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TOKYO, 22 Oct. 2009. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has entered an agreement to supply Proximity Link System (PLS) components to Orbital Sciences Corp. (Orbital). The electronic components will guide Orbital's Cygnus Spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on nine re-supply missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The PLS components were originally developed for the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) program by Mitsubishi Electric under contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Mitsubishi Electric will deliver the PLS components to Orbital between 2010 and 2014 according to a contract valued at roughly $66 million (6 billion yen), making it one of the largest contracts tying a Japanese company to NASA's space exploration program.
The Cygnus Spacecraft is under development by Orbital under a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Space Act Agreement with NASA.
The PLS components, composed of transponders, diplexers, and data handling processors, are essential for rendezvous control between re-supply spacecraft and the ISS, says a company representative.
When the re-supply spacecraft approaches the ISS, the on-board PLS initiates a signaling exchange with the PROX (Proximity Communication System), which is built into the ISS as a part of the Japanese Kibo Experimental Module, and guides the spacecraft in rendezvous and berthing with the ISS.
The development and manufacture of the PLS components will be carried out at Mitsubishi Electric's factory in Kamakura, Japan.
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