RAND Report: Space Force Needs Enterprise Approach in Procuring Satellite Communication Capabilities

A RAND Corp. report found that the U.S. Space Force needs to overhaul the way it buys commercial satellite communications services. According to RAND, existing methods for procuring commercial SATCOM services prevent the government from maximizing commercial innovations. Specifically, the Space Force uses separate contracts with individual providers to procure capabilities, an arrangement RAND said […]
Posted on by Lawrence Carter

Viasat Secures $900M Space Force Contract to Provide Proliferated Low-Earth Orbit Connectivity

The Defense Information Systems Agency has awarded Viasat’s Inmarsat Government unit a position on a 10-year, $900 million indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity contract to provide proliferated low-Earth orbit satellite-based services. DISA made the award on behalf of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. Viasat is expected to deliver space relay services and other PLEO capabilities […]
Posted on by Noah Lowell

Ball Aerospace Concludes WSF-M Satellite Testing

Ball Aerospace has tested the Weather System Follow-on – Microwave satellite, designed to enhance the Department of Defense’s space-based environmental monitoring capabilities. As prime contractor for the WSF-M project, Ball designed, built and integrated the spacecraft bus, ground data processing software and the Microwave Imager instrument that will collect environmental data at multiple frequencies. The […]
Posted on by Lawrence Carter

Glenn Research Facility to Evaluate Teraphysics Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier

Teraphysics has entered into a Space Act agreement with NASA’s Glenn Research Facility to certify that the company’s microfabricated E-band helical traveling wave tube amplifier is suitable for space-to-Earth radio frequency telecommunication links. Work under the agreement includes evaluating the miniaturized product as a communication amplifier for satellite and terrestrial communications and demonstrating its performance […]
Posted on by Lauren Grey

Space Development Agency Readies Test of Transport Layer Satellites

The Space Development Agency is preparing an on-orbit demonstration of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture satellites carrying radio and optical communications payloads. The spacecraft make up the Transport Layer, which will work to facilitate satellite-to-satellite data transport and connectivity with military systems. The Transport Layer satellites will comprise the space portion of Link 16, an […]
Posted on by Noah Lowell

SES Space & Defense Secures AFRL Contract for Military Satellite Communications Experimentation Support

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded SES Space & Defense a multi-year contract to support the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet program. The DEUCSI program establishes communications with military platforms through commercial internet constellations in different orbits. SES Space & Defense will demonstrate multi-orbit, multi-band solutions that can switch among commercial space […]
Posted on by Lawrence Carter

SDA Awards QinetiQ US $224M Contract for Engineering and Technical Services

The Space Development Agency has awarded QinetiQ US a five-year, $224 million contract to provide acquisition, engineering, management and technical services supporting the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a low-Earth orbit satellite constellation meant to provide communications and missile-tracking capabilities to U.S. and allied warfighters. According to QinetiQ US CEO Shawn Purvis, a 4×24 member and […]
Posted on by Noah Lowell

Four Companies Secure NASA Contracts for NOAA Microwave Sounder Studies

NASA has awarded four contracts worth about $19 million in total to conduct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications Phase-A study. Ball Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Orbital Micro Systems and Spire Global Subsidiary received a one-year contract each to study and design SMBA formulation activities. SMBA instruments, part of NOAA’s Near-Earth Orbit […]
Posted on by Lawrence Carter