Military Satellite News (January & February 2009)Visit
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February 27, 2009
Testing Of SBIRS' Rigors Of Space Capabilities Completed
The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Based Infrared Systems Wing announced completion today of thermal vacuum testing for the geosynchronous orbit payload.?
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February 26, 2009
A Model Deployment By Boeing — Absolutely FAB-T
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has delivered the first Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) Engineering Development Model (EDM) to the U.S. Air Force B-2 Program — Boeing and the Air Force will use the EDM to initiate platform integration and test activities.
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U.S. Air Force + U.S. Army Join One Another In UAV/UAS Planning
The Air Force and Army chiefs of staff signed a plan recently in Washington, D.C., taking the two services one step closer to supporting the full spectrum of conflict with their larger, multirole unmanned aircraft.
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February 25, 2009
Enerlinks' Encryption Enhances UAV/UAS Security
Enerdyne Technologies Inc., a ViaSat company, has announced the availability of an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) option for its EnerLinks family of digital data links.
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CCW Conference in NYC On the Cheap
It may not sound like the typical description, but even the press release states, CCW offers the best value for your money — or lack thereof!
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Proven In Yuma Is Orbiter UAS
AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced the Company has completed a successful flight demonstration of the Orbiter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona.
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February 24, 2009
ATK + AFRL All Fired Up...
Alliant Techsystems and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base have successfully tested a developmental solid rocket motor — designated Phase II — as part of the Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) program.
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Harris' HNR Has FIPS Features Focus
Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS has received Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 2 certification for the Harris Highband Networking Radio (HNR).
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Satellite Launch By North Korea Expected By Early May
North Korea said Tuesday it was readying to launch a satellite, a move that the United States and its allies believe could actually be a long-range missile test that would deepen global tensions.
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February 23, 2009
Epitome of Efficiency — Three in One at ISCe Conference
Getting a specific trade, business or agency to gather together at one time is a challenge at best, and so hats off to the 8th annual ISCe Conference which will provide three jam-packed information events in one convenient location — San Diego's Marriott Hotel and Marina.
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BAMS Impact For U.S. Navy + Global Hawk UAV
The joint mission of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing expanded with the recent addition of the first operational Navy Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system, part of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program.
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Warfighter Comms Expanded With Harris Debut Of Falcon III VHF Tactical Radio
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has released their Falcon III nexgen VHF handheld, the new RF-7800V-HH VHF handheld tactical radio.
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Israeli Hunter UAV Hangs Around 'Til Needed
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is developing a loitering killer drone with the capability to hunt illusive ground targets, such as anti-aircraft systems and mobile or concealed ballistic missile launchers.
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In-House Sats Can Save Defense Department Millions — Nexgov Report
The Defense Department could save a total of $600 million from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2016 by shifting much of the traffic currently handled by commercial communications satellite operators to Wideband Global System satellites, a top Pentagon official told Nextgov and columnist Bob Brewin in an article published at the publication's online site.
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High Yield Power For UAVs — Low Yield Weight For Soldiers
Protonex Technology Corp., a provider of fuel cell power systems for portable, remote, and mobile applications, announced the launch of its soldier-worn power managers, the SPM-611 and SPM-612, which it said reduce a soldier's logistics burden by minimizing the number of batteries and different types of power sources a soldier must carry.
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Fire Scout LRIP 3 Brings VTUAV Closer To OpEval
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) program moves closer to Operational Evaluation (OpEval) with a recent U.S. Navy modification award to a previous firm fixed-price contract for the procurement of three VTUAV systems.
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Apaches To Acquire Real-TIme Battlefield Streaming From UAS
Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] Video from Unmanned Aerial Systems for Interoperability Teaming – Level 2 (VUITTM-2) for Apache technology recently began operational use in theater.
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February 19, 2009
And the Jack Swigert Award Goes to . . .
The 25th National Space Symposium brings together all sectors of space, civil, commercial, national security, new space entrepreneurship, and finance, to highlight accomplishments and address opportunities and issues facing the global space community today.
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It's A SNAP For TCS With Additional U.S. Army VSAT Contract
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS) has received an additional $5.6 million of funding from the U.S. Army to provide additional Secure Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) and Non-secure Internet Protocol Router (NIPR) Access Point (SNAP) Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Satellite Systems, and an assortment of Data Packages, Forward Deployed Spares and Field Service Engineers.
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Astrium's Adroitly Negotiated Capacity Elevates First SIDM UAV Afghan Missions
On February 17, 2009, the French Air Force’s SIDM (the French acronym for medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drone) surveillance UAV performed its maiden flight in a foreign theater of operations.
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February 18, 2009
U.S.A.F. Orders Up Harris Falcon III For MilComm
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has received an $18 million order from the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command's Battlefield Air Operations office for the Harris Falcon III AN/PRC-117G wideband tactical radio system.
