Government/Military

[Satellite News 12-03-10] While the recently enacted NASA Authorization Act of 2010 provides the agency with much-needed support to reduce acquisition risks and implement new ways of conducting future operations, the bill, signed into law in October, also continues restrictions written in NASA’s fiscal year 2010 Appropriations Act, which motivated the U.S. House of Representatives...

While U.S. defense spending still accounts for a majority of military spending around the globe, rising debts have become such a concern that the once untouchable military budget now is being examined as a cost-cutting target. Some of the measures proposed go beyond calls for restructuring and reform of the acquisition process and tighter controls...

This column has discussed numerous preparations for the upcoming ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) in January and February 2012 in Geneva. One of the less visible groups preparing for WRC-12 are international space agencies, which, for years, have informally organized a Space Frequency Coordination Group (SFCG) and recently issued a paper on objectives for the...

[Satellite TODAY 12-01-10] Starling Advanced Communications has received its first military aviation market order from Italian company Selex Galileo, Starling announced Nov. 30.     The $1 million order will see Starling install satellite communications antennas on Selex Galileo ATR42 turboprop planes, with a 15-month warranty.     Selex Galileo, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, develops and installs...

[Satellite TODAY 11-30-10] Integral Systems’ Satcom Solutions Division was awarded a $5 million, five-year contract to replace asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) multiplexers that are no longer sustainable at the U.S. military’s largest test ranges, Integral announced Nov. 29.     Integral Systems will install about 100 IoPlex Access Gateways at the U.S. Air Force 412th Test...

[Satellite TODAY 11-30-10] United Launch Alliance (ULA) has selected Saft to develop lithium-ion batteries for its Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launch vehicles under a multi-million dollar contract, Saft announced Nov. 29.      Saft will supply two different batteries to the ULA, both customized to meet high electrical power load requirements with minimal weight. Saft’s...

[Satellite News 11-30-10] The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged NASA to retool its medium-launch transition strategy after it found that the agency’s plans lack an affordable and reliable replacement for the retiring Delta 2 launch vehicle as well as detailed estimates of the time and money required to resolve technical issues likely to arise...

[Satellite TODAY 11-29-10] NASA selected prime contractor Qinetiq North America and subcontractor AI Solutions to provide engineering services and products for the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., under the agency’s engineering services contract, Qinetiq announced Nov. 24.     The cost-plus award fee contract begins in March and carries a maximum potential value of about $1.95 billion...

[Satellite TODAY 11-29-10] China launched the Zhongxing 20A satellite on a Long March 3A rocket Nov. 25 from the Xichang Space Center, Chinese officials announced.     The rocket delivered the satellite, also known as Chinasat 20A, to a geosynchronous transfer orbit, which will transition the spacecraft to a near-circular orbit later this week. The Zhongxing...

[Satellite TODAY 11-25-10] Commercial aerospace services provider Astrotech Corp. has won a fully-funded task order under the U.S. Department of Defense’s $35 million Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, Astrotech announced Nov. 24.     The company will provide facilities and payload processing services from its VAFB location in support of...