Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 08-30-10] L-3 GCS was awarded contract by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to provide Panther VSAT manpack satellite communications systems and associated equipment to support communications for field personnel operating under USSOCOM’s Special Operations Forces Deployable Node-Lite (SDN-Lite) program, the company announced Aug. 27.     The contract is worth up to $170...

[Satellite News 08-30-10] The Obama administration has completed a Category 7 U.S. Munitions List review of tanks and military vehicles, which determined that about 74 percent of the 12,000 military items licensed last year could have been processed under the United States’ less restrictive Commerce Control List.     The review generated a positive response from...

[Satellite TODAY 08-27-10] General Dynamics Satcom Technologies received an $80 million contract from Harris Corp. to design, manufacture and install six new 16-meter antennas and upgrade four 9-meter satellite communications antennas for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R program, General Dynamics announced Aug. 26.     The 16-meter antennas...

[Satellite TODAY 08-26-10] Thrane & Thrane has added the Aviator 200 system to its connectivity product line for the aeronautical sector, the company announced Aug. 24.     The Aviator 200 aims to provide a compact, lightweight system offering reliable, high-speed connectivity for a range of applications within the UAV, military and security sectors.       The...

[Satellite TODAY 08-26-10] In response to our recent Satellite TODAY poll, “Is President Obama’s new National Space Policy good or bad for the satellite industry?” a 46 percent majority of respondents answered that Obama’s plans were “Bad for the satellite industry.”     About 27 percent said they believed Obama’s space policies would benefit the satellite...

[Satellite TODAY 08-25-10] Boeing has received a contract from Intelsat to provide a second ultra-high frequency (UHF) hosted payload on the IS-27 satellite, Boeing announced Aug. 24.     The payload will offer 20 25-KHz UHF channels capable of serving the U.S. government sector and other international Intelsat General clients. The second payload will be identical...

[Satellite TODAY 08-25-10] China has successfully launched its Tian Hui-1 stereo-topographic mapping satellite on a Long March 2D rockey from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. announced Aug. 24.     The Tian Hui-1 is equipped with a 3-D survey camera, a CCD camera capable of a ground resolution of 5...

[Satellite TODAY 08-24-10] The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite, designed to map Earth’s gravitational field, has experienced a software glitch that has rendered the spacecraft unable to send transmissions back to Earth, the agency announced Aug. 23.     ESA officials said the glitch was first detected in...

[Satellite TODAY 08-24-10] German start-up communications company TakWak GmbH has received 2.5 million Euros ($3.1 million) in financing from the European Space Agency’s Open Sky Technologies Fund to develop a three-in-one communication device integrating mobile phone, satellite navigation and walkie-talkie functions, ESA announced Aug. 23.     The device will be marketed to outdoor enthusiasts for...

[Satellite TODAY 08-23-10] The U.S. Air Force issued Boeing a $182 million contract to build the seventh Wideband Global Satcom satellite, WGS-7, the Pentagon announced Aug. 20.      Boeing has built the three WGS satellites already in orbit, with three more in production. The WGS constellation aims to deliver improved broadband communications to U.S. military...