Focus: Ground Systems

  Raytheon’s Next-Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) completed a round of testing, preparing the program for its use on the GPS III launch next month. The tests were cybersecurity vulnerability assessments that tested the system’s ability to defend against both internal and external cyber threats. GPS OCX prevented the broadcast of corrupt navigation and...

Gilat Satellite Networks will provide its ground network for China Satcom‘s ChinaSat-18 (CS-18). The nationwide Ka-band coverage, now to be provided by CS-18 and ChinaSat-16 (CS-16), will be supported by Gilat’s single platform, supporting multiple applications across China. China Satcom’s CS-18 Ka-band will be launched in mid-2019, thus completing the company’s Ka High Throughput Satellite...

Goonhilly opened an office in Farnborough, Hampshire, in the U.K. in support of its plans to expand its consultancy, design engineering, and small-scale manufacturing capabilities. The new site gives Goonhilly more space to expand its design engineering team and engineering capabilities. The teams in Farnborough and Goonhilly will collaborate closely. For example, while the Farnborough team...

Thales Alenia Space has won a key new contract from the European Commission (EC), the company announced October 9. The contract will see Thales develop and build an operational ground station on La Reunion Island to track Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). The ground station will receive and process...

Axesat achieved provisional certification of its Bogota, Colombia Teleport under the World Teleport Association‘s (WTA) Teleport Certification Program. Axesat’s teleports offer business services including internet, voice, data, contingency and backup solutions, mobility solutions, connectivity for events and emergencies, and cellular backhaul. Since its introduction at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) 2015, WTA’s certification program has...

LeoLabs, a commercial provider of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services, has agreed to build its next space radar in New Zealand. This establishes New Zealand as the site for the first radar of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. As the third radar in LeoLabs’ network, the New Zealand...

Hughes Network Systems has completed the initial deployment and implementation of an approximately 260-site global managed network for an unnamed multinational organization. The network extends from the organization’s European headquarters to the most remote locations around the world, including Ascension, Cook, Easter and St. Helena Islands, providing data transport and remote station operations and monitoring....

ThinKom Solutions and Telesat will jointly develop a Ka-band enterprise user terminal for Telesat’s planned Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of satellites. As an initial step in the process, ThinKom’s ThinAir Ka2517 phased array antenna system, which is currently in production for commercial and government In-Flight Connectivity (IFC), will be used for over-the-air testing on...

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received $3 million in contract awards for design and build of two Ku-Band Earth stations for an unnamed customer. Kratos will deliver two Ku-band Earth station solutions that include Kratos’ 5.0-meter and 6.2-meter Ku-band limited motion antenna systems and a Compass monitoring and control system. The Kratos’ earth station...

Boeing will invest in BridgeSat, an optical communications solutions company working to enable the future of connectivity in space through a network of ground stations and proprietary space terminals. BridgeSat is developing a global network of Optical Ground Stations (OGS) to transmit large amounts of data into space quickly and reliably. Its stations support Low...