MUOS satellite communications achieves first secure data, voice call

The U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite communications network has achieved its first ever secure data and voice call by way of an orbiting satellite and ground stations. This achievement will enable military satellite radios, which will become able to deliver secure data communications while on the move.

Older military satellite communications systems used stationary terminals that need to be in the open to track satellites. These terminals are understandably unsuited for on the move missions.

Things are changing, of course, following a recent test of the MUOS end-to-end system. A pair of General Dynamics AN/PRC-155 Manpack satellite radios successfully used the MUOS satellite communications network for a secure radio-to-radio voice and data “call.” One of the radios transmitted voice and data communications through a MUOS satellite, to the MUOS ground station, back through the satellite, and to the second radio.

According to Lockheed Martin, there are over 20,000 existing satellite radio terminals currently in service, including the ManPack radio system. The mobile users amongst these can look forward to solutions from the MUOS satellite communications network that will ensure the secure delivery of their data, video, and voice transmissions.

SSL chosen by USAF to study polar orbiting weather satellite system

The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center chose leading commercial satellite provider Space Systems Loral (SSL) to study and examine the feasibility of accommodating next-gen military weather systems on commercial polar orbiting satellites. Under the six-months contract that was given under a broad agency announcement in June 2012, SSL will study the options for the U.S Air Force to reduce its cost to replace the legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program by using alternative architectures, like equipping commercial satellites with advanced meteorological sensors.

SSL is assigned to examine the technical feasibility of hosting a third-gen meteorological instrument on board with the use of the company’s own commercial bus platform. The company will also identify commercial business opportunities that the U.S Air Force can leverage to achieve weather sensing from a Highly Inclined Elliptical Orbit (HIEO); and lastly, quantify the value proposition for performing the mission in a non-traditional fashion.

“SSL can bring the benefits of a shared platform to both its commercial and government customers,” SSL U.S Government Solutions VP David Anhalt said. “We commend the Air Force and SMC for its leadership in looking to alternative architectures in order to reduce costs and speed the delivery of next generation systems.”

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Air Force’s fifth Wideband Global Satellite to undergo final processing, encapsulation

The fifth Wideband Global Satellite communication spaceprobe of the U.S Air Force Space Command Space and Missile System Center has finally arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The WSG-5 satellite will be subjected to final processing and encapsulation at Astrotech Corporation, then will be transported to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellite is scheduled to be launched aboard a Delta IV launch vehicle once the booster is cleared for flight.

As the only military satellite communication system, Wideband Global Satellite can support simultaneous X- and Ka-band communications, with cross banding that makes communication across terminal types transparent to the warfighter. Presently, the military satellite collects and routes real-time data using X-band, K-band, and switchable X-/Ka-band terminals being used for strategic, tactical and comm-on-the-move communications.

Sapphire satellite successfully launched with a COM DEV optical payload

COM DEV International Ltd., a company that provides space hardware subsystems, made a recent announcement that the MDA-built Sapphire satellite has been successfully sent into space along with a COM DEV-designed-and-built optical payload onboard.

The company supplied the optical payload for the Sapphire satellite, consisting of the Optical Imaging Subsytem (OIS) and the Data Handling and Control Subsystem (DHCS). The OIS is a visible-band telescope integrated with a low noise preamplifier and a focal plane that will gather a series of images for each target object in space. Meanwhile, the DHCS has primary and redundant electronics which can correct the images that have been captured, then compress the image data before its transmission to a ground station for further processing.

In a statement, COM DEV International CEO Michael Pley said: “We are pleased to have made a major contribution to a satellite that is a first for the Canadian Department of National Defence. We are privileged to have had the opportunity to apply our world class optical systems expertise to this important operational mission.”

The Sapphire satellite is said to be the very first dedicated operational military satellite of the Canadian Department of National Defence. The space-based, electro-optical sensor spacecraft will keep track of man-made space objects in Earth orbit as part of the nation’s continued support of Space Situational Awareness. Collected data from the Canadian military satellite will contribute to the U.S Space Surveillance Network, improving the ability of both countries to detect and prevent the collision of critical space platforms with other satellites or pieces of debris in space.

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France chooses Astrium to develop digital broadband satellite communications network for military

Astrium, an aerospace subsidiary of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) that provides civil and military space systems and services, has been awarded a contract by the French military to build the country’s first digital, military high-speed broadband satellite communications network. The Comcept contract from the French military procurement agency DGA is said to last for 17 years.

In a statement, Astrium said: “As of 2014, Comcept will provide the French armed forces with access to additional broadband satellite capacity over and above that provided by the existing Syracuse system. Comcept will mainly utilize capacity on the French-Italian satellite Athena-Fidus (scheduled for launch within the next 12 months) and will also be compatible with future commercial satellite networks operating in Ka-band, which will provide global coverage."