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U.S. Navy Task Fulfillment Fulfills L-3 Contract
L-3 Communications has announced their Command & Control Systems and Software (C2S2) division has been awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract by the U.S. Navy for software, planning and engineering services tasks.
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Iranian Patter Presents UAV Accomplishment
A top Iranian defense official, Deputy Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, said on Wednesday the country has built an unmanned surveillance aircraft with a range of more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers).
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February 17, 2009
ScanEagle Treated To Winds Galore
The Beech Wind Tunnel at Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research recently performed subsonic wind tunnel tests for a full-scale model of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' ScanEagle Compressed Carriage, a long-endurance autonomous unmanned vehicle.
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AGS Brings Amphibious Command Ship Into DIA's VSAT Net
AMERICOM Government Services (AGS) has announced the U.S. Navy has accepted the in-motion satellite terminal installed on board the Seventh Fleet Command ship, the USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19).
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On The Right Track Are Impeva + Agility
Impeva Labs, Inc. and Agility have successfully deployed an advanced service to track and monitor more than 365 trucks operating on 2,000-plus miles of remote roads across challenging terrain between depots in Dubai, Jordan and Iraq, the start of a multi-phased deployment to support Agility’s operations in the region.
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MILCOM Sat Constellation Achieves 200+ Years Of Ops
A U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team has announced the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) III constellation has surpassed 200 years of on-orbit operations, the longest total operational experience of any U.S. military communications satellite constellation.
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MUOS Moving On Up
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has delivered the first Legacy Communications payload and the first digital channelizer to Lockheed Martin in support of the U.S. Navy's new Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) communications system.
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Dual-Use MilSat Planned by Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force plans on having their own satellite in space by the end of 2010.
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A Day In The Life Of A Predator
The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing received a new MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft and immediately put it into action at Joint Base Balad in Iraq on February 13th.
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February 16, 2009
Super Summit @ NAB Offers Key Military + Government Focus
Today’s military, government and first responders have a need to understand what the commercial broadcast world can offer to better manage their video and imagery requirements.
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TS2 4 Soldiers 2 Connect In 2 War Zones
Numbers indicate that TS2 Satellite Technologies' network in Iraq and Afghanistan has over 15 thousand users of local broadband satellite connections providing high-speed Internet services for U.S. Army soldiers stationed in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
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Trash Bins In Space to Eliminate the Junk?
SatNews found the following article to be of potential interest to our subscribers, courtesy of Trevor Williams University of Victoria Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate:
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380th Air Expeditionary (Spread Their) Wing With a Hawk
The 'bird' has arrived to designate it as 'the first' in the joint mission of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.
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Unmanned Battlefield of the Future Requires 'Manned' Experts Now
Always preparing for the future in the military with such devices as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unmanned Surface Vessels brings experts together to address these and other topics at Unmanned Systems Asia 2009, February 17-18 at the Rendezvous Hotel in Singapore.
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A Pox On Piracy — UAVs On Lookout Duty
Drone aircraft that have been used by the U.S. military in Afghanistan and insurgents in Iraq are now being used to combat pirates off the Somali coast.
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Automated UAV Refueling Contract Goes To Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) relative navigation solution has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) program follow-on contract.
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Northrop Grumman's Major Milestone For GPS OCX
Northrop Grumman successfully completed the System Design Review for the Global Positioning System (GPS) Next Generation Operational Control Segment (OCX) program, the final major milestone under the Phase A contract, laying the foundation for a low-risk, cost-effective Phase B contract.
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Harris' High Road With Highband Net Radio
Harris Corporation's (NYSE:HRS) new Highband Networking Radio (HNRTM) provided interoperable, long-range backbone communications for stationary, on-the-move and airborne platforms, including the Boeing A160T Hummingbird Unmanned Aerial System, at the U.S. Army's C4ISR On-the-Move Event at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
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Hot Times In The UAV Market Ahead — To The Tune Of $62B
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) continue to be the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry, report Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis.
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February 13, 2009
Satlynx SATCOM Success In Poland
Satlynx, a GE company and a provider of satellite telecommunications, has announced a 6.7 million euros business agreement with the Polish Government via its military systems partner WZL (Wojskowe Zak³ady £¹cznoœci Nr 1) to provide a range of satellite equipment.
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Milstar Makes It To Its 50th Birthday
The first U.S. Air Force Milstar communications satellite, built by a Lockheed Martin [NTSE:LMT] team, has achieved 15 years of on-orbit operations.
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SIDM UAV Sent Packing By France To Afghanistan
EADS Defence & Security (DS) plays a decisive role in the SIDM UAV deployment for the French Air Force in Afghanistan.
