Government/Military

Environmental sensing solutions Intellisense Systems received Phase II financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue its development of a stand-alone field-deployable sensor for remote satellite measurements of fire weather-related data. Intellisense Fire Weather Observation Sensor (FWOS) devices will be placed throughout forests and areas prone to wildfire outbreak and transmit data via...

Boeing has confirmed that it is the third manufacturer to receive a development contract to build a satellite payload prototype and communications architecture for the U.S. Space Force’s Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) program. They will compete with rival space systems manufacturers Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin for the full ESS system contract, which is expected...

The FCC moved Wednesday to make 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for 5G deployment. The mid-band spectrum is primarily military use, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) operates high-powered defense radar systems on fixed, mobile, shipborne, and airborne platforms in this band. The adopted rules remove the secondary,...

Envistacom revealed on Sept. 23 that the company has teamed up with XipLink to deliver Space Communications Protocols Specification (SCPS) Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Acceleration, Wire Area Network (WAN) optimization, and related networking technologies to customers through Envistacom’s Transport Virtualization Ecosystem (TVE). WAN optimization is an adjacent networking application that can be incorporated onto non-proprietary,...

Space Communication Technologies Company (SCT) signed a multi-year contract with Oman Broadband (OB) to provide communications and internet services to approximately 598 remote villages and residential areas in Oman. This contract is part of the Universal Service Obligation project, which part of a national initiative by Oman’s Telecommunication Regularity Authority (TRA). SCT will be providing...

SES Government Solutions and Isotropic Systems have received an antenna evaluation contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to test Isotropic Systems’ multi-beam terminal over SES’s O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation. The contract award amount was not disclosed.  The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, through the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet...

The European Space Agency (ESA) selected Airbus to develop and build the Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Mission (CRISTAL) — a contract worth approximately $350.4 million (300 million euros). The mission will use two satellites, and it is one of six new missions to expand the current capabilities of the Copernicus space component. With...

Norway has awarded Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), Planet, and Airbus a $43.5 million contract for satellite imagery to monitor forests around the world. KSAT, Planet, and Airbus are providing imagery through Norway’s International Climate and Forests Initiative (NICFI). Norway is making the imagery free and accessible to anyone, including governments, investors, journalists, scientists, and indigenous...

Maxar Technologies was awarded a sole-source, Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Army Geospatial Center to deliver multiple portable, direct-downlink tactical ground systems providing geospatial intelligence to users in remote locations. The contract is valued at up to $49 million over eight years, with two initial task orders worth a combined value of $8 million....

Nations that damage satellites are ripe for legal challenge under the 1972 Liability Convention to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST), NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested on Tuesday In a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Aerospace Nation discussion with U.S. Air Force Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force...