Government/Military

The U.S. Space Force has completed a new service vision for enterprise satellite communications that seeks to eliminate traditional stovepipes for system acquisition and allow for rapid employment of new technologies in the commercial sector. Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, Space Force chief of space operations, recently signed the vision, the service shared in a Feb....

The day before Intelsat reported full-year 2019 results that surpassed analysts’ projections, the operator sparked a feud with rival operator SES over an ex parte filing with the FCC requesting adjustments to the agency’s C-band Draft Order, released earlier this month. In the filing dated Feb. 19, Intelsat argued for adjustments to the FCC’s proposed C-band...

The National Weather Service (NWS) has selected ERT and subcontractor Hughes Network Systems to upgrade and expand managed satellite and wireless services at NWS locations in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Pacific Region. ERT is a science and technology contractor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  ERT and Hughes plan to...

As Inmarsat constantly seeks to serve the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with the most resilient, flexible, secure, and capable mobile satellite communications, we have arrived at a time of year when we look to the past to help us better prepare for the future. We carefully consider today’s challenges, threats and requirements, and then...

Hughes Network Systems is among the companies receiving support from FCC to expand deployment of rural broadband. The FCC has authorized more than $240 million in funding over ten years for rural broadband in nine states across the U.S. through its 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction. The program aims to connect more than...

President Trump issued an executive order Wednesday that the federal government will take steps to ensure that Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services like GPS are not disrupted or manipulated, recognizing that space-based systems have become a “largely invisible utility”  for technology and infrastructure such as the electrical power grid, communications infrastructure and emergency response. ...

A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refused a request to block T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of Sprint. In the ruling, Judge Victor Marrero cited a deal that Dish made with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to purchase Sprint’s prepaid businesses in order to appease antitrust concerns as a...

The first U.S. Space Force budget request allocates two-thirds of its proposed funding to research-and-development efforts in recognition of Pentagon priorities to build resilient architectures and new capabilities to challenge potential adversaries in the space domain. The Defense Department’s (DoD) fiscal year 2021 presidential budget request includes $15.4 billion for the Space Force, according to...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Solar Orbiter lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday at 11:03 p.m. EST. Solar Orbiter is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to study the Sun. At 12:24 a.m. Monday, mission controllers at the ESA...

Lockheed Martin has delivered its third next-generation GPS III satellite to the U.S. Space Force ahead of an expected April launch. Last week, Lockheed Martin shipped the GPS III space vehicle to Cape Canaveral from the company’s GPS III Processing Facility near Denver aboard an Air Force C-17 aircraft. Lockheed Martin nicknamed the GPS III...