OTTAWA, Canada, Sept. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- At a press conference in Ottawa, Canada today, EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG) announced that it has received a $5 million contract from the Canadian Space Agency to design the fine guidance sensor for the gigantic James Webb Space Telescope to be launched by NASA in August 2011.
Northrup Grumman Space Technologies, of Los Angeles, will build the JWST under NASA supervision at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. When launched in 2011, JWST will be able to look deeper into space than ever before. To achieve that, EMS's equipment will have to identify very faint stars, which it will then use to point the telescope so that it can make the planned scientific observations.
"EMS is truly proud to have been selected by CSA to undertake the development of the Fine Guidance Sensor for NASA's JWST," said Alan Haase, senior vice president and general manager of EMS Technologies' Space & Technology/Montreal division. "The program represents an interesting challenge. We are proud that the success of this billion-dollar mission will, to a large extent, be made possible because of our advanced sensor technology."
The sensor will be built by EMS's Space Science team in Ottawa, Canada, in partnership with COM DEV of Cambridge, Ontario. This month, EMS's Ottawa operations celebrate 30 years of excellence in satellite communications, space science and search-and-rescue communications. These operations became part of EMS in 1993, but were founded in 1974 under the name CAL Corporation.
"EMS is pleased to apply our decades of experience in space science to this telescope, which, when built, will feature a main mirror seven times larger than that of Hubble's and hundreds of times more sensitive than that of any other space telescope ever built," said Haase.
About the Canadian Space Agency
Established in 1989 and with its headquarters situated in Longueuil, Quebec, the Canadian Space Agency is responsible for coordinating all civil, space-related policies and programs related to science and technology research, industrial development, and international cooperation on behalf of the Government of Canada. The Canadian Space Agency directs its resources and activities through four key thrusts: Earth Observation, Space Science and Exploration, Satellite Communications, and Space Awareness and Learning. With the overall responsibility for advancing Canada's space policy and programs, the Canadian Space Agency leverages international cooperation to champion world-class scientific research and industrial development for the benefit of humanity.
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. is a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of space, airborne and terrestrial wireless solutions, and focuses its unique range of advanced technologies on the needs of broadband and mobile information users. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, employs approximately 1,700 people worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Ottawa, Montreal and Brazil.
For more information, visit the company on the World Wide Web at www.ems-t.com.