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Longer + Higher Are Keys To EADS UAV Advancement
EADS has decisively shifted its Advanced UAV concept to a long-winged, high-altitude, long-loitering surveillance model, dropping consideration of a faster and short-winged recon variant, said Herv? Guillou, head of the Defense and Security France division.
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An Astronaut + More Satellites On Iran's "Must Do" Agenda
Iran has initiated a 12-year project to send an astronaut into space, mere days after conducting its first domestic satellite launch.
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Starling Launches StarCar, a Star of a Car
This star is not in the heavens or part of Hollywood or Broadway — rather Starling Advanced Communications is introducing the StarCarTM antenna system for land vehicles at an upcoming conference.
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Volvo Navigates from China to Carnival in Rio With Inmarsat FleetBroadband
They're off and ready to race, no concerns for communications as the competing VO70 class boats leave Qingdao, China, on Saturday 14th February 2009, for a 12,300nm leg across the Pacific before arriving in Rio de Janeiro at the end of March 2009. This is the longest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 and an important one for sponsor Thrane &
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February 11, 2009
In The Field With atrexx
atrexx, a German special solutions provider for the telecommunication and broadcast industries, has been providing welfare communications links via satellite to enable troops and police forces to remain in touch with friends and family back home.
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Manned Indian Chopper To Become Unmanned
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will convert the HAL-built Chetak Helicopter into an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
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New UAV UMT System Plays Its Role Well
CAE and Israel Aerospace Industries are in the final phases of developing an unmanned air vehicle mission training (UMT) system, which will be revealed at the Aero India 2009 show in Bangalore, India.
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February 10, 2009
Monitoring SatCom Brings New System From L-3 TRL
U.K. defence supplier L-3 TRL Technology is going to showcase their new IsatPhone Monitoring System (ISMS) at the ISS World MEA exhibition in Dubai later this month.
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Harris Highband Networking Radio Has Highly Elevated Results
Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) has demo'd the ability of its advanced Highband Networking Radio to provide high-capacity air-to-air and air-to-ground communications — including streaming video — at ranges of up to 130 nautical miles and at altitudes up to 24,000 feet during the U.S. Air Force CAPSTONE II exercise.
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Recalcitrants Beware — Raven Ramping Up!
AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (NASDAQ: AVAV) has received an order from the U.S. Army valued at $16,758,776 for the production of 50 new Raven (RQ-11B) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) equipped with AV’s Digital Data Link (DDL).
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Grounding For GOES
Raytheon Company has submitted its final proposal for the development of the ground segment for NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R series, known as GOES-R.
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February 9, 2009
Still Helping in Hell . . . TSF Remains in Congo
There is an update to the information from Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) when deployed January 24th in the north east of the Democratic Republic of Congo close to the border with Sudan to support aid agencies working in the Haut-Uele District.
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AEHF Gets Stressed At Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has announced that the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) military communications satellite is now undergoing thermal vacuum testing at the company's Sunnyvale, California facilities.
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February 8, 2009
Tactical Weather Knowledge Necessary For Successful UAV Ops
Climatronics Corporation now offers an improved, tactical weather station, the EMI-hardened TACMET II (P/N 102304), to provide real-time surface weather input for UAV ground control stations (GCS).
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BAE Systems Praying For Clear Skies For Mantis UAV Reveal In India
Mantis, an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by BAE Systems, will make its featured debut at the Aero India 2009, held in Bangalore, India, starting on February 11.
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Boeing + Ball Succeed With SBSS Demo
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has successfully completed initial satellite testing and has demonstrated end-to-end mission functionality of the ground and space systems of the integrated Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system.
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February 5, 2009
Additional Raven Reconabilities For Services Via Extended UAV Contract
AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (NASDAQ: AVAV) has announced the U.S. Army has ordered additional RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and associated services for its fiscal year 2009 requirements by the exercise of an option under an existing contract.
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Battlespace Betterment For U.K. Forces
General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited, in partnership with Rockwell Collins and QinetiQ, has won a competition for a GBP3 million contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to develop the Joint Data Network Combat Identification Server Technical Demonstrator.
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The Space Foundation's Jobs Are Out of This World
While many are seeking employment, good news comes from the Space Foundation for college students and transitioning military looking for jobs in the space industry.
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February 4, 2009
Thales Down Under With UAVs
Thales will showcase cutting-edge capabilities from its Air Systems and Aerospace divisions at the Australian International Aerospace and Defence Exposition — otherwise known as the Avalon Airshow.
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Boeing Goes Wide for U.S.Air Force x 2
Boeing [NYSE: BA] does it again — shipped the second in a series of new, high-capacity military communications satellites to Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida for a March launch.
