Government/Military

Asia must seriously consider increasing regional cooperation in the satellite realm. Joint satellite-based projects involving disaster response and emergency management, especially in light of the latest earthquake in the region, would be a good place to start. In late 2005, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand joined the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization...

The satellite industry is recognized as a provider of communication resources for emergency assistance and disaster relief. A brief survey of the international scene shows there is a structure for relief efforts in which satellite resources can play a part. Most recently, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) took action at its Plenipotentiary Conference in November...

The Jan. 23 announcement that Jared “Jerry” Abbruzzese had resigned as chairman of the board for TerreStar Networks Inc. and chairman of TerreStar Global Ltd. coincides with reports that the FBI is investigating his relationship with a New York state legislator. Robert Brumley, president and CEO of TerreStar parent company Motient Corp., said the timing...

The U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to Aerojet-General Corp. to provide technology for the Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Demonstration (HBTD) program, the Air Force announced Jan. 17. Under the $109.7 million contract, Sacramento, Calif.-based Aerojet will supply technology designed to reduce the cost to launch rockets. The HBTD program supports the Air Force’s Integrated High...

Spacehab Inc., which provides commercial space services to NASA, has eliminated 36 jobs as the company’s contract to support space shuttle operations nears completion, Spacehab announced Jan. 18. The elimination of redundant capabilities will save the company $3.9 million per year, Spacehab said. Costs and planned cash expenditures associated with the restructuring are estimated at...

A prototype structure that holds the primary mirrors for the optical element of the James Webb Space Telescope passed a series of cryogenic tests, Webb prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. announced. The tests, conducted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., were designed to measure the ability of the Backplane Stability Test Article...

Despite reports and official responses about a Chinese anti-satellite missile test last week, satellite experts on Friday urged restraint in any response taken by the United States and several other countries which formally protested the action. A Jan. 17 story by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine first reported the test, citing sources as saying...

Integral Systems Inc. has been awarded a contract modification to upgrade several command and control subsystems for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) N-P Program, the company announced Jan. 17. Integral is a subcontractor to Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc. on the program to develop the next-generation environmental satellites for NASA.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen BAE Systems to lead a team of 10 companies in the next development phases of the Novel Satellite Communications (NSC) program, BAE announced Jan. 16. NSC is intended to protect satellite uplink signals against jamming using advanced signal processing techniques. The Phase 3 contract is...

Merrimac Industries Inc. received an order valued at $430,000 to supply its Multi-Mix microtechnology products for a next-generation military communications satellite program, the company announced Jan. 16. The unnamed U.S. Department of Defense program is designed to improve communications for mobile U.S. forces while maintaining backward compatibility to existing communications systems.