Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 03-16-11] Tachyon Networks is expanding its broadband capacity over Southwest Asia after signing a Ku-band capacity lease on Eutelsat‘s Sesat 2 satellite, the operator announced March 15.     The new capacity will be deployed to help Tachyon meet high demand for satellite services in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Tachyon will use its global network...

[Satellite TODAY 03-16-11] Inmarsat subsidiary Stratos Government Services (SGSI) was awarded a GSA 70 FCSA contract to provide commercial satellite communications products and services to the U.S. government, SGSI announced March 15.     Stratos’ network runs on an information assurance-compliant commercial architecture operated by U.S. military personnel on the ground, at sea and in the...

[Satellite TODAY 03-15-11] Globecomm Systems launched an auto-aligning VSAT antenna that uses band-specific feed cartridges with integrated RF electronics to enable in-field conversion between X-, Ka- and Ku-bands, Globecomm announced March 12.     The Auto-Explorer 1.2-meter multi-band terminal supports OEM L-band modem products from CEFD, iDirect, Hughes and Viasat and is available in single-, dual-...

[Satellite TODAY 03-15-11] The U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Center signed a follow-on task order with an Iridium Communications subsidiary to implement Phase 3 of the Navy’s Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS) program, Iridium announced March 14.     The task order investment is valued at $13.4 million and will see Iridium develop enhancements to the overall...

[Satellite TODAY 03-14-11] Geospatial solutions provider RapidEye contracted Fugro NPA to be its first reseller in the United Kingdom, covering the territories of Britain and Ireland, RapidEye announced March 11.     During the past year, RapidEye has worked to complete a global network of distributors in order to facilitate easy access to RapidEye products in...

[Satellite TODAY 03-11-11] Hughes Network Systems’ HX280 satellite router has achieved Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 security level-2 certification from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Hughes announced March 10.     The certification validates the HX280’s physical security mechanisms, including tamper-evident coating of the cryptographic keys and critical security parameters as...

[Satellite TODAY Insider 03-11-11] Imagery satellite operators could find themselves fighting in an increasingly competitive environment on their own turf for data services if they fail to enter the Earth observation (EO) value-added services market, according to an NSR report issued March 9.     The report warns operators without value-added offerings that larger players which...

[Satellite TODAY 03-09-11] CapRock Government Solutions was selected as one of 46 prime vendors under the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Information Technology Supplies and Support Services order contract vehicle, CapRock announced March 8.     The eight-year contract includes a base year and seven option years with a total ceiling value of $30 billion....

[Satellite TODAY 03-09-11] AT&T Government Solutions has contracted UltiSat to provide satellite-based Internet services and infrastructure for U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan, UltiSat announced March 8.     UltiSat’s service package will include global voice-over-IP, videoconferencing and IP data applications for troop morale. UltiSat will support the contract through MoraleSat’s broadband satellite network, which it operates...

Cisco Systems launched its Internet Router in Space (IRIS) program on the Intelsat 14 satellite when the spacecraft was orbited in November 2009.       The router’s configuration, triggered by a development contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, was designed to merge communications received on various frequency bands and transmit them to multiple users...