Government/Military

Neither Boeing nor Lockheed Martin were notified by the U.S. Department of Defense of any delay in the Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) program, despite the Pentagon’s press announcement that the contract award competition between the two companies has been shelved until at least 2010.     Lockheed Martin and Boeing both lead teams that are...

Lockheed Martin completed acoustic testing of the first geosynchronous orbit spacecraft in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program, GEO-1, the company announced.     Thermal vacuum testing is scheduled for March in preparation for delivery of the satellite to the U.S. Air Force for a planned launch in 2010.     SBIRS is designed to provide...

The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for the development phase of the Self-Awareness Space Situational Awareness technology demonstration program, the company announced.     Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will develop a technology demonstration payload to provide tactical space situational awareness with dedicated communications. The surveillance system is intended to increase critical awareness...

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. has received two new equipment deals from military and domestic companies for military equipment.     Comtech’s California-based subsidiary, Comtech Xicom Technology, received a $1.3 million order from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the development of a high power Ka-band amplifier. The amplifier will be a high-efficiency design for use...

The U.S. Army has placed orders for additional VSAT equipment from TeleCommunication Systems Inc., the company announced.     TCS will provide the Army Secure Internet Protocol Router and Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Access Point (SNAP) VSAT systems. The SNAP program includes options for about 1,500 terminals and supporting equipment to be deployed in various sizes...

Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center to provide technical support for the operational Defense Support Program (DSP) spacecraft, primary infrared sensor and mission analysis, the company announced.     Northrop Grumman built the DSP infrared sensors and integrated them with the spacecraft The first DSP...

The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has purchased the entire CitySphere 2.0 product from DigitalGlobe, the company announced Oct. 30.      CitySphere 2.0 is an enhanced version of DigitalGlobe’s library of on-demand digital satellite and aerial imagery of the most populated cities around the globe. The product will enable the NGA to provide timely and...

Maj. Michael Moyles of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Superiority Panel is a strong believer in the ability of hosted commercial payloads to serve the satellite communication needs of U.S. Department of Defense. In 2004, he compiled a thesis at the Naval Graduate School that analyzed how hosted payloads could better meet the U.S. military’s...

Upgrades to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps’ Blue Force Tracking network system are seen by the U.S. Department of Defense as too crucial to share the fate of other more expensive military communications projects that recently have been postponed, according to a senior U.S. military official.     “The U.S. military is approaching these...

The U.K. military is seeing more evidence of network enabled capability, as officials from the U.K. Ministry of Defense emphasized the importance of satellite communications in next-generation warfare.     “We now have more capable and resilient networks,” said Cdre. Eric Fraser of the Royal Navy and assistant chief of staff at the Permanent Joint Headquarters...