Moreover, Astrium will also be in charge for the engineering and testing of the system. They will be collaborating with co-contractor Actia Sodielec, a medium-sized satellite telecommunications company that will handle the engineering, integration and operational maintenance of the systems ground stations.

Japan sends two intelligence satellites into orbit

On Sunday, Japan launched two intelligence satellites amid increasing concerns that North Korea might conduct further long-range rocket tests and nuclear tests. Officials said that the two satellites -- an experimental optical probe and an operational radar satellite -- were successfully sent into orbit aboard the native H2-A rocket.

Back in 1998, Japan officially began its intelligence satellite program after North Korea blasted a long-range missile over Japanese mainland. Just last month, Korea launched a rocket which sent a supposed satellite into orbit, but the U.S and others condemned it as a cover for its development of missile technology.

Japan’s latest launch was planned long before the current growing tension with North Korea, and this new intelligence satellite emphasizes the country’s wariness and suspicion of its neighbor’s abilities and intentions.

The radar satellite recently launched by Japan is capable of providing data through cloud cover and at night, and is intended to broaden the country’s constellation network. The optical probe, meanwhile, will be used to test future technology and improvements to empower Japan’s surveillance capabilities.

Aside from expanding its surveillance capabilities, Japan also collaborated with the United States in establishing a missile defense shield due to North Korea’s threat.

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Russia deploys three military satellites

Russia has launched three new military satellites aboard a Rokot rocket that took off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Russia on Tuesday, Russian Aerospace Defense Forces spokesperson Alexei Zolotukhin said in a statement. This is the country’s first launch for the year and Rokot’s second since February 2011 when a technical glitch resulted in placing a Geo-IK-2 satellite into an incorrect orbit.

The much-awaited launch, which had been originally scheduled for early December, was postponed due to a malfunction in the rocket’s Briz booster built by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.

The Rokot launcher, weighing 107 tons, is a derivative of the Russian RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The carrier rocket has two original ICBM lower stages and an upper stage used for commercial payloads. It is designed to take satellites weighing less than two tons into low near-Earth orbits.

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ISRO’s launch of SARAL, Canadian defense satellites postponed to February

The joint launch of Indian-French satellite SARAL and various Canadian defense satellites has been suspended by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) once again. In a statement released by ISRO on January 4, the space agency said that the initially planned launch on January 12 was moved to mid-February because of a thermo-vacuum testing issue that ensued with the SARAL satellite, which is the fundamental payload of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C20 launch.

Meanwhile, the Canadian satellites are part of a supplementary payload that includes the NEOSSat space telescope, which functions as a seeker of near-Earth asteroids, and the dedicated military satellite Sapphire, which will upgrade the Canadian Department of National Defense’s (DND) surveillance capabilities.

The Canadian built CanX-3b (TUGSAT-1) and CanX-3a (also known as UniBRITE) nanosatellites are also going to be launched on the PSLV-C20 rocket. Both nanosatellites were created by the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies Space Flight Laboratory.

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Lockheed Martin secures AEHF production contract worth $2 billion

Lockheed Martin confirmed that it has won a $2 billion production contract to build the fifth and sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellites for the United States Air Force.

According to a statement by Mark Calassa, the Vice President of Protected Communications of Lockheed Martin, the AEHF program has become a critical part of the military space architecture of the United States, especially in recent times when global security relies more and more on protected and resilient satellite communications.

VP Calassa explained that strategic and tactical users across the world need the kind of secure satellite communications that AEHF provides. He believes that the Company's production contract with the USAF confirms the US government's confidence in Lockheed Martin's capability to deliver on the new order.

The AEHF network is a significant improvement over the older Milstar system when it comes to secure military communications. It will ensure safe lines of communication between the president and senior military leaders during nuclear attacks and similarly extreme situations. The first two satellites were placed in orbit in 2010 and 2012, and they are being used by the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Lockheed Martin settles $2 billion contract with U.S Air Force to manufacture AEHF satellites

Multibillion American company Lockheed Martin has now finalized a deal to produce two Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites for the United States Air Force, an agreement that was anticipated to generate a total of $2 billion for the company.

Under the terms of the contract, Lockheed Martin will create the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites for the U.S Air Force.

“As protected and resilient satellite communications become increasingly vital to global security, the AEHF program has developed into an indispensable element of the nation’s military space architecture,” Lockheed Martin Vice President of Protected Communications Mark Calassa said in a statement. “This production contract for the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites affirms the government’s confidence in our ability to deliver these spacecraft affordably and efficiently to meet the burgeoning demand from strategic and tactical users worldwide.”

The first two AEHF satellites were sent into their designated orbits in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The network is said to be shared by four countries: Canada, the Netherlands, United States and United Kingdom. These cutting-edge satellites aim to enhance secure military communications, assuring safe lines of communication between the president and top military leaders in extreme situations, like a nuclear attack. The AEHF satellites represent a major upgrade on the Milstar system, which has been in place since 1994.

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