Government/Military

[Via Satellite 06-28-2016] The U.K. Parliamentary Space Committee held its Summer Reception Tuesday, three days after the United Kingdom controversially voted to leave the European Union (EU) — one of the most shocking political events to take place in the country in modern times. At the event, industry and a number of Members of Parliament...

[Via Satellite 06-28-2016] Lockheed Martin and the UAE Space Agency have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch a comprehensive dual-track space training program for students and early career professionals in space fundamentals. The educational program is designed to prepare rising Emirati space professionals for future careers through a comprehensive four-month space training program...

[Via Satellite 06-27-2016] Debate over the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation’s (AST) dual role of both promotion and oversight dominated House Transportation aviation subcommittee’s first hearing in seven years on commercial space. AST is one of the few federal agencies tasked with both promoting and regulating an industry. Opponents of this dual role, such...

[Via Satellite 06-27-2016] United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the U.S. Navy’s fifth and final Mobile User Objective System (MUOS 5) satellite into Earth’s orbit June 24, marking the rocket’s first mission since the OA-6 anomaly. The mission lifted off successfully from Space Launch Complex-41 June 24, marking the company’s fifth launch in 2016 and 108th...

[Via Satellite 06-24-2016] Advantech Wireless has released its new military-grade advanced satellite modem, AMT-83L. The new product continues the line of the AMT-73L, which is certified with MIL-STD-188-165A by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). These modems were designed to fulfill two-way satellite gateway communication requirements in Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS). Several thousand...

[Via Satellite 06-23-2016] The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin are ready to launch the fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) secure communications satellite, MUOS 5, at Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday, June 24, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The launch window is between 10:30 a.m. and 11:14 a.m. EDT. For the Navy,...

[Via Satellite 06-20-2016] Raytheon has passed both a qualification and a critical design review milestone as part of its development of the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX). This new system offers significant improvements to the GPS on which the U.S. military and millions of civilians rely, including...

[Via Satellite 06-15-2016] Three leaders of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have decided to take a 10 percent pay cut to their monthly salary for four months, effective July, following the agency’s decision to cease efforts to salvage the Astro-H, or “Hitomi” X-ray astronomy satellite. The executives taking this reduction include JAXA President Naoki...

[Via Satellite 06-14-2016] SES Government Solutions (SES GS) and O3b Networks have jointly completed the first O3b managed services installation for NOAA’s National Weather Service Office (WSO) at Pago Pago, American Samoa. This remote station is responsible for providing tropical weather alerts and cyclone warning information to a large part of the Pacific. The task...

[Via Satellite 06-14-2016] The National Science Foundation (NSF) has invited LeoSat Enterprises, an emerging company with plans to launch a constellation of up to 108 Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellites, to respond to their Request for Information (RFI) for broadband data communications requirements in the South Pole and throughout the Antarctic continent. NSF is an...