Government/Military

[Via Satellite 01-23-2017] United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geostationary (GEO) Flight 3 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Jan. 20. The Lockheed Martin-built satellite began responding to commands as planned, approximately 37 minutes after lift-off, according to the company. SBIRS GEO Flight...

[Via Satellite 01-23-2017] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released the first image taken by Harris’s Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) onboard their next-generation weather satellite. The image taken from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES 16) is of Earth’s full western hemisphere with detailed cloud and water features. The Harris ABI, the...

The cybersecurity and outer space communities seem only now to have started to realize the interdependence between these two areas and the need to avoid compartmentalized approaches with relation to cyber in space.

[Via Satellite 01-20-2017] The United States government will likely remain the largest purchaser of commercial satellite services as global military tensions rise. With a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.6 percent, this market is stable but is expected to average $53.78 million per year through 2022, according to a new report by Research and...

[Via Satellite 01-19-2016] Airbus Defence and Space has won a contract to supply satellite communication systems for UGAP, the French public procurement agency. This four-year contract covers the supply of equipment and services for fixed and mobile satellite communications (satcom) in the Ku and Ka frequency bands. UGAP is a public institution and the only...

[Via Satellite 01-13-2017] The Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DISA-DITCO) has awarded a Commercial Satellite Communication (ComSatCom) Transponded Capacity (CTC) task order to UltiSat to provide Ku-band bandwidth capacity to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Deployable Communications Systems (NDCS). Services provided will support Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) missions around the world. UltiSat...

[Via Satellite 01-13-2017] Thuraya Telecommunications has donated new supplies of emergency telecommunication equipment to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the decade-old Emergency Telecommunications support arrangement. This donation aims to strengthen the ITU’s capacity in natural disaster preparedness, search and rescue, and response through the use of new mobile satellite communication equipment. Thuraya’s satellite equipment...

[Via Satellite 01-12-2016] France’s government space agency, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) has signed a framework agreement with the French Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Maritime Affairs (MEEM) with the aim to develop new space systems and applications, notably in the fields of climate monitoring and mobility. Announced on Jan. 11, the agreement...

[Via Satellite 01-09-2016] Commercial satcom vendors will not stand to lose as the U.S., the largest Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) fleet operator, is poised to adopt a more aggressive global stance against terrorism to keep its election promises, according to a new report by Northern Sky Research (NSR). The use of armed surveillance drones has...

[Via Satellite 01-09-2016] Norsat International, a provider of communication solutions for remote applications, has received a $3.3 million order for its Globetrekker 2.0 portable satellite terminals from an unnamed U.S. combat support agency, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and intelligence community. The GlobeTrekker is a fly-away satellite terminal with auto-acquire technology and a...