Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 03-03-10] Raytheon Co. has appointed William Kiczuk CTO and vice president, the company announced March 1.      Kiczuk will be responsible for developing and executing Raytheon’s technology and research strategy and chair the company’s technology leadership team, which oversees Raytheon’s collective research collaboration and technology opportunities. He also will represent the company on...

[Satellite TODAY 03-02-10] The launch of Boeing’s Geostationary Operational Environmental (GOES-P) satellite has been rescheduled for March 4 on a Delta 4 rocket, the company announced March 1.         Boeing and United Launch Alliance inspected the launch vehicle and determined that a quick disconnect in a line which flows fuel to the rocket on launch...

The success enjoyed by the commercial satellite sector over recent decades comes as no surprise to the engineers, technicians and managers who have been contributing to its remarkable growth by providing customers with accurate and reliable services around the globe. Yet, to the uninitiated, satellites can still be seen as daunting technology, perhaps because of...

  Speak now or forever hold your peace or at least hold it for a long time until provision can be made to hear your arguments. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is required to consider your comments in the process of making rules. Public participation is essential to ensure that no issue has been...

[Satellite TODAY 03-01-10] Raytheon has won an $886 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to develop and improve the accuracy of information from GPS satellites, the company announced Feb. 26.     The contract represents the first two development blocks of the advanced control segment (OCX), which will include anti-jam capabilities and improved security, accuracy...

[Satellite TODAY 03-01-10] Comtech Mobile Datacom has received a $27.5 million ceiling increase to its Blue Force Tracking (BFT-1) program contract from the U.S. Army, the company announced Feb. 25.     The additional award brings Comtech’s total BFT-1 contract ceiling to $243.5 million, expiring December 2011.     In a statement, Comtech CEO Fred Kornberg said...

[Satellite TODAY 02-26-10] The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied SpaceX’s protest of NASA’s contract with Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch a scientific satellite for NASA in 2012, the GAO announced Feb. 24.     SpaceX filed a protest with the GAO that the contract, which would see Orbital launch the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust...

[Satellite TODAY 02-26-10] Harris Corp. received a $78 million order from the U.S. Department of Defense to provide additional Falcon 2 AN/VRC-104 high-frequency tactical mobile satellite radio systems for use in military all-terrain vehicles (M-ATVs), the company announced Feb. 25.     The order was placed by the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command on behalf of...

[Satellite TODAY 02-26-10] Orbital Sciences Corp. and Aerojet have initiated the AJ26 rocket engine testing process for Orbital’s Taurus 2 medium-class launch vehicle, the companies announced Feb. 25.     Aerojet delivered the liquid-fuel rocket  engine to NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Orbital will use the engine to power the first stage of the Taurus...

[Satellite TODAY 02-25-10] The French Space Agency (CNES) has contracted Thales Alenia Space to build the Jason-3 weather satellite based on the Proteus platform, the manufacturer announced Feb. 24.     The satellite, expected for mid 2013, will be placed in the same orbit as Jason-2 to provide coverage over ice-free ocean surfaces. Soil Moisture and...