Government/Military

Forty years ago NASA launched Skylab, America’s first space station. As part of an initiative to reuse the hardware the agency developed to land on the moon, the station was launched into orbit on May 14, 1973 on board one of the last Saturn V rockets.

[Satellite TODAY 05-14-13] Gigasat has announced the signing of a contract with the New Zealand Ministry of Defense. This new deal is for the supply of Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) certified flyaway satellite terminals for use as part of the New Zealand Defense Force Strategic Bearer Network.       Gigasat was ideally placed to meet the...

In-orbit servicing provider ViviSat has unveiled a highly agile hosted payload capability that aims to supplement its life extension services. ViviSat uses the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), manufactured its parent company, ATK. The primary mission of the MEV is to dock with an orbiting satellite and serve as the propulsion and attitude control systems. This...

The Hosted Payload Alliance (HPA) has selected Janet Nickloy, director of Aerospace Mission Solutions for Harris Corporation, as its 2013 chair. The HPA fosters dialogue between the government and the satellite industry to promote the benefits of hosted government payloads on commercial satellites.     At Harris, Nickloy is responsible for growth strategies related to payloads,...

Aireon LLC, developer of the first satellite-based global air traffic surveillance system, has announced a long-term commercial data services contract with Nav Canada. Aireon will use the hosted payload space available on Iridium NEXT, Iridium Communications’ second-generation satellite constellation scheduled for first launch in 2015 to provide the service.     Aireon, a joint venture between...

Yahsat has selected Astrium Services Government to offer Yahsat’s Military Ka-band service to the U.S. government. The service will allow any U.S. government or Department of Defense end user to access Yahsat Military Ka-band capacity, which is compatible with the WideBand Global Satellite (WGS) constellation.     Under the deal, Astrium Services will provide end-to-end...

Emerging Markets Communications (EMC), which signed a strategic commercial agreement to use Arabsat’s new BADR-7 satellite earlier this year, could look to do further hosted payload deals in the near future, according to Blake McLane, the company’s new president.     “The strategy aligns with what we want to accomplish from a risk portfolio perspective,”...

I always thought PowerPoint presentations were fairly innocuous and really just a way of stimulating debate, but it seems a presentation that Kay Sears gave in 2007 was a key spark behind the deal that ultimately took place between GeoMetWatch and AsiaSat.     The recent deal flow in hosted payloads has been encouraging. The...

Tags: LandSat, USGS, NASA, Google, Satellite Imagery Publication: NBCNews.com Publication Date: 05/09/2013 To access the interactive map, click on the image. Google, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and TIME have worked together to release an interactive time-lapse made from satellite images of the Earth that show how our planet has changed in recent decades....

Tags: Drone, Prototype, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Publication: NationalGeographic.com Publication Date: 05/02/2013 The half-inch drone could be used for environmental monitoring or pollination of crops. Image credit: Harvard Microrobotics Lab Researchers at a Harvard’s robotics laboratory are working on the final details of the smallest drone yet created. The unmanned aerial vehicle is the size of...