Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 06-10-10] NASA has selected Orbital Sciences to launch the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft in December 2012 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg U.S. Air Force Base, Calif., NASA announced June 8.     The launch services contract is valued at about $40 million, including additional services for launch site support, integrated...

[Satellite TODAY 06-10-10] Raytheon Co.’s Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) and Alliant Techsystems’ (ATK) spacecraft bus have completed their one-year experimental missions aboard the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s TacSat-3 satellite, the companies announced June 10.     U.S. Air Force Space Command will now take control of TacSat-3 with the intent to...

[Satellite TODAY 06-10-10] Ukrainian Space Agency subsidiary Dniprocosmos State Co. has signed an agreement with geospatial solutions provider RapidEye to distribute its data services in Ukraine, RapidEye announced June 9.     The agreement builds on an existing cooperative effort between the two companies to develop a market for RapidEye imagery data services in Ukraine. The...

[Satellite News 06-10-10] On the first day of its military Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP) performance period, contract winner Intelsat General received an emergency task order from the U.S. Navy to supply connectivity support to one of its ships. It would be a small start to an ambitious and wide-ranging network upgrade, which aims to...

[Satellite TODAY 06-08-10] Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) and satellite equipment manufacturer Cobham Satcom have launched the ReadyConnect portable emergency response solution, which aims to provide quick-deploy voice, video, private networks and Internet access to the Pacific region, the companies announced June 8.     Cobham said it designed ReadyConnect to eliminate the communications chaos that has...

[Satellite TODAY 06-08-10] Lockheed Martin unveiled the Tactical Digital Assistant (TDA), a ruggedized, tactical handheld device developed for dismounted soldiers in battle, the company announced June 8.      The TDA aims to provide situational awareness, command and control, and Blue Force Tracking (BFT) capabilities to allows dismounted soldiers to maintain secure communications and exchange vital...

[Satellite News 06-07-10] Former CapRock CTO Philip Harlow has found a new position at XTAR as its president and COO, responsible for the growth and strategic direction of XTAR’s global X-band business as well as overseeing management, marketing and technical aspects of the company.     Harlow, a British military veteran with experience in nearly every...

[Satellite TODAY 06-08-10] NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said Friday’s launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has boosted the agency’s confidence that a resupply vehicle will be available after the Space Shuttle fleet is retired this year, according to a NASA statement released June 7.     “SpaceX’s accomplishment is an important milestone in the commercial transportation...

[Satellite TODAY 06-08-10] The roll-out of South Korea’s Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) has been delayed due to an unexpected technical glitch, according to a statement by South Korean officials, released June 7.     The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) warned that the problem might be serious enough to delay the launch, scheduled for June...

[Satellite TODAY 06-08-10] The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded a 10-year indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contract to Harris Corp. as part of a Boeing-led team to provide a comprehensive mission analysis and systems engineering service solution.     Three teams were selected by the FAA to participate in the contract, which has an approximate value...