Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 03-31-10] Norsat International has won a $1.7 million network service contract from a military based in Europe, the company announced March 30.     Norsat said the unnamed military customer recently expanded its fleet of satellite terminals and will rely on Norsat’s dual-band SigmaLink flyaway systems to support their deployed forces. To support these...

[Satellite TODAY 03-31-10] Data Link Solutions (DLS) has delivered its first Multifunctional Information Distribution System–Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT 2) to the U.S. Army’s Tactical Radio Communications Systems office, the company announced March 30.      The delivery follows DLS terminal’s completion of government qualification testing and certification of the cryptographic design by the U.S. National Security...

[Satellite TODAY 03-30-10] SpaceX has activated its Dragon spacecraft communication hardware aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract with NASA, the company announced March 29.      NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis delivered the system hardware to the ISS during mission STS-129 in November.      The COTS UHF...

[Satellite TODAY 03-29-10] The U.S. Air Force launched an upgraded Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite aboard a Delta 2 rocket on March 20, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the satellite’s manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a statement.     The satellite upgrades include an advanced antenna panel, which aims to deliver greater performance and...

[Satellite TODAY 03-26-10] Comtech AeroAstro has been awarded a $37.9 million contract to develop and deliver the spacecraft bus for the U.S. Navy’s Joint Milli-Arcsecond Pathfinder Survey (JMAPS) mission by March 2012, Comtech announced March 25.     Based on a phase 3 SBIR award, the U.S. Navy Research Laboratory contract also contains $4.2 million in...

[Satellite TODAY 03-26-10] ViaSat received a Multifunctional Information Distribution System–Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) delivery order from the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command MIDS Program Office, ViaSat announced March 25.     The order, valued at nearly $21.5 million, will see ViaSat ship MIDS-LVT units beginning in March of 2011 and continuing through February of...

[Satellite TODAY 03-26-10] The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified Innovative Solutions and Support’s (IS&S) Class 3 electronic charts and XM satellite weather upgrade for the Avio EA500 very-light jet cockpit system, IS&S announced March 25.     This upgrade aims to provide satellite weather information on a moving map. The system also provides charts...

[Satellite TODAY 03-25-10] European Union (EU) foreign ministers have called on Iran to cease censorship and jamming activities directed at satellite broadcasts coming from Europe, the EU announced March 24 at a meeting in Brussels.     The EU claims that Iran violated an international treaty and has been jamming satellite broadcasts from the BBC and...

[Satellite TODAY 03-24-10] The U.K. government has launched the U.K Space Agency and created the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC), government officials announced March 23.     ISIC is intended to provide a central hub for British space activity and ensure that the United Kingdom maintains a world class space capability. The ISIC is being supported...

[Satellite TODAY 03-23-10] Thales Alenia Space has entered into exclusive negotiations with the European Space Agency (ESA) over a contract to build Eumetsat’s Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites, Thales Alenia Space announced March 22.     In January, Thales Alenia Space submitted a proposal in conjunction with German manufacturer OHB that satisfied all criteria set by...