[Satellite Today 01-06-09] The U.S. Air Force formally renewed the competition between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. for the Transformational Communications Satellite (TSAT) program, the U.S. Air Force announced Dec. 30.
    The renewal comes after the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff council temporarily halted the competition to revise specifications and reduce requirements for the TSAT program in order to reduce costs. The U.S. Air Force issued a revised request Dec. 23 for proposals from the two companies.
    In the Dec. 30 announcement, the U.S. Air Force said it will host an “industry day” Jan. 16 in El Segundo, Calif. to discuss the draft request for proposals and an acquisition strategy and will have a final proposal by June for the program, valued at as much as $11 billion
    TSAT will consist of five satellites and ground stations providing message and data routing for U.S. Army units, including vehicles in the new future combat systems.
The Air Force expects the first satellite to be launched in 2019.