MIAMI, Fla., GEORGETOWN, Texas and BUC, France, Aug. 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HEICO Corporation today reported that two of its Electronic Technologies Group's subsidiaries, Sierra Microwave Technology and 3D-Plus, designed, manufactured and supplied critical electronic hardware on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover mission which successfully landed the Curiosity rover on Mars this past Sunday night. Curiosity was designed, produced and launched by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a part of the California Institute of Technology, under Contract with NASA.
Sierra Microwave designed and manufactured a high power, microwave waveguide isolator used in the X band transmitter which allows the spacecraft to communicate directly with the Earth and was used during the cruise stage, as well as during the Entry, Descent and Landing phase to the Martian surface. Located in the descent module and used throughout the mission, the 100 Watt transmit power X band communication system electronics was actually designed to operate into a short circuit while descending to the surface of Mars. Troy Rodriguez, Sierra Microwave's founder and President, noted, "The environment, together with a unique specified power level, presented one of the lowest design to operation margins known."
Based in Georgetown, TX, Sierra Microwave is the leading designer and manufacturer of specialized, high-reliability and mission critical microwave components used on commercial, scientific and military satellites.
3D-Plus designed and manufactured for Curiosity's ChemCam instrument an On-Board processor System in Package (SiP) delivering critical memory in the Power Supply and Supervision Electronics and a Couple Charged Device (CCD) Camera System in Package (SiP) used for taking images. In addition, 3D-Plus designed and produced SDRAM and Flash memory modules located in the Curiosity rover. Pierre Maurice, 3D-Plus' co-founder and President, commented, "We are proud that our SiP and memory products on Curiosity will be involved with critical imaging and other functions."
3D-Plus, which is headquartered in Buc, France and has facilities in McKinney, TX and Fremont, CA, is a leading designer and producer of uniquely packaged, high reliability and mission critical memory modules and Systems in Packages (SiP) for satellites, aircraft and medical applications.
In addition to Sierra Microwave and 3D-Plus, other HEICO Electronic Technologies Group subsidiaries design and make other high reliability and mission critical space hardware components, such as power converters, power supplies and specialized electrical connectors.
"We salute the HEICO Team Members involved in making mission critical components used in both the Curiosity rover itself and the Entry, Descent and Landing phase of this remarkable system. We congratulate and thank the teams at JPL, NASA and their contractors for the remarkable work in making the entire program happen and for re-igniting the world's imagination and curiosity," stated Laurans A. Mendelson, HEICO's Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, and Victor H. Mendelson, HEICO's Co-President and CEO of its Electronic Technologies Group.
HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, FL-based Flight Support Group and its Miami, FL-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICO's customers include a majority of the world's airlines and overhaul shops as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers. For more information about HEICO, please visit our web site at http://www.heico.com.