Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 02-25-10] Eric Béranger, CEO of Astrium Services hailed a deal the company did earlier this year with the European Defence Agency (EDA). In early January, Astrium Services was awarded a contract by the EDA for a new preparatory study aimed at coordinating the future military communication needs of the European Union.     Béranger...

[Satellite TODAY 02-24-10] Worldwide government expenditures for space programs grew by 10 percent in 2009 over 2008, reaching an all-time high of $68 billion, according to a Euroconsult report, released Feb. 23.     The report, “Profiles of Government Space Programs: Analysis of 60 Countries & Agencies,” states that both civil and defense spending have grown...

[Satellite TODAY 02-23-10] Boeing’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) K-L program completed a NASA system-level critical design review and production readiness review on Feb. 19, Boeing announced Feb. 23.     The testing validated that TDRS K-L’s system design will meet NASA’s requirements and will operate effectively when the satellites launch in 2012 and 2013....

[Satellite TODAY 02-23-10] Northrop Grumman is expanding its Salt Lake City facilities to increase the factory output of its defense and commercial navigation systems, the company announced Feb. 22.     Northrop Grumman broke ground on an expansion that will add 50,000 squire feet to its 225,000-square-foot Salt Lake City facility, which builds and tests navigation...

[Satellite TODAY 02-22-10] Russian launch provider Kosmotras has postponed the launch of the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) CryoSat-2 satellite due to technical issues with the Dnepr rocket‚s second stage steering engine, ESA announced Feb. 19.     Yuzhnoye, the Ukrainian manufacturer of the Dnepr, said insufficient fuel reserves for the second stage engine would require additional...

[Satellite TODAY 02-22-10] The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) added two new special item numbers for commercial satellite communications services to Federal Supply Schedule 70 under the $5 billion, 10-year Future Commercial Satellite Communications Services Acquisition (FCSA) contract solicitation, GSA officials announced Feb. 17.     The solicitation includes item numbers for transported capacity (SIN 132-54)...

[Satellite TODAY 02-19-10] Com Dev data services subsidiary exactEarth signed a $1.4 million contract with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to provide space-based Automatic Identification System (S-AIS) data collected by its AIS nanosatellite (NTS), exactEarth announced Feb. 18.     Under the the contract, exactEarth will provide datasets from its exactAIS service to be captured at...

[Satellite TODAY 02-19-10] Orbital Sciences Corp. revenues dropped to $282.3 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $305.2 million in same period of 2008.     The company’s fourth quarter operating income dipped to $14.7 million from $16.8 million, however, net incomes were slightly higher at $9.3 million, compared to $9 million in the fourth quarter...

[Satellite TODAY 02-18-10] Axio-Net, an Astrium Services subsidiary, won a contract to provide satellite positioning data services to the German and Danish governments for the development of a 19-kilometer road and rail link between the islands of Fehmarn, Germany and Lolland, Denmark — the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link, Astrium announced Feb. 17.     Axio-Net will establish...

[Satellite TODAY 02-17-10] Madrid-based space company GMV has completed initial testing of the World Space Observatory Ultraviolet mission satellite ground segment, the company announced Feb. 16.     GMV was contracted by Roscosmos to participate in the international project to fill the gap left by the Hubble telescope at the end of its mission. Service missions...