Government/Military

[Satellite Today 12-18-08] Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space Italy have formed a strategic partnership to develop a new family of space-based remote sensing systems, the companies announced Dec. 18.     The agreement is based on a framework the two companies established in 2007 and has been expanded as part of this new phase of...

[Satellite News 12-17-08] Boeing Satellite Systems International (BSS) President Stephen O’Neill said the company’s year cannot really be viewed as a success after the loss of a major U.S. government satellite contract.     NASA announced Dec. 2 that it had selected Lockheed Martin to build the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series, known as GOES-R,...

[Satellite Today 12-17-08] The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat) announced Dec. 17 that Poland will become a full member of the organization in 2009.     Poland has been a cooperating state since January 2000 and will be the largest cooperating state to become a Eumetsat member.     As a Member State,...

[Satellite Today 12-17-08] NASA’s Kennedy Space Center awarded a contract to SRA International to support NASA’s Constellation program, SRA announced Dec. 17.      SRA’s Spacecraft Command Language software package will provide NASA engineers with the tools to process the new Ares launch vehicle, the replacement for the space shuttle, and provide real-time monitoring and control...

[Satellite Today 12-17-08] A Lockheed Martin-led team has won a $20 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop capabilities in support of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s space situation awareness mission, Lockheed Martin announced Dec. 17.     "Exposing existing relevant data and intuitively providing information to users will assist the [U.S.] Air...

[Satellite Today 12-16-08] The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction mission for NPOESS, will be the first major element of the next generation U.S. Earth observation system when it is launched in 2010, prime contractor Northrop Grumman announced Dec. 16.     The NPP science instruments will provide data...

[Satellite News 12-15-08] Advancements in satellite positioning services, combined with telecommunications and cartographic services, will greatly benefit civil service fields such as law enforcement and emergency management in Europe, according to a study project coordinated by GMV and co-funded by the European Commission.     The study also recommends that Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) capacity...

Updated — December 12, 2008 – 3:45 p.m. EST Legend: + Targeted For | *No Earlier Than (Tentative) | **To Be Determined 2009 Launches Date: Jan. 30 * Mission: OCO Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base – Launch Pad SLC 576-E Description: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is a new...

The Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, which predicted a WMD terrorist attack likely will occur by 2013, focused on weapons of mass destruction rather than possible use of missiles to deliver those weapons, because it is "difficult" for terrorists to obtain missiles, a commission leader said in an interview. Commissioners concluded...

Space Industry Sales Seen Gaining 4.4 Percent This Year, Easing To 2.1 Percent Next Year Obama Urged To Refrain From Cutting Aerospace, Defense Program Funding The U.S. missile industry continued a years-long streak by posting still more solid sales growth in 2008, but that growth will slow sharply next year, according to the Aerospace Industries...