Artist rendition of a MUOS satellite. Photo: MUOS

[Via Satellite 08-04-2014] Lockheed Martin reports that the fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite has completed the acoustic testing conducted to simulate launch vibrations. Next is thermal vacuum testing, the final environmental test ahead of the satellite’s summer 2015 launch.

“MUOS 4 is showing all the benefits of learning curve and process improvements that we have implemented over time. To date, we have seen a 74 percent reduction in non-conformance defects and a 45 percent reduction in labor hours over our first build,” said Iris Bombelyn, vice president of narrowband communications at Lockheed Martin.

MUOS satellites have a 16-fold increase in transmission throughput over the current Ultra High Frequency (UHF) satellite systems through the use of a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) payload. The United States Navy contracted Lockheed Martin to manufacture five MUOS satellites along with the associated ground system infrastructure.