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ASTROVISION INTERNATIONAL ESTABLISHES CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IN BETHESDA
BETHESDA, June 1, 2001 - AstroVision International, a privately-held commercial space company that is developing a satellite system to provide live, true color, 24-hour high definition video imaging of the earth, has established its corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.
AstroVision plans to deploy the first of its five geostationary AVStar satellites in 2003 to provide coverage of North America. Subsequent satellites will be launched to achieve global coverage by around mid-2006. The first satellite will have five imaging systems, including wide field, narrow field, ultraviolet, and low light cameras. Each subsequent satellite will have the same systems, plus a lightning mapper sensor and a Thermal Infrared sensor. Resolution will be as good as one-half kilometer, with improved resolution on satellites three and beyond.
With AVStar, AstroVision will deliver unique real-time coverage of atmospheric and terrestrial events, including extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, and major catastrophic occurrences like fires and volcano eruptions. In addition, AstroVision will provide coverage of such celestial events as solar eclipses, lunar occultations, and meteors.
The company plans to deliver its news, entertainment, and educational content to viewers over the Internet, through distribution agreements with broadcasters, and directly to corporations and educational and government institutions. Other potential applications include tracking and predicting destructive weather patterns for risk mitigation and loss prevention; providing transport companies access to weather data for safety and forecasting purposes; and enhancing the ability of remote sensing companies to target their satellites for cloud-free images.
About AstroVision International, Inc.
Founded in 1997, AstroVision International, Inc. is developing the world's first satellite system designed to deliver live, continuous, true color, high definition images of earth from outer space. The first satellite in the five-satellite AVStar system is scheduled for launch in early 2003 and will provide coverage of North and South America.
ASTROVISION SELECTS BALL AEROSPACE TO BUILD SATELLITE BUSES FOR AVSTAR SYSTEM
- Company to Provide Live, True Color, High Definition Imaging of Earth from Outer Space Starting in 2003
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 2 – AstroVision International, Inc. (www.astrovision.com) today announced that it has selected Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. to build its satellites and to integrate on-board instruments for the company’s AVStar satellite system. The agreement was reached on March 30, 2001. Terms were not disclosed.
Malin Space Sciences, which has developed remote imaging instruments for NASA’s Observer and Surveyor missions to Mars, is currently building cameras for the satellites under a contract with AstroVision announced last November.
“With Ball Aerospace joining our team, we now have in place the two prime contractors for building the AVStar system and making real-time imaging of the earth a reality,” stated Michael Hewins, chief executive officer at AstroVision.
"We are extremely pleased and excited with AstroVision's selection of Ball Aerospace as its spacecraft manufacturer for this exciting new venture to provide live, color coverage of earth to viewers," said David L. Taylor, chief operating officer of Ball Aerospace. "We look forward to joining AstroVision's commercial remote-sensing team by supplying them with our BCP 1000 geostationary bus from our family of commercial spacecraft.”
AstroVision’s AVStar is a planned five-satellite system that will provide live, true color, 24-hour high definition coverage of the Earth. The company anticipates
deploying its first geosynchronous satellite in early 2003 for coverage of North America. Subsequent satellites will be launched to achieve global coverage by around mid-2005. Each satellite will have five imaging systems, including wide field, narrow field, ultraviolet, and low light cameras. Resolution will be as good as one-half kilometer.
With AVStar, AstroVision will deliver unique real-time coverage of atmospheric and terrestrial events, including extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, and major catastrophic occurrences like fires and volcano eruptions. In addition, AstroVision will provide coverage of such celestial events as solar eclipses, lunar occultations, and meteors.
The company plans to deliver its news, entertainment, and educational content to viewers over the Internet, through distribution agreements with broadcasters, and directly to educational, corporate, and government institutions. Other potential applications include tracking and predicting destructive weather patterns for risk mitigation and loss prevention; providing transport companies access to weather data for safety and forecasting purposes; and enhancing the ability of remote sensing companies to target their satellites for cloud-free images.
About AstroVision International, Inc.
Founded in 1997, AstroVision International, Inc. is developing the world's first satellite system designed to deliver live, continuous, true color, high definition images of earth from outer space. The first satellite in the five-satellite AVStar system is scheduled for launch in early 2003 and will provide coverage of North and South America.
About Ball Aerospace & Technologies.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. provides imaging and communications
products for commercial and government customers worldwide and is a
subsidiary of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL), a Fortune 500 company which had
sales of $3.7 billion in 2000.
