Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 04-30-10] The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has awarded a contract modification to United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch the Advanced Extremely High Frequency-3 (AEHF-3) satellite aboard an Atlas 5 launch vehicle, the ULA announced April 29.     The launch will take place no later than summer 2012 from Space...

[Satellite TODAY 04-30-10] Russia has launched a Soyuz-U space rocket carrying the Progress Ðœ-05Ðœ spacecraft from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russian officials announced April 29.       The Progress Ðœ-05 cargo spacecraft has been placed into artificial satellite into orbit and is scheduled to join with the International Space Station (ISS) on May 1. Progress Ðœ-05Ðœ...

[Satellite TODAY 04-30-10] Lockheed Martin has delivered a UHF satellite communications system module for the second satellite in the U.S. Navy‘s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) program, the company announced April 29.       The MUOS module, which aims to provide assured communications, including simultaneous voice, video and data, to mobile warfighters, features a wideband...

[Satellite TODAY 04-30-10] Xtar Vice President of Government Services Bill Schmidt died April 28 following a heart attack.  Schmidt, a senior manager of Xtar since 2007, participated as an authoritative source for government and military satellite industry intelligence on both SATELLITE trade show and Via Satellite Webinar panels.  Plans for a memorial service have not...

[Satellite News 04-30-10] With its ComsatBw Stage 2 program, the German Armed Forces now control their own dedicated telecommunications satellites. The program is comprised of the ComsatBw-1 satellite, launched in October, and the ComsatBw-2 satellite, which is scheduled to be placed in orbit by Arianespace in May.     Colonel (GS) Andreas Post, branch chief of...

[Satellite TODAY 04-29-10] Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems has selected Newtec to provide Elevation EL470 DVB-S2 IP modems with FlexACM licenses for Raytheon’s McMurdo Station satellite communication system upgrade in Antarctica.     The Elevation IP modems aim to support the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) in climate research as well as increase bandwidth...

[Satellite TODAY 04-29-10] The Australian Defense Force (ADF) exercised its contract option with Intelsat to purchase the remainder of the specialized UHF communications payload on the Intelsat 22 satellite, the operator announced April 28. The option expands Intelsat’s $167 million UHF services contract with the ADF, signed in April 2009, and follows the signing of...

[Satellite TODAY 04-29-10] Defense contractor Global Telesat Corp. (GTC) has agreed to purchase a 50 percent interest in one of Sanswire Corp.’s SkySat airships for $250,000, with an option to purchase the remaining half for an additional $750,000, Sanswire announced April 28.     The SkySat is Sanswire’s mid-altitude UAV platform. The airship initially was designed...

[Satellite TODAY 04-29-10] ManSat has appointed Anthony Hewitt director of the company, ManSat announced April 28.             Hewitt previously served as director of the Isle of Man Government Communications Commission, the statutory board responsible for regulating the island’s telecoms and broadcasting industries, from 2001 to 2008.             Hewitt also was responsible...

[Satellite TODAY 04-28-10] EADS Astrium has shipped a payload for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Galileo satellite-navigation system to ESA facilities in Rome, the company announced April 27. The Proto-flight Model 1 payload includes the equipment to record and transmit location and timing data to users. This payload is part of Galileo’s four-satellite In-Orbit Validation...