“Successful completion of the MRC’s commissioning phase is a significant milestone for our team. We’re extremely grateful for the hard work of the engineering teams at UrtheCast, RSC Energia, and Roscosmos. This is another testament to how well these teams continue to work together,” commented UrtheCast’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. George Tyc.
UrtheCast is continuing commissioning and calibrating the HRC. The Bi-axial Pointing Platform (“BPP”), which controls the pointing of the HRC, is experiencing difficulties in achieving the pointing control precision needed for the HRC to meet image quality specifications. Our engineering team together with RSC Energia believes it has developed a solution to this problem using existing gyroscopes on the HRC to improve the BPP pointing control. This solution has been successfully tested on the ground. The on-orbit implementation of this solution requires software updates and the installation of additional cabling inside the Zvezda module. These new cables need to be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). As a result, there will be a several month delay in commissioning the HRC.
“We are very pleased with the solution developed by the team, and with the results of the ground tests demonstrating the expected performance. While there is never a 100% guarantee until the test results are replicated on-orbit, we are very confident this solution will enable us to capture high-resolution imagery and video with the HRC,” said UrtheCast’s CEO, Scott Larson. “Operations in space are complex and not always as predictable as many of us would like them to be. Although the technical issues affecting the commissioning of the HRC have delayed our previously disclosed commissioning schedule, we believe these issues can be resolved and we do not expect that this delay will affect the viability of our product offering.”
UrtheCast has notified its insurers regarding the potential of a claim against our in-orbit insurance policy for revenue interruption due to the commissioning delay and costs related to implementing the proposed solution.
The Company’s recent announcement regarding the opportunity to install and operate sensors on the NASA module of the ISS will result in additional development costs. UrtheCast anticipates funding these development costs over the next 3 years from a combination of non-dilutive third party funding, available cash and internal cash flow. UrtheCast is currently in an advanced stage of negotiation on a long-term contract that, if successfully concluded, would provide a substantial source of non-dilutive financing for the additional sensors.
UrtheCast will also host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on July 16, 2014.
Conference Call Details
UrtheCast will also host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on July 17, 2014 — the details for which will be made available that morning, prior to the call.
An archived version of the conference call will be made available on the Company’s website after the live conference call.
For further details related to UrtheCast imagery and products, our Customer Experience Team is available, Monday through Friday, 6am to 6pm PT, by calling 1-800-669-3713 or emailing CX@urthecast.com.
About UrtheCast Corp.
UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that is developing the world’s first Ultra HD video feed of Earth, streamed from space in full color. Working with renowned aerospace partners from across the globe, UrtheCast has built, launched, installed, and will soon operate two cameras on the Russian segment of the ISS. Video and still image data captured by the cameras will be downlinked to ground stations across the planet and displayed on the UrtheCast web platform, or distributed directly to exclusive partners and customers. UrtheCast’s cameras will provide Ultra HD video and still imagery of Earth that will allow for monitoring of the environment, humanitarian relief, social events, agricultural land, etc. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker ‘UR’. For more information visit our website at urthecast.com.
Forward-looking Information
This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that an action or event “will” be taken or occur (or similar language) and includes statements about the plans to operate camera components on the ISS, proposed image and video product offerings, expected partners and customers to distribute such products and proposed plans and timelines for commissioning of the HRC. Forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond the ability of UrtheCast to control or predict, and which may cause UrtheCast’s actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, including, but not limited to, further delays in commissioning of the HRC, damage which may have occurred to the cameras during launch or installation, unexpected changes in Russian or Canadian government policies as well as those factors discussed in the Company’s annual information form dated March 26, 2014, (the “AIF”) and the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated April 7, 2014 (the “Prospectus”) which are available under UrtheCast’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, in the AIF and Prospectus, and as otherwise disclosed from time to time on UrtheCast’s SEDAR profile. UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.