Government/Military

[Via Satellite 12-12-13] Raytheon has manufactured and integrated all required subassemblies in completion of a major milestone for its second Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which will fly on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System 1 spacecraft, scheduled to launch in 2017. The integrated sensor is now entering testing,...

[Via Satellite 12-12-13] The sixth Boeing Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite, funded by the Commonwealth of Australia – the program’s first partner outside the United States – has been delivered on orbit to the U.S. Air Force. WGS 6, launched Aug. 7 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket, is the second WGS satellite...

[Via Satellite 12-11-13] Astrium has finalized its preparation of Gaia in Kourou, French Guiana. The telescope, which will be Europe’s most advanced space observatory, is scheduled for launch on Dec. 19 aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. Gaia will be located at Lagrange point L2, a position of gravitational balance 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Built for...

[Via Satellite 12-11-13] The U.S. government has awarded ViaSat a development contract for Block Upgrade 2 (BU2) hardware and software upgrades to its Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVT) Link-16 terminals, valued at just under $34 million with options of for a further $5.7 million. The order resulted from a solicitation from Space and...

[Via Satellite 12-10-13] Arianespace is starting the construction of a New Filling Hall (known by its French acronym NBR, for Nouveau Bâtiment de Remplissage) following the approval of its board of directors on Nov. 6 2013, and the approval received Dec. 6 2013 from French space agency CNES, the Guiana Space Center (CSG) landowner. The...

[Via Satellite 12-09-13] The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology’s (EIAST) DubaiSat 2 Earth observation satellite, launched on Nov. 21 2013, has successfully been deployed in orbit and all systems have been tested and verified. The satellite’s first image, taken of Seer Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, was captured 24 hours after launch....

[Via Satellite 12-06-13] Testing of the second Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite by Lockheed Martin has been completed, and spacecraft operations have been successfully handed over to the U.S. Navy. The handover also includes acceptance of three MUOS ground stations that will relay voice and high-speed data signals for mobile users worldwide. MUOS 2...

[Via Satellite 12-06-13] Harris Corporation’s Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack radio has successfully communicated with the new Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite constellation. MUOS is a next-generation military satellite communications system designed to provide U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) users with enhanced cellular telephone-like capabilities through tactical radios. Harris demonstrated third-generation wireless compatibility with...

[Via Satellite 12-06-13] Ibetor S.L. is currently providing 55, X-band Satellite Communication-on-the-Move (SOTM) systems to the Spanish Military Emergencies Unit (UME) and Ministry of Defense (MOD) land forces groups. The product, called Ib-SOTM, is designed and manufactured by Ibetor using ThinKom Solution’s planar phased array antenna technology called Continuous Transverse Stub (CTS). The Ib-SOTM system...

[Via Satellite 12-06-13] NewSat Limited, an Australian satellite company, has a new teleport customer contract to support the United States government’s custom satcom solutions (CS2). The contract with a CS2 industry partner is to provide satellite communication services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in the Pacific Command (PACOM) region. NewSat’s contract has a...