Government/Military

While many commercial operators at the 2010 Commercial Satcom Users Workshop are cautious and prepared for budget cuts that could have an impact on revenues and future business, some executives have identified growth opportunities in the next year. The launch of the third Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite, along with the planned launches of several...

There’s a common misconception in the public sector that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to cut military spending by $553 billion in 2012 is a decrease in the Pentagon’s budget. Instead, the U.S. Department of Defense will see an increase of less than 1 percent.     While this is the smallest increase the Pentagon...

Over the past two months, Hughes Network Systems has unveiled its new technology infrastructure offering to the U.S. government through its U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) schedule contract vehicle. The company’s Virtualized Field Office Server, introduced Jan. 10 for the government market, aims to reduce information technology infrastructure and operating costs while enabling future-based enterprise...

[Satellite TODAY 01-10-11] U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to cut $553 billion from the Pentagon’s 2012 budget includes measures that could benefit unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturers in the United States, according to a U.S. Department of Defense statement released Jan. 7.     The plan includes a five-year military cost-cutting plan that will divert...

[Satellite TODAY 01-10-11] Astrotech Corp., a commercial aerospace services provider, was selected by the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to provide payload processing services in support of the Pentagon’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) contract program, Astrotech announced Jan. 7.     Astrotech’s Space Operations business unit will provide payload processing for up...

[Satellite TODAY 01-10-11] Infinity Systems Engineering won a $17.4 million contract from U.S. Air Force Space Command to provide communications and engineering support on three military communications satellite systems over the next five-and-a-half years, Infinity announced Jan. 7.     Infinity will support the Air Force’s 4th Space Operations and 614th Space Communications Squadrons in planning...

[Satellite News 01-10-11] There’s a common misconception in the public sector that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to cut military spending by $553 billion in 2012 is a decrease in the Pentagon’s budget. Instead, the U.S. Department of Defense will see an increase of less than 1 percent.     While this is the smallest...

[Satellite TODAY 01-07-11] Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) won a contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide a short wave infra-red (SWIR) spectrometer as part of the TROPOMI instrument for the Sentinel 5 Precursor atmospheric monitoring mission, SSTL announced Jan. 5.     SSTL’s Optical Payloads Group will coordinate an consortium that includes the...

[Satellite TODAY 01-07-11] Artel received a contract under the Future Commercial Satellite Communications Services Acquisition (FCSA) contract to provide satellite services, the company announced Jan. 6.     The order to provide transponded capacity and subsription services is “worth tens of millions of dollars” and is the first under the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and...

[Satellite News 01-07-10] Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.’s (SSTL) 10 million euro ($13.10 million) contract award to provide a Short Wave Infra-Red (SWIR) spectrometer for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel 5 precursor atmospheric monitoring mission was a timely boost for the company and could lead to more lucrative contracts with ESA going forward, SSTL Director...