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UAVs Prefer No Icing At All
New Avionics Corp. has unveiled an ice sensor almost entirely composed of plastic, making it ideally suited for placement near antennas on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other small aircraft.
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MILSATCOM Via Global Broadcast Service Now Under 50th SCS Control
The 50th Space Communications Squadron initiated its newest mission on December 1st when it took operational control of Global Broadcast Service, the Department of Defense's data and video information distribution system.
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Ranging In The SAR For Global Hawk UAV
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received U.S. Air Force approval to initiate a portion of Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) Radar System Level Performance Verification (RSLPV) flight testing.
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February 3, 2009
Iran's Non-Satanic Satellite Boosted Into Orbit
Iran has launched the Country's first indigenous satellite into orbit — such will certainly cause additional alarm within international community that is already at odds with Tehran over that country's desire to possess nuclear weaponry, especially given their oft-stated desire to eliminate certain neighbors from the map of the Middle East.
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SatCom For The Submerged
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $35.8 million contract by the U.S. Navy to design and produce antenna buoy systems that will significantly expand the communications capabilities of submarines while they are submerged.
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Substantial Speakers Cemented In For 25th National Space Symposium
The 25th National Space Symposium will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at The Broadmoor Hotel from March 30th through April 2nd, and a wealth of subject-matter experts will be on hand to offer their presentations and information to attendees.
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Insights Into MilSpace Set For Paris This April
SMi Group are proud to announce an recent addition to the MilSpace 2009 program that's scheduled for April 27th and 28th at the Radisson SAS Hotel, Bois du Bolougne, Paris, France.
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The Pentagon Has Spatial Desires
Adapting new capabilities within the rapidly changing military space environment is increasingly important to national security, and Defense Department officials in the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office are working to meet the Pentagon's needs for space capabilities rapidly.
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February 2, 2009
UAS Challenges + Opportunities The Focus Of Upcoming ASD Conferences
Upcoming are both the Unmanned Aircraft Systems — West — Conference and teh Unmanned Aircraft Systems — East — Conference from ASD Events. The former will be conducted from March 3rd through 4th in San Diego, California, and the latter from April 1st through 3rd in Washington D.C.
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Escape Artist Creates All Digital MMD
Escape Communications, a developer of advanced wireless signal processors, eliminates analog circuitry with their just released all-digital Multi-rate Multi-mode Demodulator (MMD) for use in extremely high-capacity wireless links such as satellite downlinks and crosslinks, avionics ISR applications, and terrestrial backhaul applications.
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Russian UAV To Increase Accuracy Of Iskander-M Missiles
What's up in Russia? UAVs, that's what, and these unmanned aerial vehicles are assisting the Russian military to ensure a more accurate Iskander-M short range missile, specifically with an eye toward the defensive U.S. ballistic missile bases are located in Central Europe.
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Lightweight T-Hawk Is A Heavyweight With New U.K. MOD Assignment
Honeywell (NYSE:HON) has received an order via Foreign Military Sales, for six T-Hawk MAV (Micro Air Vehicle) systems from the U.S. Navy, which is the contracting agency for the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the T-Hawk MAV system procurement.
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February 1, 2009
25th National Space Symposium Selects Session SuperSpeakers + More...
The history and future of the nation's military space programs will be center stage at the Space Foundation's 25th National Space Symposium, when the men who have been in charge for the past 20-plus years gather for the first-ever Space Commanders Forum.
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USO's Total Troop Commitment Extended With Segovia's SatNet Managed Services
Segovia’s secure global IP satellite network can be rapidly deployed virtually anywhere in the world, meeting the requirements of warfighting or emergency response forces. The Company has just been awarded a two-year contract to provide managed network services to the USO.
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It Takes Boats, Roads, Trucks and More for Ariane's Payload Stack
The logistics involved when delivering the various aspects of a spacecraft to its final destination are intense, as was validated today and earlier this week for Arianespace.
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Significant SIGINT For ISR Ops
Applied Signal Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:APSG) (AST) has successfully completed a flight test demonstration of the Model 570X SIREN—a miniature airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) payload for ISR operations.
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No Need to Stress With NOAA New Distress Switchover
There was plenty of advance warning — back to October of 2000 — when the International Cospas-Sarsat Program, announced at its 25th Council Session held in London, UK of plans to terminate satellite processing of distress signals from 121.5 and 243 MHz emergency beacons on February 1, 2009.
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Primetime For NOAA Prime — Satellite + Launch Vehicle Ready To Rumble
The Flight Readiness Review for the Delta II and NOAA-N Prime spacecraft was successfully completed January 29th, with a countdown dress rehearsal conducted the following day.
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An Iridium Story of Never Say Die
An interesting and inspiring report involving Iridium provides the history of the rise and fall and rise again of the company, its restructuring and sheer determination . . .
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