Government/Military

[Via Satellite 05-27-2015] After a two-year effort, the United States Air Force has officially certified SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch system for national security space missions. SpaceX is now able to compete for these missions in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program with current incumbent United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and...

[Via Satellite 05-21-2015] Harris Corporation reports it successfully conducted satellite communications calls with two Falcon 3 AN/PRC-117G tactical radios using the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) waveform. The demonstration validated the multiband manpack radio’s ability to run the narrowband MUOS service with a software-only upgrade. The MUOS satellite constellation is the U.S. Department of Defense’s...

[Via Satellite 05-21-2015] The United States Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded a 12-month, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with an estimated value of $1.8 million to XTAR for satellite capacity to connect the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). XTAR will supply space segment capacity from its XTAR-LANT North America spot beam. Northrop...

[Via Satellite 05-19-2015] BAE Systems Australia, the largest defense contractor in the country, has selected customized amplifier units from ETL Systems for use in a Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) ground station. The amplifiers have been designed for X- and Ka-band antennas to receive military signals. BAE Systems Australia is the prime contractor for the Joint...

[Via Satellite 05-18-2015] The French Space Agency CNES has signed its first bilateral space accord with Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) for greater collaboration on space technology between the two nations. The letter of intent identified three areas of possible cooperation with EDB’s Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn). The first is responsive telemetry,...

[Via Satellite 05-14-2015] Raytheon has delivered the first hardware shipment for the United States Global Positioning System’s Next-Gen Operational Control System (GPS OCX) to Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado, the future site of the GPS OCX master control station. Following the shipment, the next step in the program is to install and audit the...

[Via Satellite 05-14-2015] On May 13, the U.S. Air Force released a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for GPS 3 launch services, marking the first competition for launches in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program in more than a decade. Launch services include production of the launch vehicle, mission integration and launch operations. The...

[Via Satellite 05-13-2015] The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and SpaceX have formally amended the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for certifying the Falcon 9 launch system to compete for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) contracts. The revised CRADA grafts in all the recommendations from the Independent Review Committee...

[Via Satellite 05-13-2015] Lockheed Martin has completed the final integration of the first Global Positioning System 3 (GPS 3) satellite, pairing the system module with the propulsion core and paving the way for system-level testing. Built for the U.S. Air Force, the GPS 3 Space Vehicle One (SV 01) satellite is the first of eight...

[Via Satellite 05-12-2015] Recently, the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center announced the successful completion of the Capability Integration (CI) phase and transition into the Capability Evaluation (CE) phase for its new Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) ground system, which is currently in development. Completion of CI phase indicates the system has reached...