 7 for Telenor. Moreover, GMV’s orbital dynamics system, focusgeo, will be adapted for supporting the new station-keeping strategy designed for the Optus-10 satellite, whose idiosyncratic propulsion system is mixed – ionic for control of inclination and eccentricity and chemical for control of longitude drift. GMV will also provide long and detailed inductive training for the operators, to teach them all the new features of the system. This project confirms Optus’s trust in GMV’s solutions and opens up the promising possibility of further work with this important satellite operator.