VIENNA, Va., 19 August 2005. The Allied Defense Group, Inc. announces its SeaSpace subsidiary has been awarded an $800,000 contract with $200,000 in pending options, from MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Ltd. (MDA) of Richmond, BC, Canada.
SeaSpace, a manufacturer of satellite ground stations and antenna systems, will developing and manufacturing a Dual-Channel Ka-Band Uplink and Dual-Channel K-Band Downlink Ground Station Tracking Antenna for MDA. The antenna will support MDA's technical demonstration of the world's first commercial, space-based digital courier service, called CASCADE.
When proven, future operational missions may provide a large-scale data transfer service to remote commercial, civil and military clients anywhere in the world.
This "courier-in-the-sky" will support the transfer of digital data files 50-500 Gigabytes at a time, allowing very large amounts of information to be delivered to decision-makers anywhere in the world. Future operational missions could deliver a commercial "digital package delivery service" to customers ranging from resource exploration companies to the military.
Upon completion of the technical demonstration phase, MDA and SeaSpace could pursue expansion of the system to include multiple satellites and numerous land-based or shipboard ground terminal antenna systems.
Major General (Ret.) John J. Marcello, CEO and president of The Allied Defense Group said, "Allied is honored to support MDA in their plan to demonstrate the feasibility and commercial value of a satellite-based digital data transfer model. We are very proud of the progress SeaSpace is making with its new antenna product line. The antennas became available for sale this year and have already been well-received by the market."
Bruce Waddell, president of SeaSpace said, "The entire SeaSpace team is very proud of the confidence MDA has shown in SeaSpace with this critical contract decision. What MDA is doing is leading-edge and we are committed to the success of their unique CASSIOPE/CASCADE program."
SeaSpace Corp. empowers people to improve the safety, security, and enjoyment of our global environment. SeaSpace manufactures TeraScan hardware and software products that provide customers with timely and accurate satellite-derived weather and environmental information. These systems are in operation at more than 450 customer sites in over 30 countries. For more information, see www.seaspace.com.
The Allied Defense Group, Inc. is a diversified international defense and security firm which: develops and produces conventional medium caliber ammunition marketed to defense departments worldwide; designs, produces and markets sophisticated electronic and microwave security systems principally for European and North American markets; manufactures battlefield effects simulators and other training devices for the military; and designs and produces state-of-the-art weather and navigation software, data, and systems for commercial and military customers. For more information, see www.allieddefensegroup.com.
