Government/Military

[Satellite TODAY 09-24-09] Ukraine’s Cyclone-4 rocket, an upgrade to the Cyclone-3 vehicle, has been scheduled to launch from Brazil’s Alcantara space center in 2010, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced Sept. 22 to press officials.     Yushchenko said the Cyclone project is a part of Ukraine’s plans to launch a space exploration program and export Ukrainian...

[Satellite TODAY 09-24-09] Raytheon has achieved live satellite M-code tracking with its Modernized User Equipment (MUE) program, which receives signals from the GPS constellation, the company announced Sept. 23.     The technology on the MUE program is replacing legacy receiver systems and aims to bring modernized M-code GPS navigation capabilities, enhanced accuracy and security solutions...

[Satellite TODAY 09-21-09] Arianespace and Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos launched a Meteor-M weather satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday, the company announced Sept. 18.     The satellite aims to restore Russia’s weather forecasting capabilities and is designed to gather data for weather forecasts, monitor the Earth’s ozone layer and radiation conditions in the...

[Satellite TODAY 09-21-09] A team lead by Lockheed Martin begun thermal vacuum testing of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous GEO-1 satellite for the U.S. Air Force, the company announced Sept. 17.     The tests are being conducted in Lockheed Martin’s Dual Entry Large Thermal Altitude (DELTA) chamber and are designed to verify...

[Satellite TODAY 09-21-09] GeoEye is attempting to raise $350 million through a sale of senior secured notes due 2015, the company announced Sept. 18.     The imagery company said the proceeds of the offering will be used to purchase all of its outstanding $250 million in floating rate senior secured notes due 2012 and for...

[Satellite TODAY 09-18-09] Thales Alenia Space has shipped the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Earth observation satellite to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, for its scheduled Nov. 2 launch, Thales Alenia Space announced.     SMOS is a joint mission conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is coordinating the mission in partnership with...

[Satellite TODAY 09-17-09] Atrexx, a German provider of telecommunications and broadcast solutions, is now offering satellite-based communications services to the Iraq region via Eutelsat’s Eurobird 4A satellite, Atrexx announced Sept. 16.     The Atrexx service, 2way2sat, will use Eurobird 4A’s wide beam coverage encompassing Europe, the Atlantic Islands, North Africa, and the Middle East. The...

[Satellite TODAY 09-17-09] Artel has leased full Ku-band transponders on the Astra 3B satellite from SES World Skies, the operator announced.     Artel will use the capacity to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with broadband, IP voice, data and video solutions across a variety of regional operations.     Astra 3B, set to launch early...

[Satellite TODAY 09-17-09] U-blox, a provider of embedded GPS receiver semiconductors and solutions, is supporting Microsoft’s initiative to make development of location-aware applications on Windows 7 easier, U-blox announced Sept. 16.     To participate in the effort, U-blox is releasing a driver supporting Microsoft’s Sensor and Location API, providing software developers with a standardized interface...

[Satellite TODAY 09-16-09] Harris Corp.’s RF-7800B family of ruggedized Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) satellite terminals has received type approval from Inmarsat, the company announced.     The approval certifies the Harris terminals to operate over the Inmarsat satellite communications system for simultaneous voice and broadband data connectivity.     The RF-7800B systems aim to ensure seamless...