Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 03-08-11] Boeing launched its second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office on an Atlas 5 rocket into a low-Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral Launch Complex in Florida, the company announced March 7.     The X-37B unmanned space-based test platform objectives include: space experimentation, risk reduction...

[Satellite TODAY 03-08-11] The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Hughes Network Systems a $495,000 contract to conduct an architectural study of commercial communications satellite systems capabilities, Hughes announced March 7.     The report will focus on meeting the U.S. military’s future tactical communications-on-the-move (COTM) needs and will to be delivered to the U.S. Air Force Space...

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Hughes Network Systems a $495,000 contract to conduct an architectural study of commercial communications satellite systems capabilities, Hughes announced March 7.     The report will focus on meeting the U.S. military’s future tactical communications-on-the-move (COTM) needs and will to be delivered to the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Command Center‘s military satellite communications systems...

 Boeing launched its second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office on an Atlas 5 rocket into a low-Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral Launch Complex in Florida, the company announced March 7.     The X-37B unmanned space-based test platform objectives include: space experimentation, risk reduction and concept-of-operations development for...

Vizada Networks has installed an iDirect VSAT-powered hub to support a contract from an unnamed European civil defense agency to provide satellite infrastructure and training services, Vizada announced March 1.      The iDirect hub was integrated at the contracting agency’s headquarters and was connected with iDirect remotes to establish a communications link with European defense agencies dispersed across...

Commercial blue force and blue personnel tracking (BFT/BPT) specialist Track24 Defense unveiled its Situational Command and Control (SCC) software for the international military market, the company announced.     The commercial-off-the-shelf platform and tactical systems aim to provide full BFT capability, including: situational awareness, operational command and control, emergency response, and the ability to provide comprehensive post-operation debriefing, to...

 Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) was awarded a $1.5 million study contract by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center‘s Milsatcom Systems Directorate to evaluate options available to meet future war fighting communications needs, the satellite manufacturer announced March 2.      The goal of the study is to assess the application of innovative and feasible commercial-like acquisition...

The U.S. Air Force successfully demonstrated over-the-air, low-data-rate communication between an orbiting Milstar satellite and the family of advanced beyond line-of-sight terminal, the Pentagon announced Feb. 25.     The demonstration, conducted late last month, included a series of uplink and downlink communication tests that involved passing voice and data communication between a third-generation (Block 8) FAB-T unit...

 The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contracted Northrop Grumman and the University of Minnesota to co-develop a collaborative navigation system under AFRL’s Collaborative Robust Integrated Sensor Positioning program, Northrop Grumman announced Feb. 24.      AFRL wants the collaborative navigation system to allow its aircraft to leverage information from onboard sensors and shared data from other aircraft to achieve highly accurate...

 Inmarsat subsidiary Segovia won a four-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to provide professional and technical services support to NATO security forces in Afghanistan, Segovia announced Feb. 22.     The task orders will see Segovia provide NATO with full-time consultants specializing in LAN/WAN management, functional services, training, systems administration, repair/exchange, configuration management and other key services.     NATO also awarded...