Stunning Wescam Images From Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Business Editors

FLAMBOROUGH, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2000

Wescam (TSE:WSC.) announced today that its cameras and wireless transmission systems are in orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.

The shuttle and its five-member crew are assembling and activating the first of four towers of the solar array that will power the international space station Alpha. Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau is using the Canadarm to deploy the $600-million tower and direct three space walks, otherwise known as Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), to assemble it.

The visual information system supplied by Wescam for this mission includes a camera with three lenses, and two transmission antennae on each of two astronaut helmets, plus seven remote reception antennae located around the cargo bay. Video images of the astronauts at work captured by the helmet cameras are transmitted to the antennae, relayed to the cockpit in the upper deck, and then to mission control centre in Houston.

This system, known at NASA as WVS (wireless video system), provides uninterrupted video, allowing NASA engineers to provide ground support to the astronauts by monitoring their progress in real time.

"We are very proud that our visual information system was chosen," said Wescam vice-president of commercial systems David Smith. "It is proving itself by providing superior imagery and gives NASA a new perspective on the progress of the mission."

Wescam, a Canadian-based company with corporate offices located north of Hamilton, owns four facilities in the United States. One of those, Broadcast Sports Inc. in Odenton MD, 10 miles south of Baltimore, developed and constructed the cameras and wireless transmission equipment now deployed on its first operational mission for NASA.

Wescam provided a prototype to prove the concept aboard John Glenn's Discovery mission in October 1998. It was very successful and now the system is scheduled to be an integral part of future shuttle missions to construct the space station.

"I believe that WVS has significantly changed the mode of operation for this and future EVAs," said Lockheed Martin project engineer Wayne Wondra. "These views were not possible until today."

Broadcast Sports Inc. developed this technology as an extension of its in-car cameras and real-time transmission for live broadcast of NASCAR and Indy car racing events throughout North America. Rugged construction and specialized materials allow these systems to withstand the harsh environment of space.

Wescam is a world leader in the design and manufacture of wireless visual information systems, providing real-time images as information and entertainment for a variety of government and commercial customers around the globe. Wescam captures images from moving platforms that range from aircraft, helicopters, airships and the space shuttle to racing cars, tracks, boats and cranes, and transmits those images by wireless communication link to the end user.