Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY Insider 02-09-11] ATK and Astrium have unveiled their new Liberty rocket under NASA‘s Commercial Crew Development-2 (CCDev-2) procurement program, combining ATK’s first stage four-segment solid rocket boosters from the Space Shuttle with Astrium’s second stage based on the liquid-fueled Vulcain2 engine cryogenic core it developed for Arianespace’s Ariane 5 vehicle.     The two-stage...

[Satellite TODAY 02-09-11] U.S. Electrodynamics (USEI) commercial satellite communications services have received mission-assurance and confidentiality compliance ratings from the U.S. Department of Defense, the company announced Feb. 8.     CapRock Government Solutions conducted an independent audit of USEI’s IA posture, which proved compliant with standards required by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for...

[Satellite TODAY 02-08-11] Orbital Sciences launched a secret U.S. government payload Feb. 5 aboard a Minotaur 1 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Orbital announced Feb. 7.     The rocket’s payload, developed for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), is part of the NROL-66 mission’s Rapid Pathfinder Program, which aims to test spy...

[Satellite TODAY 02-08-11] Orbit Communication Systems, a satellite communications, tracking antennas, and airborne communications-management systems provider, has implemented two of its advanced tracking and telemetry systems as part of SpaceX’s participation in NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, Orbit announced Feb. 7.     Orbit’s 1.8-meter AL-4016 ship-stabilized telemetry tracking and its AL-4000 tracking antenna...

[Satellite TODAY Insider 02-08-11] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi unveiled a slew of ambitious satellite programs, including prototypes of four domestically developed satellites and two remote sensing facilities, Iranian officials announced Feb. 5.     The satellites include: color-photographing spacecraft Zafar; imagery satellite Rasad 1; military sensing satellite Fajr; and...

[Satellite News 02-08-11] U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and French Defense Minister Alain Juppe signed a statement of principles Feb. 8 outlining a bilateral agreement between the two countries to share data on space debris and cooperate on reducing the risk of accidents and collisions in space.     The agreement will see the U.S. military...

[Satellite TODAY 02-07-11] Astrotech posted a $1.6 million net loss in its fiscal year 2011 second quarter — a 34 percent drop from the $1.7 million in net income it generated during the same period last year, the company announced Feb. 4.     Astrotech’s working capital was $6.8 million at the end of December, which...

[Satellite News 02-07-11] The European Commission’s (EC) Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) mid-term review, released Jan. 18, revealed that satellite navigation programs would now cost more than 5.3 billion euros ($7.13 billion) to complete, excluding operational costs.      While costs have appeared to grow well beyond the EC’s expectations, Telespazio COO Lucio...

[Satellite TODAY 02-04-11] In February 2008, a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser launched an SM-3 missile at the USA 193 classified spy satellite, destroying the spacecraft, according to U.S. Department of State documents posted Feb. 3 by WikiLeaks.     The missile launch came just 13 months after the Chinese government had launched its own missile at...

[Satellite TODAY 02-03-11] Tachyon Networks and Comtech EF Data have partnered to develop airborne comms-on-the-move (COTM) solutions to deliver bandwidth to airborne terminals, the companies announced Feb. 2.     Tachyon will receive exclusive rights to a jointly specified baseband modem board, which will be integrated into an aXiom 9000 series airborne terminal router supporting forward...