Government/Military

[Via Satellite 08-28-2015] Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ subsidiary RT Logic has received a $49 million firm fixed price, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), single contract award for satellite and communication system hardware, equipment, and products from a U.S. government agency. The period of performance on the contract is five years with funding to be...

[Via Satellite 08-28-2015] NASA has awarded a $5.6 million contract to Harkins Contracting of Salisbury, Md., for the construction of a new Mission Launch Command Center (MLCC) at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va. The new 14,174 square-foot facility will serve as the hub for interfacing with and controlling rockets, their payloads...

[Via Satellite 08-26-2015] If Moore’s law continues to be an indicator of the pace of technology, then the flurry of activity seen throughout the satellite industry might be the new norm. In the September issue of Via Satellite Magazine, we talked with experts across the industry on how the evolution of satellite technology is influencing...

[Via Satellite 08-25-2015] The University of Michigan recently started building a constellation of eight microsatellites for use on NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission, which aims to improve hurricane forecasting. The mission, when launched in October 2016, will be the first in NASA’s history to make use of a constellation of small satellites,...

From CubeSats and electric propulsion to reusable launchers and high throughput systems, the satellite industry is in the midst of a major technological evolution. The commercial sector has seen a number of

[Via Satellite 08-18-2015] SES Government Solutions (SES GS) has signed a one-year contract with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) to provide O3b Networks’ services and ground equipment to the National Weather Service Office (WSO) in Pago Pago, American Samoa. The contract allows NOAA to expand their broadband connectivity outside the continental U.S....

[Via Satellite 08-18-2015] Harris Corporation has received a $11 million order from a nation in the Middle East to supply the Harris RF-7800 series of Falcon III multiband, multimission radios as part of a continued modernization effort. The order was booked and shipped during the fourth quarter of Harris’ fiscal 2015. The order includes the...

[Via Satellite 08-17-2015] Lockheed Martin subsidiary Astrotech Space Operations has encapsulated the U.S. Navy’s fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite in its protective launch vehicle fairing ahead of an Aug. 31 launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from United Launch Alliance (ULA). Built by Lockheed Martin, MUOS 4 completes the Navy’s initial constellation, providing...

[Via Satellite 08-17-2015] Pascale Ehrenfreund took office as chair of the German Aerospace Center’s (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) executive board on Aug. 17. She begins her leadership role at the DLR, which has approximately 8,000 employees. Ehrenfreund was appointed to a five-year term by the DLR senate on June 18. She succeeds...

[Via Satellite 08-14-2015] Raytheon has received a $36 million contract from the U.S. Army to fund the certification and testing of an upgrade to the AN/ARC-231 Multi-Mode Communications System. The AN/ARC-231 is a Very High Frequency (VHF)/Ultra High Frequency (UHF) multi-band tactical communications system that provides high quality, reliable, secure, internationally compatible and interoperable voice...