Vanguard Space Technologies supplies critical components to Orbital Sciences Corp.

SAN DIEGO, USA: Vanguard Space Technologies announced that it supplied critical components to Orbital Sciences Corp. for the SES-8 telecommunications satellite that was recently launched aboard a Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, FL. Vanguard supplied all of the composite reflector components for the SES-8 spacecraft, which was designed, manufactured and tested by Orbital.

The SES-8 spacecraft is based on Orbital's enhanced GEOStar 2.4 platform, The spacecraft features two 2.5 x 2.7 meter super elliptical deployable reflectors and a 1.45 meter fixed, nadir antenna. All three of the spacecraft's composite reflectors were engineered, produced and tested by Vanguard.

They were produced using advanced composite materials and the precision structural components were assembled in Vanguard's San Diego, CA facility. In addition to the design, analysis and fabrication of the reflectors, Vanguard also performed sine vibration, acoustic and thermal distortion testing.

Frank Belknap, CEO of Vanguard said: "We are very proud to be on Orbital's team for this very important SES mission. The composite reflectors produced by Vanguard showcases our capabilities to produce very tight tolerance, highly accurate and lightweight components in our world-class composite manufacturing facility. We have a long heritage of producing high-precision reflectors for space-based missions and have been a key supplier to Orbital for many of their successful satellite missions."