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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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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