Government/Military

Intelsat General, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intelsat, will distribute television and radio programing to U.S. servicemen and women stationed around the world, working with the support of three other satellite and ground service providers: SES Government Solutions, Korea Telecom and Allen Communications. Intelsat General has been carrying the global satellite feed for the American...

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., formally became NASA’s 13th administrator April 23, four days after his controversial nomination narrowly cleared the Senate. During a swearing-in ceremony at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., Bridenstine paid homage to several of his early and recent predecessors and pledged to build on their work. “I will do my...

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has completed full system and “ready for launch” pre-flight testing of its Orbital Test Bed (OTB) satellite. OTB will launch as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Technology Program (STP-2) flight on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The OTB hosts multiple payloads on a single platform for on-orbit technology...

When it comes to the space environment, the crux of the U.S. Armed Forces’ strategy will be improved collaboration with both commercial and international partners. As the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) nears the final weeks of its wideband Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) study, one element of the government’s shifting priorities has become abundantly clear....

Raytheon announced it has built two small, Polar Scout satellites for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with Millennium Engineering and Integration. The satellites have flexible radio frequency receivers to help search and rescue teams locate emergency beacons in remote areas, such as the Arctic. Raytheon assembled the small satellites at its advanced...

Comtech Systems, a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications, has announced some key new business in Asia. The company, which is part of Comtech’s Government Solutions segment, has received orders of approximately $6.5 million to provide tactical troposcatter equipment and to design and install Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) video downlink systems for the Armed Forces of...

The United States Senate has finally voted to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., in a 50-49 vote. Bridenstine’s long-stalled nomination was initially opposed by senators who objected to having a politician run what has traditionally been a nonpartisan agency. Notably, Republican senators Jeff Flake from Arizona and Marco Rubio...

The United States government is putting the finishing touches on a new space traffic management policy designed to protect U.S. national security and commercial spacecraft amid growing congestion in space, Vice President Mike Pence announced April 16. The National Space Council, which Pence chairs, will soon send the proposed policy to President Donald Trump for...

SpaceX successfully launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for NASA from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. TESS, built by Orbital ATK, will perform a survey of the entire sky to identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to Jupiter-sized, orbiting a wide range of stellar types and in various orbital...

Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its third quarter of fiscal 2018, its Tempe, Arizona-based subsidiary, Comtech EF Data, which is part of Comtech’s Commercial Solutions segment, received a $59 million Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Naval Warfare Systems Command. The first delivery order for $7.9 million was received and related production has...