Integral Systems announced Tuesday it has received a contract from WorldSpace to provide a state-of-the-art satellite control system based on Integral's EPOCH IPS (Integrated Product Suite) for their two geostationary satellites, AfriStar and AsiaStar.
The contract includes EPOCH-based systems at two WorldSpace Regional Operations Centers (ROCS) located in Silver Spring, Maryland and Melbourne, Australia. The system replaces an existing control system and will enable WorldSpace to extend the life of its satellite control system by at least 15 years.
WorldSpace selected Integral's EPOCH IPS after an in-depth evaluation of current available systems. The new control system will take advantage of the latest features available as part of the EPOCH IPS product line, including seamless integration with Microsoft Office products and other third-party Windows-based products for automated data evaluation, analysis and distribution.
Through its satellite radio subscription service, WorldSpace broadcasts a variety of content including entertainment, news, sports, music and educational programming. The company's broadcast area covers more than 5 billion people in more than 130 countries.
"We are extremely pleased with WorldSpace's selection of the EPOCH IPS system. This selection further reinforces Integral's dominant position in the commercial satellite ground system market," said Stuart Daughtridge, executive vice president of the Commercial Division at Integral Systems.
"We selected Integral's EPOCH IPS system based on its ability to enhance our satellite control operations and extend satellite life," said Brian Park, vice president for broadcast satellite operations at WorldSpace.
"The new system not only prepares us for the expansion of our satellite broadcast network, but enables us to continue offering our subscribers high-quality digital audio and multimedia programming anytime and virtually anywhere in our coverage areas."
EPOCH IPS is the only COTS (commercial-off the shelf) satellite control system with a proven capability to operate diverse fleets of satellites (satellites from different satellite manufacturers in the same fleet) from a single satellite control system.
