Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 07-06-10] The U.S. Air Force will launch its Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) satellite July 9 from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California, the Air Force confirmed July 5.     SBSS aims to provide the Air Force with the capability to detect man-made hazardous objects from a geosynchronous orbit in space by tracking...

[Satellite TODAY 07-06-10] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-15 July 12 from the Sriharikota Space Center, ISRO announced July 5.     The PSLV C-15 will launch as many as five satellites into space, including Indian satellite Cartosat-2B, Alsat from Algeria, a nanosatellite from Canada, a Swiss...

[Satellite TODAY 07-06-10] The Norwegian AISSat-1 (Automatic Identification System) satellite has been scheduled to launch in August on an Indian rocket, the Norwegian Space Center announced July 5.     AISat-1, Norway’s first satellite, aims to provide maritime tracking services with coverage over the High North Seas. The service will be used by ships around the...

[Satellite News 07-06-10] One of the main issues facing the U.S. space and satellite sector is an aging workforce, and attracting the young people that will build, launch and operate the rockets, satellites and communications networks of the future has proven difficult. The sector has lost the appeal it once had and now faces increased...

[Satellite TODAY 07-05-10] The U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command‘s (SPAWAR) Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) has completed a series of UHF component tests for the program’s first satellite, SPAWAR announced July 2.     The first MUOS satellite completed passive inter-modulation testing, electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing and spacecraft-level baseline integrated system test at...

[Satellite TODAY 07-02-10] Orbital Sciences has received two separate orders from NASA to launch scientific satellites on the PegasusXL and Taurus XL rockets, the launch company announced July 1.     Orbital will launch NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft in December 2012 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The...

[Satellite TODAY 07-02-10] Harris Corp. has received a $23.5 million order from the U.S. Department of Defense for Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) approved Falcon 3 AN/PRC-152 multiband handheld radio systems and accessories, the company announced July 1.      The order, awarded on behalf of the U.S. Air Force, aims to provide warfighters with integrated...

With the ability to provide signal gain, double-hop elimination, IP multiplexing and mesh networking without a teleport, what impact can on-board processing have on satellite communications? On-board processing has the potential to bring video on-demand, capacity growth and convergence of ground and space networks, thus promising to revolutionize satellite as we know it. But what...

Photos courtesy of Aerospace Industries Associations and G. Vincent Castellano. One of the main issues facing the space sector is an aging workforce, and attracting the young people that will build, launch and operate the rockets, satellites and communications networks of the future has proven difficult. The sector has lost the appeal it once had...

[Satellite TODAY 07-01-10] Northrop Grumman has delivered an advanced infrared sensor, designed to improve weather forecasting around the world, to Ball Aerospace for integration and testing on the precursor satellite to the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), Northrop Grumman announced June 30.     The Cross-track Infrared Sounder sensor aims to provide more than...