Government/Military

[Satellite Today 06-02-09] L-3 Linkabit completed the integration and testing of a Wide Band-Beyond Line of Sight (WB-BLOS) capability for U.S. Army combat vehicles, the company announced June 1.     L-3 Linkabit said the deployment will enable Army units to have more communications system in the field to support U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.    ...

Although worries persist about a potential market downturn in the satellite industry, a panel of executives at SATELLITE 2009 see a handful of opportunities — digital media and IPTV, mobility, emergency preparedness, and developing economies — as sure bets, even in a tenuous financial climate. These four hot markets share a common bond — demonstrating...

Whether it is a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, earthquake or tsunami, or man-made conflicts, in the blink of an eye, an infrastructure that took years to build can be destroyed. The consequences of these events can be felt for years, and satellite services remain one of the first choices when a nation tackles...

[Satellite Today 06-01-09] The University of Maryland will receive $93 million in funding over five years from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, NOAA announced May 29.     The school will lead a new climate research partnership with NOAA, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center along...

The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) has been especially active recently, and in early April released its latest report, "Space-based services in Europe." The report’s goal is to investigate challenges to the development of such services and to suggest actions that European decision-makers can take to "exploit the potential of the well-developed European space-based infrastructure."...

U.S. government and Department of Defense procurement of commercial satellite services is handled by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) under a regime called the Defense Information Systems Network Satellite Transmission Services-Global (DSTSG) contract. Three companies, Cap Rock Government Solutions (formerly Arrowhead), Artel and Finnmeccanica (formerly Spacelink), were awarded DSTSG contracts in 2001 to...

[Satellite Today 05-29-09] The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded Harris Corp. a 10-year contract with a potential value of $736 million to provide the ground segment for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series-R (GOES-R) program, Harris announced May 28.     Harris is contracted to design, develop, deploy and operate GOES-R’s ground segment,...

[Satellite Today 05-29-09] Comtech Mobile Datacom received $6 million worth of Movement Tracking System (MTS) orders from the U.S. Army under its existing supply contract, Comtech announced May 28.     The contract orders are for the supply of satellite network operations management, program management, installation, training and technical support services, and support ongoing MTS program...

[Satellite News 05-28-09] Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) President Jean-François Cazenave believes that perceptions towards satellite technology for disaster management and recovery are changing – a shift which puts greater focus on the need for non-governmental organizations (NGO) such as TSF.     Cazenave’s organization aims to play a key role helping nations recover in the wake...

[Satellite Today 05-28-09] Magellan Aerospace Corp. was chosen by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to provide a phase B preliminary design of the satellite bus for the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM) satellite, Magellan announced May 27.     The RCM mission, which aims to provide data continuity for users of the Radarsat 1 and Radarsat 2...