[SatNews] This Company is now an Executive Member...

The Space Data Association (SDA), established by commercial satellite operators to improve the safety and efficiency of space operations, has announced that Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) will join its board as an Executive Member. The SDA is a non-profit association that brings together satellite operators who value controlled, reliable and efficient data-sharing critical to the safety and integrity of the space environment and radio frequency spectrum. As an Executive Member, Eutelsat will join the existing Executive Members, Inmarsat, Intelsat and SES that sit on the board of the non-profit entity managing its activities in support of the space industry. As one of the world’s largest satellite operators, Eutelsat’s participation has been eagerly anticipated by existing SDA members.

In addition to Eutelsat, Inmarsat, Intelsat and SES, the SDA’s membership now includes Avanti, Echostar, GeoEye, Paradigm, SS/L and StarOne. The SDA continues to work with the other satellite operators participating in its operations in order to confirm their formal membership. The association operates the Space Data Center (SDC), the satellite community’s first global operator-led network for sharing high-accuracy operational data to improve overall space situational awareness and satellite operations. The SDC provides Conjunction Assessment (CA) processing for more than 60 percent of all operational satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), nearly 200 geosynchronous satellites in total, plus more than 100 LEO satellites. The system was provided and is operated by the SDA’s main technical adviser and systems developer, Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI). In addition to the CA processing, the SDC supports data sharing in support of other satellite operations activities including RF Interference (RFI) mitigation.