Technology

[Via Satellite 11-26-13] Building on the success of a previous purchase, Comtech EF Data, a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications has received a $1.0 million equipment order. This follow-on order from a telecommunications operator is for satellite Earth station equipment, including satellite modems, CX-U RAN Optimization Units, RF transceivers and amplifiers. The operator will utilize the...

[Via Satellite 11-26-13] Last week’s Dnepr Cluster Mission launch carried more payloads than any other launch to date. Two of the 32 satellites lifted to orbit were AprizeSat 7 and AprizeSat 8, the products of a satellite manufacturing company called SpaceQuest, which has big ambitions for small payloads. After launching a number of experimental satellites,...

[Via Satellite 11-25-13] ViaSat and Harris Corp have been boosted by a key breakthrough in the European milsatcom market. The KOR 24 Small Tactical Terminal, a co-development of the two companies, has been selected by BAE Systems U.K. for installation on the Cobham Falcon 20 for support of Link 16 network pre-deployment training. The KOR...

[Via Satellite 11-22-13] MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) has been selected for additional robotics work for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Phoenix Program. MDA has started work under the next phase of the Phoenix Program, with related contracts expected to total approximately $10 million. The work will be carried out by both...

[Via Satellite 11-21-13] Two unfurlable mesh antenna reflectors developed by Harris Corporation have successfully deployed onboard the second U.S. Navy Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin. The MUOS satellite will provide military users with 16 times more narrowband tactical satellite communications capability than existing UHF satellites, making voice, video and data...

As mentioned in last month’s part one of this article, power density is the single most important operating parameter for transmitting earth stations and probably the least understood. A terminal operator that does not keep his power density within strict limits could become a problem interferer and lose his license to transmit. Last month we...

[Via Satellite 11-18-13] Astrium is working with the International Charter on Space and Disasters, of which it is a member, to provide images of the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. A Pléiades satellite was able to capture images on Nov. 13, 2013, five days after the storm hit. The same satellite had photographed the region on...

[Via Satellite 11-18-13] Emcore introduced the OTS-RSU 3 GHz RF Redundancy Switch Units (RSU) for use with the Optiva platform, which includes a wide range fiber optic transport products for satellite and microwave communications from 1 MHz to 40 GHz. The OTS-RSU series supports satellite signal transport link redundancy applications for 1×2, 1×4 and 1×8...

[Via Satellite 11-15-13] Orbital Sciences will launch a satellite designed and built by high school students aboard a Minotaur 1 rocket next week. The small satellite, known as TJCubeSat (TJ³Sat), will be launched aboard the U.S. Air Force’s Ors 3 mission as one of more than two dozen secondary payloads. The mission is scheduled to...

[Via Satellite 11-14-13] Spot, a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, has launched its new Spot Trace anti-theft, asset-tracking device. Spot Trace can be used to monitor cars, motorcycles, boats, ATVs, snowmobiles and other assets, notifying owners via email or text when movement is detected. Spot’s growing family of products uses satellite technology to provide location-based...