PARIS, Le Bourget and SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp
(NYSE: GY) company, QinetiQ, (LSE: QQ.L) and EADS Astrium Crisa, an
EADS (PAR:EAD) company, announced today that the companies have
entered into a joint agreement to supply the XENITH™ (Xenon
Ion Thruster) ion propulsion system to the worldwide
commercial spacecraft market. The agreement will enable customers
to benefit from the combined expertise of independent market
leaders in design, manufacture and supply of space propulsion
systems, who are collaborating to deliver the XENITH™ system.
Built around the ultra high-efficient T6 ion thruster developed
by QinetiQ, the XENITH™ propulsion system will provide a reduction
in propellant consumed by more than a factor of 12 over
conventional chemical propulsion systems. Ion propulsion systems
have been used for orbit raising and station keeping of satellites,
as well as for primary propulsion for deep space missions.
The T6 ion propulsion technology is based on the lower power T5
system, which provides precision atmospheric drag compensation for
the highly successful GOCE gravity mapping mission operated by ESA.
A T6-based propulsion system is being qualified for the European
Bepi-Colombo mission to Mercury and has been selected to provide
onboard propulsion for the Alphabus communications satellite
platform. QinetiQ provides the thruster and flow control subsystem,
while Crisa provides the thruster power and control
electronics.
"The joint effort with Aerojet and Crisa to market the XENITH™
propulsion system is a significant step toward delivering QinetiQ's
proven ion propulsion technology for much wider use worldwide,"
said Neil Bevan, QinetiQ Technology
Solutions, Managing Director of Aerospace.
Aerojet's electric propulsion products are currently flying on
more than 150 operational satellites and span a broad range of
electric propulsion products. For the XENITH™ system, Aerojet will
perform some of the manufacturing, under a licensed arrangement
with QinetiQ, and then integrate and deliver the system to
spacecraft primes.
Vice President of Space and Launch Systems for Aerojet,
Julie Van Kleeck, states that "the
XENITH™ system fills a critical need within Aerojet's suite of
electric propulsion product offerings."
"As the developer and supplier of the T5 and T6 power
electronics units, we look forward to working with this team to
provide this key component of the XENITH™ system with the highest
of quality and reliability," said Fernando
del Rey, CEO of Crisa. Crisa has provided flight electronics
to most ESA flight programs and delivered more than 700 units with
almost 3,000 aggregate years of operation on orbit.
About Aerojet
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader
principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and
armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based
manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a
real estate segment that includes activities related to the
entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's excess real estate
assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be
obtained by visiting the companies' websites at
http://www.Aerojet.com and http://www.GenCorp.com.
About QinetiQ Group
A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide
technical support and know-how to customers in the global
aerospace, defence and security markets. Employing 13,000 people
around the world, QinetiQ's unique position enables it to be a
trusted partner to government organisations, predominantly in the
UK and the US, including defence departments, intelligence services
and security agencies. In the year to 31
March 2011, QinetiQ delivered revenue of 1,702.6 m
pounds Sterling.
About EADS Astrium Crisa
A fully owned company of EADS Astrium in Spain, Crisa is a well renowned supplier of
complex on board electronics for space. More than 25 years
experience, 400 employees, and hundreds of electronic units flown
in space, demonstrate Crisa's capabilities in the design and
manufacturing of electronic equipment for satellites and launchers,
covering every scientific, Earth observation, telecommunications or
navigation application. At the moment, the company is working in
the Ariane 5 and Vega launcher programs, the ATV vehicle, the
Alphabus and Eurostar platforms, scientific and Earth observation
satellites like GAIA, LISA Pathfinder, Sentinel 2 & 3,
EarthCARE, and the planetary mission Bepi-Colombo.
XENITH is a trade mark of QinetiQ Limited.
SOURCE Aerojet