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ASTROVISION INTERNATIONAL RECEIVES OPERATING LICENSE FROM THE FCC
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 3 AstroVision International, Inc. (www.astrovision.com) has been granted a license by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to construct, launch and operate a commercial land remote-sensing satellite in geostationary orbit, it was announced by the company. Approval was granted by the FCC on November 15, 2000.
AstroVision plans to provide live, true color, 24-hour high definition coverage of the earth through its AVStar satellite system starting in 2003. The company recently announced the selection of its first major contractor, Malin Space Science Systems, which will provide the cameras for the satellites.
“The FCC’s decision to grant AstroVision a license to operate the AVStar system is an important milestone for the company,” stated Michael Hewins, chief executive officer at AstroVision International. “With these regulatory matters now behind us, we can continue to move forward on all fronts with our plan to provide full-time video coverage of the earth starting in 2003.”
AstroVision anticipates deploying its first geostationary satellite in 2003 for coverage of North America. Subsequent satellites will be launched to achieve global coverage by around mid-2005. Each satellite will have 5 imaging systems, including wide-field, narrow-field, ultraviolet, and low light cameras. Resolution will be as good as one-half kilometer.
With AVStar, AstroVision will deliver unique real-time coverage of atmospheric and terrestrial events, including extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, and major catastrophic occurrences like fires and volcano eruptions. In addition, AstroVision will provide coverage of such celestial events as solar eclipses, lunar occultations, and meteors.
The company plans to deliver its news, entertainment and educational content to viewers over the Internet, through distribution agreements with broadcasters, and directly to educational, corporate, and government institutions. Other potential applications include tracking and predicting destructive weather patterns for risk mitigation and loss prevention; providing transport companies access to weather data for safety and forecasting purposes; and enhancing the ability of remote sensing companies to target their satellites for cloud-free images.
About AstroVision International, Inc.
Founded in 1997, AstroVision International, Inc. is developing the world's first satellite system designed to deliver live, continuous, true color, high definition images of earth from outer space. The first satellite in the five-satellite AVStar system is scheduled for launch in 2003 and will provide coverage of North and South America.
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ASTROVISION SELECTS MALIN SPACE SCIENCE SYSTEMS TO BUILD CAMERAS FOR AVSTAR SYSTEM
- Company Plans to Provide Live, True Color, 24-Hour Imaging of Earth from Outer Space Starting in 2003
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 28 AstroVision International, Inc.,(www.astrovision.com)
has selected Malin Space Science Systems to design and build the remote imaging
systems for the company's AVStar satellite system, it was announced today. Malin
Space Sciences is a leader in providing cameras for unmanned spacecraft, and
developed the imaging instruments for NASA'S Observer and Surveyor missions to
Mars. "The selection of Malin Space Science to provide the imaging devices for the
AVStar system is an important step forward towards our goal of making real-time
imaging of the earth a reality," stated Michael Hewins, chief executive officer at
AstroVision. "We are delighted to join with AstroVision in pioneering this new and
exciting application for remote imaging technology," stated Michael Malin, president
and chief scientist at Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS). Malin indicated that this
would be the first time MSSS has delivered cameras to a commercial customer.
Astrovision's AVStar is a planned five satellite system that will provide live, true color,
24-hour high definition coverage of the earth. The company anticipates deploying its
first geostationary satellite in early 2003 for coverage of North America. Subsequent
satellites will be launched to achieve global coverage by around mid-2005. Each
satellite will have 5 imaging systems, including wide-field, narrow-field, ultraviolet, and
low light cameras. Resolution will be as good as one-half kilometer.
With AVStar, AstroVision will deliver unique real-time coverage of atmospheric and
terrestrial events, including extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning,
and major catastrophic occurrences like fires and volcano eruptions. In addition,
AstroVision will provide coverage of such celestial events as solar eclipses, lunar
occultations, and meteors.
The company plans to deliver its news, entertainment, and educational content to
viewers over the Internet, through distribution agreements with broadcasters, and
directly to educational, corporate, and government institutions. Other potential
applications include tracking and predicting destructive weather patterns for risk
mitigation and loss prevention; providing transport companies access to weather data
for safety and forecasting purposes; and enhancing the ability of remote sensing
companies to target their satellites for cloud-free images.
About AstroVision International, Inc.
