Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 01-26-12] International communications solutions and services provider Globecomm Systems has been awarded a one-year managed service contract from an unnamed U.S. Government agency, the company announced Jan. 24.    The contract is valued at $2.6 million dollars. Globecomm will provide IT support services relating to Internet connectivity and voice-over-IP telephony via its teleport...

[Satellite TODAY 01-25-12] Ball Aerospace & Technologies’ Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) has begun collecting Earthview image science and solar calibration data onboard the U.S. National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, Ball Aerospace announced Jan. 24.    The NPP satellite was launched in October. OMPS is one of five...

[Satellite News 01-24-12] Inmarsat will focus efforts in 2012 on reaching out to government customers and forging a key role for its Global Xpress constellation in the government’s long-term plans, Inmarsat Government Services President Peter Hadinger told Satellite News.    Hadinger joined Inmarsat last April after a long career as a satellite engineer and business...

[Satellite TODAY Insider 01-23-12] United Launch Alliance (ULA) has successfully launched the $464 million Wideband Global Satcom 4 (WGS-4) satellite on an unmanned heavy-lift Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint-venture launch company announced Jan. 10.    The WGS-4 was built by Boeing and designed to provide...

[Satellite TODAY 01-23-12] China will aim to launch 21 rockets and 30 satellites into space as a part of its 2012 space program, Chinese space officials said in a Jan. 20 statement.    The Chinese space program’s busiest year was 2010, when the nation launched 19 rockets and 22 satellites. The China Aerospace and Technology...

[Satellite TODAY 01-23-12] SES successfully deployed its Emergency.lu communication service in Bentiu and Maban, South Sudan and has launched full operations in the field, the company confirmed Jan. 20.    Emergency.lu is a rapid communications solution for global disaster relief and humanitarian missions, developed and implemented as a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Foreign...

[Satellite TODAY 01-20-12] Satellite imagery firm DigitalGlobe hired Marcy Steinke as its senior vice president of government relations and Tim Hascall as its senior vice president of operations, the company announced Jan. 19.    Steinke, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, previously served U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama as director of the...

[Satellite News 01-19-12] A Russian government investigation into the failed launch of the Phobos-Grunt Mars probe has determined that engineering flaws on behalf of the spacecraft’s manufacturer NPO Lavochkin were the primary cause of the incident, Russian Space Agency Roskosmos Chief Vladimir Popovkin confirmed Jan 19.             Russia launched the Phobos-Grunt planetary mission Nov. 9...

[Satellite TODAY 01-19-12] Kratos Defense & Security Solutions subsidiary Integral Systems was awarded a contract modification with the U.S. Air Force Space Command and Missile Systems Center to complete development and fielding of the Rapid Attack, Identification, Detection and Reporting System (RAIDRS) Block 10 (RB-10) program.    Kratos announced Jan. 18 that the modification resulted...

[Satellite TODAY 01-18-12] SpaceX has postponed its planned Feb. 7 NASA test flight of its Dragon capsule to supply cargo to the International Space Station, the company announced Jan. 17.    The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has not yet been rescheduled. SpaceX Spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham...