Government/Military

The Global Positioning System (GPS) control segment (GPS OCX) completed both its segment design review and its capability engineering model demonstration, Raytheon Co. [RTN] announced. The segment design review was a comprehensive review of progress in systems engineering, systems architecture and program management. Successful completion shows the design is sufficiently mature and the level of...

NASA Inspector General Robert "Moose" Cobb was one of the worst-performing inspectors general among federal agencies reviewed, in terms of cutting waste and saving funds, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, and Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), chairman of its investigations and oversight...

[Satellite Today 01-09-09] The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has increased its funding to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) to expand the scope of its contract to provide support for the Canadian mobile servicing system, a component of the International Space Station, MDA announced Jan. 7.     The contract amendment is valued at $13.1 million.    ...

[Satellite Today 01-09-09] Using IP technologies is beneficial to an organization like NATO in the military satellite communication arena, Malcolm Green, chief of CAT 9 communication infrastructure services at the NATO C3 Agency, told Satellite Today.     “Moving to IP has one major advantage for us, and that is interoperability,” said Green. “It is ubiquitous....

[Satellite Today 01-09-09] The Vietnamese government has chosen France to supply the technology for its second satellite, VNREDSat-1, Vietnamese press officials reported Jan. 8.     Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said France also will provide $100 million in financial aid for the VNREDSat-1 project, scheduled to be operational in 2012.     The satellite is...

[Satellite Today 01-09-09] Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems signed a share purchase agreement with holders of more than 90 percent of Shiron Satellite Communications, Elbit announced Jan. 8.     Elbit Systems Land, a subsidiary of Elbit, and C4I Tadiran offered to buy 100 percent of Shiron’s issued share capital for $16 million.     Shiron, a...

[Satellite News 01-09-09] NATO’s demands for bandwidth are increasing, and the organization has been tapping into the benefits of IP technologies to help in operations, Malcolm Green, chief of CAT 9 communication infrastructure services of the NATO C3 agency, told Satellite News.     The question for NATO is having access to bandwidth as and when...

[Satellite Today 01-08-09] Boeing Co. has increased the communications capacity of an on-orbit U.S. Navy satellite, UFO 11, by 30 percent, the company announced Jan. 7.     The ultra-high frequency follow-on (UFO) satellite was launched in 2003 to support the U.S. Navy’s global communications network.     Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing...

[Satellite Today 01-08-09] Comtech AeroAstro Inc. has delivered the first spacecraft bus for the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) satellite program, Comtech announced Jan. 7.     The electrical and mechanical integration of all spacecraft components as well as bus functional performance testing is complete. Over the next several months, Comtech...

[Satellite Today 01-07-08] The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat) has signed licensing agreements with the government of Oman to access data from Eumetsat’s Indian Ocean Data Coverage (IODC) service, Eumetsat announced Jan. 5.     Oman has agreed to pay 300,000 euros ($412,000) a year for IODC data for a period of...