Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 02-13-12] The European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace are set to launch their first Vega rocket Feb. 13 in a qualification flight from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, the organizations confirmed Feb. 10.    The maiden Vega flight will carry nine satellites into orbit, but its primary mission is to prove that...

[Satellite TODAY 02-10-12] Geospatial information solution provider GeoEye has successfully completed the last of four critical design reviews in its EnhancedView program for the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the company announced Feb. 9.    The system critical design review was approved by the NGA in late January, representing the final step in verifying that...

[Satellite TODAY 02-10-12] Raytheon is tripling its available satellite capacity for all AN/ARC-231 airborne radio terminals at no cost to the end-user, the company announced Feb. 9. The enhancement is being provided by an upgrade to its Integrated Waveform (IW) software, following successful field tests hosted by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). The...

[Satellite TODAY 02-10-12] Network equipment provider Romantis has delivered a turnkey satellite telemedicine network to connect Russia’s Regional Centers for Disaster Medicine (RCDM) with the country’s unified national system of prevention and liquidation for emergency situations, the company announced Feb. 9.    The delivery follows a tender that Romantis won in November 2011 from the...

[Satellite TODAY 02-10-12] Technology developer EM Research has released its new LX-7800 high-volume frequency synthesizer, the company announced Feb. 9.    The unit operates at a fixed-frequency of 7800 MHz and features low power consumption and an exceptionally low phase noise. The company said the LX-7800 would be made available in low-cost, high-volume tape-and-reel designs...

[Satellite TODAY 02-09-12] The Russian government may spend 346.5 billion rubles ($12 billion) on its Glonass satellite navigation system between 2012 and 2020, according to reports issued Feb. 8 to Russian newspapers.    Government representatives told press officials that the Russian Ministry of Economics had agreed on a draft development program for the Glonass project...

[Satellite TODAY 02-07-12] Elbit Systems expanded its payload portfolio by launching its Hermes 450 and Hermes 900 unmanned air system (UAS) hyper-spectral payload with new intelligence capabilities, the company confirmed Feb. 6.     Elbit Systems completed development on the system and has recently conducted a series of successful test flights, the company said.  ...

[Satellite TODAY 02-07-12] The commercial satellite markets are set for a 10-year period of modest growth, according to a Euroconsult report issued Feb. 6, but the analysis firm’s predictions for the government markets include a stagnating growth period for government spending that is expected at least through the middle of the decade.    The report,...

[Satellite TODAY 02-06-12] Redu Space Services (RSS), a joint venture of SES and QinetiQ Space, has been awarded a contract by Astrium for the design, development, testing and delivery of the Mission Operation Center (MOC) as part of the European Data Relay System (EDRS) program, Redu announced Feb. 3.    EDRS aims to provide bi-directional...

[Satellite TODAY 02-06-12] XTAR has joined the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) as a new member, the organization announced Feb. 3.     XTAR, a privately owned company that provides X-band government satellite services, will support SIA’s efforts in working with the U.S. government on issues that affect satellite businesses.    “XTAR’s X-band satellite communications services...