Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 11-18-10] Northrop Grumman was selected by NASA as one of five contractors for the Modular Space Vehicles (MSV) program, Northrop Grumman announced Nov. 17.    The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity cost-plus fixed-fee multi-award contract has a five-year period of performance through November 2015. Northrop Grumman will fulfill initial task orders valued at $46...

[Satellite TODAY 11-18-10] Canadian information solutions provider MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) has released its National Urban Change Indicator – a new geospatial product that provides coverage over the lower 48 U.S. states, MDA announced Nov. 17.     The MDA solution uses satellite imagery to show if and when an area has undergone a human-induced...

[Satellite TODAY 11-17-10] Quintech will provide switches and amplifiers to Harris Corp. for the Modernization of Enterprise Terminal, Quintech announced.     Quintech will provide RSS 0070 switches, SRR 2150 switches and AMP2150  amplifiers for the Modernization of Enterprise Terminal (MET) contract, which will replace as many as 80 older AN/GSC-52, GSC-39, FSC-78 satellite communications terminal...

[Satellite TODAY 11-16-10] The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for not focusing enough effort on the problem of space congestion. In a Nov. 15 report, the UCS outlined 10 near-term steps the Obama administration should take to safeguard U.S. satellites and protect space.     “As space gets more crowded, risks...

[Satellite News 11-16-10] If the U.S. Congress were to implement all of the suggestions made by President Barack Obama’s Deficit Commission, the U.S. satellite industry would be affected by nearly $100 billion cuts in defense spending and a scaled-back government presence in rural broadband projects, according to documents released by the National Commission on Fiscal...

[Satellite Today 11-15-10] TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) has been named as the sole awardee on an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command’s Next Generation Wideband commercial satellite communications infrastructure and service, the company announced Nov. 12. The contract, with a $315 million potential value and a guaranteed first-year minimum of $5 million,...

[Satellite Today 11-15-10] Prime contractor Snecma tested the Vinci rocket engine Nov. 11 representing an actual flight, the company announced The engine, which will power the new upper stage of the Ariane 5 launcher starting in 2016, was tested on the P4.1 test rig at the German aerospace center DLR’s facility in Lampoldshausen. Since the...

[Satellite TODAY 11-15-10] SES subsidiary Astra TechCom Services has entered into a strategic Galileo partnership agreement with ground-based services provider Spaceopal, SES announced Nov. 12. Astra TechCom Services will contribute engineering support to Spaceopal and take a leading role in the in-orbit testing of the Galileo satellites. Astra TechCom Services will work through its subsidiary,...

[Satellite News 11-12-10] Satellite imagery is playing a new innovative role in the area of wildlife habitat surveys in Wales. The country is hoping to be the first in Europe to produce a national map of habitats using satellite technology through a project that will be completed in March 2012.      Professor Richard Lucas of...

[Satellite TODAY 11-12-10] U.S. President Barack Obama’s recently formed deficit commission issued recommendations Nov. 10 to cut several federal programs that included reduction in defense funding for modernization, procurement and research and development.     Commission co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson received widespread criticism for the recommendations, including Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) CEO Marion Blakey,...