Government/Military

Com Dev has received a follow-on contract from Boeing Satellite Systems to supply filters, switches and ferrite components for use in NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) program, Com Dev announced June 28.    The TDRS System is a constellation of satellites that aim to provide high bandwidth communications services for low-Earth orbiting spacecraft...

Raytheon received a $19 million contract to modify the U.S. Navy’s Multiband Terminal (NMT) to link it with the Air Force’s Enhanced Polar Satellite (EPS), the company announced.    Raytheon said it has started software and systems engineering modifications to the existing NMT ship, submarine and shore terminals to enable seamless operation with EPS. The...

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has successfully placed another U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite into orbit on a Delta 4-Heavy rocket, the company confirmed June 29.    The unmanned rocket lifted from Cape Canaveral, Fla., after the mission was delayed for a day because of weather conditions caused by Tropical Storm Debby earlier in the...

Hughes Network Systems has received Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Security Level 1 validation for its Spaceway Crypto Kernel (HSCK) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Hughes announced June 29.    The validation is a cryptographic hardware and software accreditation. The HSCK is a common cryptographic engine employed by the Hughes...

Boeing and the U.S. Navy have completed an in-flight demonstration of a satellite communications system on a Navy EA-18G Growler, the aerospace manufacturer announced.    The system aims to allow F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircrews to engage in secure two-way voice and data communications with other satcom-enabled aircraft, ships, ground forces and command centers. The in-flight...

ASC Signal has released new redundancy technology and product options designed to provide simplified, seamless switching of active radio frequency components on the company’s fixed and transportable Earth station antennas, the company announced.    ASC said the new capabilities could support any antenna system, regardless of manufacturer, when used in conjunction with the company’s antenna...

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions subsidiary RT Logic has launched its 250 MHz T400CS Wideband Channel Simulator that replicates the real-time RF conditions that can be expected in wideband satcom, aircraft, missile, and UAV missions, RT Logic announced.    The company said the T400CS’ use in testing and training applications could prevent expensive and dangerous...

[Satellite News 07-10-12] L-3 Communications Holdings subsidiary L-3 Global Communications Solutions (GCS) has received a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite systems contract from the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command that is reportedly worth $500 million, the company announced July 10.    The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) deal contracts L-3 GCS to develop and manufacture...

[Satellite TODAY 07-04-12] ATK has revealed an expanded crew and cargo capability on its Liberty spacecraft, which aims to eventually transport the Liberty Logistics Module or LLM, along with a composite crew module, for NASA, the company announced July 3.    The LLM, based on NASA’s 15-foot diameter design, will include a common berthing mechanism...

[Satellite TODAY 07-04-12] The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to retire its GIOVE-A satellite after confirming that its first two Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) spacecraft were functioning nominally, the agency announced July 3.    ESA formally ended GIOVE-A’s mission at the end of June, but said it would continue to gather radiation data and...