[Satellite News 09-16-08] While there was not much of a satellite presence in the largely warfighter-dominated showroom of the 2008 AFA Air & Space Conference and Technology Expo, Satcom exhibits received lost of attention from U.S. Air Force customers.
    The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) demonstrated several of its satellite projects at the conference. U.S. Air Force Lt. John Salinas spoke with Satellite News about TacSat-3, the third in a series of U.S. military reconnaissance satellites.
    "It is a plug and play satellite," said Salinas. "The same way you would plug in a mouse to a computer. It weighs less than 880 pounds and we are trying to develop a solar cell lithium battery that would extend the life of the satellite to more than 20 years."
    Salinas said the problem with the project is the cost of launching it.
    "Because satellites like the TacSat-3 can be quickly assembled in a matter of hours and can provide real-time data to a combat theater, the Air Force would like to be able to get these up quickly when they are needed. We were originally scheduled to launch in October of 2007 and then we were supposed to be on [Space Exploration Technology Corp.] SpaceX’s last Falcon-9 mission. It is good that it was not on there because of the failure. However, we are looking at companies like SpaceX who will make our launch demands possible," said Salinas.
    Salinas said the ideal situation would be to have a launch service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
    "But of course, nothing like that exists for us right now," said Salinas.
    TacSat-3 is scheduled for launch on a Minotaur rocket provided by Orbital Sciences in October 2008.
    Integral Systems was on hand  demonstrating its integrated product suite, the EPOCH IPS Version 4 for potential Air Force customers. The EPOCH IPS Version 4 is an enhanced command and control center for satellite and fleet operations, delivering a suite of native Microsoft Windows applications for telemetry visualization and commanding.
    Integral recently announced it was expanding its facilities to target more military and government customers. Integral spokeswoman Dilene Cruickshank said that she was happy with the conference turnout and the attention Integral solutions received.
    Iridium showcased a variety ofits  products, including the LEO satellite constellation and OpenPort maritime voice and data service. Iridium Assistant Vice President Jackson Kemper demonstrated to Air Force customers the military applications of its solutions.
    According to Kemper, response to the systems has been positive.
    Not too far off was Inmarsat, whose North American team worked to push its SwiftBroadband services to new customers.
    Inmarsat Vice President Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch said that the company has been busy with new civil space contracts and maritime connections and hopes to continue the momentum with expanded military services.
    Right next door to Inmarsat, Thales demonstrated the uses of its Beyond Line Of Sight (BLOS) satellite communication systems. Based on the company’s TopFlight Satcom, Thales spokesman Joe McManus told Air Force officers that BLOS aims to deliver situational awareness capability for military air vehicles with bi-directional satellite broadband secure voice and data capability.
    Boeing displayed its GPS IIF global positioning system and their advanced BLOS terminals — the FAB-T. However, they did not have any information on TSAT, a project which it is in competition with Northrop Grumman / Lockheed Martin Corp. for a space segment contract.