Military satellite Skynet 5D to be launched on December 19

Skynet 5D

Skynet 5D, a powerful military communications satellite created and designed by Astrium, is set to lift off on Wednesday, December 19 from the European Spaceport at Kourou (French Guiana)

Owned and operated by Astrium Services since 2007 for the UK Ministry of Defence through a Private Finance Initiative, this new satellite is said to be the fourth of the Skynet 5 military communications system. Skynet 5D is the final piece in the multi billion-pound system of UK which will join the three existing Skynet 5 satellites. This spacecraft will boost Astrium Services’ secure satellite communications service offering to the UK, enabling the military and other Allied armed forces to stay connected wherever they are deployed around the world.

Because Skynet is a military system, the new satellite is tailor suited to avoid eavesdropping and enemy jamming, and as such includes a number of classified technologies.

The 79-minute launch window of Skynet 5D opens at 21.49 GMT (18.49 local time in Kourou). This flight is said to be a double launch, and will also carry the communications satellite MEXSAT-Bicentenario.

U.S. Army awards TeleCommunication Systems with order for MICRO VSAT

The U.S. Army awarded TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. a contract worth $2.8 million worth for the delivery of X-band and Ku-Band MICRO VSAT (very small antenna terminal) satellite communications equipment.

The TCS contract is paid for by the U.S. Army Project Manager for the Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (PM WIN-T) Commercial Satellite Terminal Program. It is a part of the World-Wide Satellite Systems (WWSS) contract vehicle.

Reliable and secure satellite communications are critical for the operations of modern militaries. These important SATCOM services can be delivered by MICRO VSAT and baseband equipment, which in addition are much more flexible than larger VSAT units. And the TCS systems are the smallest and lightest man-portable VSAT terminals that the market can offer.

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Raytheon team designs military imaging satellites for DARPA SeeMe program

Raytheon Missile Systems announced that it was awarded a $1.5 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA.) To improve warfighter situational awareness, the Company will design small satellites for the first phase of Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements (SeeMe) program.

DARPA's SeeMe program will deliver on-demand imagery information to warfighters on the battlefield through a constellation of low-cost satellites that the Department of Defense can schedule for launch based on its operational tempos.

Raytheon will manufacture the small, lightweight SeeMe satellites on its cutting-edge missile assembly lines, which produce exoatmospheric kill vehicles of similar standards.

The contract stipulates that the Raytheon team must build half a dozen satellites in 2013 for the second, ground testing phase of the SeeMe program. Sierra Nevada Corporation, University of Arizona, and SRI International will be assisting Raytheon with design work and production.

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Kratos Technology scores contract for sustainment, support of USAF satellites

Kratos Technology and Training Solutions, Inc. won the CCS-C Production and Sustainment Contract (CPASC) from the Space and Missile Systems Center of the U.S. Air Force Space Command. The Company will sustain and further develop the Command and Control System-Consolidated system, which generates telemetry, tracking, and command for operational and planned MILSATCOM satellites.

Kratos will receive $17.5 million for its first year of service. The contract has options for a total of six years of service worth $133 million all in all.

CPASC will generate telemetry, tracking, and command services for three more Wideband Global SATCOM satellites and two extra Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites. The contract is a fixed price incentive type; it came with a one year base period and options for continued service up to 2018.

CPASC also has unique plans in store for Kratos, the CCS-C program office, and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) to create a public-private partnership. OO-ALC is predicted to sustain a fifth of CCS-C's core software by 201, improving the repair capabilities of organic depots that handle space systems.

CCS-C supports the Defense Satellite Communication System, Milstar, AEHF, and WGS families of satellites by deliving integrated MILSATCOM command and control services. It can perform a wide variety of operations, including those connected with the state of health of satellites.

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