[March 13, 2007] Expand Networks Compass Platform for Telemetry Testing and Optimizing Satellite Bandwidth Selected to Support Orbital Express Demonstration Tweet ROSELAND, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- Expand Networks, recently positioned in Gartner's Leaders Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers 2006, today announced that Boeing Advanced Systems has selected Expand's Compass Platform for testing and optimization of VoIP and telemetry data for satellite networks to support the Orbital Express demonstration mission. Orbital Express is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to demonstrate fully autonomous on-orbit satellite servicing capabilities. The Orbital Express mission is planned for launch in March 2007 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Orbital Express consists of Boeing's Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations (ASTRO) servicing spacecraft; and Ball Aerospace's NextSat, a prototypical modular next-generation serviceable client satellite. Currently, ASTRO's telemetry data is designed to be downlinked from the spacecraft to either the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) or the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) where it is backhauled onto the Orbital Express Ground Operations Network consisting of three T-1 lines. It is imperative that this data be distributed to all sites in near real-time in order to ensure Mission Operations coordination and accuracy. The combination of large amounts of data and VoIP traffic typically causes major congestion on T-1 lines. Expand's compression and Quality of Service (QoS) protocols enable real-time delivery of telemetry data, as well as managing priority for VoIP calls. "The objective is to demonstrate that the Orbital Express Mission Operation Ground Segment can perform from three facilities: Boeing in Huntington Beach, Calif.; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; and Boeing's Tower 2 in Houston, Texas," said Dennis Watts, project manager, Boeing Advanced Network and Space Systems. "We needed to develop a satellite Ground Segment network capable of handling operations over the three T-1 lines streaming Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and telemetry data. Efficiency is an integral part of our evaluation and it is important to have strong compression functionality along with QoS. Expand's Compass Platform possesses a robust architecture in addition to their experience in government satellite markets." "We are seeing an upward trend where our customers in all disciplines, including satellite, are reevaluating their IT requirements to deploy solid, multipoint network architectures," said Howard Teicher, vice president, Public Sector & Satellite Markets, Expand Networks. "Telemetry testing is an area where Expand's offerings boost the integrity and availability of satellite diagnostics. For Boeing, by leveraging the power of QoS, our technology is able to optimize their existing T-1 lines without having to pay for extra bandwidth. We are not only saving them money, we are also accelerating their network; a value proposition that continues to guide our corporate vision." Note About the Magic Quadrant The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted October 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About Expand Networks Expand Networks is the pioneer and leader in helping organizations simplify their IT infrastructure while delivering remote offices fast, reliable and secure access to networked applications. This results in improved user productivity and cost-effective IT management. Expand offers a multi-service integrated platform that ensures superior performance for any application over any network. From its headquarters in Roseland, NJ and its global locations, Expand Networks (www.expand.com) serves more than 1,450 enterprise customers including: American Express, Bacardi USA, BMW, Continental Airlines, Carr America, Colgate, Elizabeth Arden, Reed Exhibitions, Target and United States Department of Defense. Expand Networks, Accelerator, Expand Compass, ExpandView are trademarks of Expand Networks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]