Dec. 1, 2010, 4:19 p.m.
DEWITT, N.Y. - Anaren Inc. received a $20 million contract Tuesday to make components for new communication satellites.
Anaren has been selected by the French company, Thales Alenia Space, to build beam-formers, a type of satellite component. Thales Alenia Space makes satellites for Iridium Communications, and has hired Anaren to aid in the production of 81 new satellites.
John Hoeschele, Anaren's marketing communications and government retail manager, said Anaren has worked with Iridium in the past, and explained why Anaren is the right company for the job.
"In very broad strokes I would say because of experience," Hoeschele said. "Actually we had some content on the earlier version of Iridium, which was deployed in the late '90s, and we've got a lot of experience in that territory."
Hoeschele is glad that Anaren has been given the opportunity to continue working with Iridium.
"The fact that we have a legacy in producing context for the Iridium network," Hoeschele said. "It's just kind of nice to be back on the project for the new version, which is called IridiumNEXT."
The Iridium Constellation is a network of 66 satellites, called LEO satellites, that spin around the earth in a low earth orbit, Hoeschele said. As these satellites rotate, they communicate with one another and also with the ground.
Hoeschele said the Iridium Constellation will provide total global coverage for a number of uses, including:
- cellular phone communication
- data transfer
- weather analysis
- transportation tracking
Anaren will begin production immediately, Hoeschele said.
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