[Satellite Today – 4-16-08] The Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) has been launched and the first signals successfully acquired, the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) announced April 16.
    The mission of C/NOFS is to forecast scintillation-caused communication outages from satellites to ground assets. This forecast will give the warfighter a full understanding of their satellite communications environment allowing them to plan operations accordingly.
    "I am just overwhelmed and ecstatic by the results of this morning’s launch," said Col. Stephen Hargis, director of the Department of Defense Space Test Program and Space Development Group commander. "I believe C/NOFS will have a huge impact on the battlefield and help bring more of our troops home alive.”
    C/NOFS was a collaborative effort between the Department of Defense Space Test Program, SMC, the Center’s Space Development and Test Wing and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Project participants include NASA, the Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Texas, the engineering firm Jackson and Tull and the NPOESS Joint Program Office. The spacecraft was launched on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus Air Launch System.