Government/Military

[Satellite Today 04-03-09] The U.S. Congress is looking at drafting a new version of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Bill that could ease export controls associated with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Aerospace Industries Association spokeswoman Alexis Allen said April 2, confirming a report in The New York Times.     The House of Representatives is...

[Satellite Today 04-02-09] The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) postponed the April 1 captive firing test of the H-2B launch vehicle due to the discovery of a leak in the rocket’s fire-prevention facility pipes, JAXA announced March 31.     JAXA did not schedule a new launch date and said it expects to “take some time...

[Satellite Today 04-02-09] Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI), a commercial space and defense intelligence software provide, has formed a strategic partnership with Integral Systems in an effort to provide space situational awareness products to government customers, the companies announced April 1.     AGI and Integral Systems’ will allow government customers to leverage off-the-shelf products and practices...

Integral Systems CEO John Higginbotham believes the Feb. 11 collision of an Iridium satellite with a defunct Russian military satellite will test global diplomacy, legal and unilateral military and commercial space issues for years to come. Higginbotham says the collision calls for immediate prioritization of protecting military and commercial assets, as well as action on...

With a backdrop of a new U.S. presidential administration, the beginning of a shift in troop strength from Iraq to Afghanistan and a global economic recession, 2009 likely will be anything but dull in terms of military satellite communications. While the United States military will continue to drive commercial satellite communications demand, the rest of...

The ultimate goal of the U.S. Department of Defense’s space mission is to place capabilities in space in support of national defense and the warfighter. The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which procures communications services for the Pentagon, has 11 premier contract vehicles. Three of these are space segment contracts: Enhanced Mobile Satellite Service...

Outerlink To Provide Satellite Tracking To Homeland Security Department Outerlink Corp. has partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide satellite-tracking data from all commercial satellite tracking systems in domestic use today. OuterLink will integrate satellite data feeds from MSAT-, Iridium- and Inmarsat-based tracking systems. The program will allow aircraft operators that use...

2009 started with quite a bang. First, the dramatic freefall of economies around the globe and then the collision of a pair of satellites in orbit. However, amid the doom and general gloom, the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama has fuelled optimism in the United States and beyond. One of the most intriguing questions...

[Satellite Today 04-01-09] Raytheon Co. submitted its final proposal for the U.S. Air Force’s Global Broadcast Service (GBS) satellite broadcast manager and defense enterprise computing center transition contract, Raytheon announced March 31.      Raytheon, a GBS solution provider for past 11 years, leads a team that includes Harris Corp. as the video dissemination and broadcast...

[Satellite Today 04-01-09] DataPath Inc. was awarded $35 million by the U.S. Army for Ka-band spares kits for its satellite transportable terminals, DataPath announced March 31.      The order is part of DataPath’s effort with the U.S. Army to enable deployed satellite communications terminals to operate in Ka-band over the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system,...