It also comes equipped with an extensive set of tools for custom applications. The demands placed on modern data acquisition systems are far different that those of only a decade ago. Today's systems have to accommodate frequently changing formats and processing requirements. To further reduce costs, the system was designed to allow scalable performance to meet specific application requirements. With more companies entering the race every day, satellite vendors can be more discriminating in selecting a company to launch their payload.
Cost is obviously one of their considerations.
Automating the data acquisition and testing process will mean a leaner, more dependable operation, one that will effectively reduce the personnel requirements associated with more cumbersome, dated systems. The payload for the first mission will be Hughes' new generation, high-powered HS 702 satellite. Now partnered with Veda Systems to address testing, ground station data acquisition and processing. Taking one giant leap toward its eventual destination of Mars, the spacecraft bore the 2300 pound weight of NASA's Global Surveyor, and the weight of the space agency's expectations to reach the red planet's orbit to begin mapping its terrain. This launch, which took place in November of '96, inaugurated an ambitious series of NASA missions to search for signs of life on the enigmatic planet.