Founded in 1997, AstroVision International, Inc. is developing the world's first satellite
system designed to deliver live, continuous, true color, high definition images of
earth from outer space. The first satellite in the five-satellite AVStar system is
scheduled for launch in early 2003 and will provide coverage of North and South
America.
About Malin Space Science Systems
Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) was established in 1990 to design, develop and
operate instruments to fly on unmanned spacecraft. The company developed, built
and now operates the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor. In
addition, MSSS built the cameras for the Mars Surveyor '98 Missions (Mars Climate
Orbiter MARCI and Mars Polar Lander MARDI) and the visible imaging systems on the
2001 Mars "Odyssey" missions. Malin Space Science Systems is headquartered in San
Diego, California.
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ASTROVISION RECEIVES $5 MILLION IN VENTURE FUNDING; PLANS TO GO
"LIVE" IN EARLY 2002 WITH 24-HOUR REAL TIME COLOR VIDEO OF EARTH
Company to Deliver Satellite-Based Earth Video for News, Entertainment, Educational Content for the Internet and Television
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 6 AstroVision International, Inc. (www.astrovis.com) announced today that it received $5 million in venture capital funding to proceed with
the world’s first satellite system designed to provide a live, continuous, true color,
high definition video stream of earth from outer space. The funding was provided by
SpaceVest, a leading Virginia-based venture capital firm investing in growth companies
associated with the space industry, and Sofinov, a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et
placement du Québec, one of the largest investment funds in Canada with $115 billion
(U.S.) under management.
Founded in 1997, AstroVision is the first commercial space company associated with
Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative and the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology
incubator to secure venture capital financing.
The proceeds of the funding will allow AstroVision to proceed with selection of a prime
contractor for the construction of its proposed five-satellite AVStar system. Astrovision
has filed for licenses with appropriate U.S. Government regulatory agencies to
broadcast live video imagery from space.
According to Michael Hewins, the company’s president and chief executive officer,
AstroVision plans to deploy its first geosynchronous satellite in early 2002 for
coverage of North America. Subsequent satellites will be launched on a regular
schedule to achieve global coverage by mid 2003. Each satellite will have wide-field
and narrow-field cameras to provide resolution down to a half kilometer.
With AVStar, AstroVision will deliver unique real-time coverage of atmospheric and
terrestrial events, including extreme weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning,
and major catastrophic occurrences like fires and volcano eruptions. In addition,
AstroVision will provide coverage of such celestial events as solar eclipses, lunar
occultations, and meteors.
The company plans to deliver its news, entertainment, and educational content to
viewers over the Internet, through distribution agreements with television
broadcasters, and directly to educational, corporate, and government institutions.
"With the growth in the Internet traffic and cable television, and the rapid penetration
of new broadband technologies, demand for content is exploding," stated John
Higginbotham, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of SpaceVest.
"AstroVision is well-positioned for this sizable market opportunity. With the AVStar
system, AstroVision provides a long-overdue service whose time has come."
"The single most remarkable shared experience of humans who have traveled in
space is their renewed appreciation of the beauty of the earth while looking down on
it," says Dr. Malcolm LeCompte, founder and chief technology officer of AstroVision.
"Our vision is to revolutionize the way we look at the earth by providing everyone
with the means to experience an astronaut’s view of home – live and in true color."
"Our due diligence has indicated that there is considerable interest in the content that
AstroVision plans to deliver. We’re very excited about the company’s prospects based on
it's first-mover advantage," stated Edward Sloot, Sofinov Director.
A New Technology Standard
The present standard for delivering images from weather satellites is about one frame
every fifteen to twenty minutes. Using commercially available charged couple device
(CCD) technology, the AVStar satellite system will deliver one frame every four
seconds initially, with the second generation of satellites increasing the speed to one frame
every second. AstroVision has applied for a patent on its unique system of delivering
real-time video images from geosynchronous orbit.
Initially, AstroVision’s content will be entertainment and weather-related because of
the large existing market demand for this material. "Research shows that the better
the local weather reporting, the greater the viewing audience. Newscasts that can
meet the potential audience demand for the most accurate and visually interesting
weather reporting will capture the greatest amount of market share," said Hewins,
who notes that The Weather Channel site alone received 600 million hits in two days
when Hurricane Floyd was moving up the East Coast in 1999.
AstroVision is based in Bethesda, Maryland, and maintains its downlink at Stennis
Space Center in Mississippi.
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