Government/Military

[Satellite News 10-05-12] Manufacturer and systems integrator Raytheon has won a three-year, $164 million Department of Defense contract to deliver ground terminals for Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communications. Raytheon has been pushing for an alternate Air Force satellite terminal program with three Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military terminals it currently produces, claiming...

[Satellite TODAY 10-04-12] Arianespace has integrated two European Galileo navigation satellites on their payload dispenser aboard a medium-lift Soyuz rocket, which will be launched Oct. 12 from the European spaceport in French Guiana.       The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Galileo FM3 and FM4 satellites were installed onto the rocket’s dispenser system, which then...

[Satellite TODAY 10-04-12] United Launch Alliance (ULA) has placed a U.S. Air Force navigation system satellite into orbit from its Cape Canaveral launch facility, ULA confirmed Oct. 4. The satellite was launched on an unmanned Delta 4 rocket. The newly launched spacecraft includes an improved military signal that aims to provide signals that are more...

[Satellite TODAY Insider 10-04-12] Satellite manufacturer Boeing is augmenting the GPS satellite network via additional capacity on Iridium’s commercial satellite communications system as part of a Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) research program to keep GPS receivers working amid electronic jamming and interference. The NRL awarded a two-year, $40 million sole-source contract to Boeing Oct. 2...

[Satellite TODAY 10-03-12] The U.S. Air Force has issued more than 15 contracts under its “Protected Milsatcom Design for Affordability Risk Reduction Demonstration Study” initiative to protect military satellite communications, the Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center announced Oct. 3.       The study will include concept development and component level...

[Satellite TODAY 10-03-12] Video communications technologies provider Vislink International had rolled out a new lightweight satellite data terminal for military operations, the company announced Oct. 3.       Vislink designed the rugged Mantis MSAT terminal to be deployed from a single lightweight backpack for one-man operation in challenging operational environments. The terminal can operate...

[Satellite TODAY Insider 10-02-12] The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $118 million direct loan to the government of Vietnam for the export of a Lockheed Martin Space Systems telecommunications satellite and additional goods and services, Lockheed Martin announced Oct. 2. The Vinasat-2 geosynchronous satellite recently completed...

On July 23, earth-imaging provider DigitalGlobe Inc. announced that it agreed to acquire competitor GeoEye Inc. for approximately $900 million. GeoEye’s principal shareholder, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, agreed to vote its shares in favor of the merger, making it almost certain to close in the absence of regulatory objections, which do not appear...

I would like to start off by reflecting on the passing of U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was not only a true icon of the space industry but of life in general. The entire Via Satellite team would like to pass on our condolences to his family. We are now at the countdown stage to...

[Satellite TODAY 10-01-12] The European Defense Agency (EDA) has awarded a three-year contract to Astrium to provide commercial Ku-, Ka- and C-band satellite communications capacity for the defense ministries of France, Italy, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom, Astrium confirmed Oct. 1.    EDA’s European Satellite Communications Procurement Cell (ESCPC) will manage the contract. Astrium...