SATELLITE SYSTEMS, SATCOM AND SPACE SYSTEMS UPDATE

Sponsored By Viasat

www.viasat.com/gov-uk

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24 Apr 20. Export success for EM Solutions Cobra maritime satellite terminals. Electro Optic Systems has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Brisbane-based EM Solutions, has recently closed contracts to deliver its Cobra maritime satellite terminals to four allied Navy end-users in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

These contracts, valued at approximately $14mil, will be delivered through 2020 and 2021. In addition to its strong existing order book with the Royal Australian Navy, these contracts result in a record backlog for the company, six months after being acquired by EOS.

With its Cobra terminals now in use or on order with six of the world’s largest navies across four continents, the contracts further validate the acceptance of EM Solutions’ satellite communications products as a technology of choice to some of the world’s pre-eminent naval end users.

EM Solutions chief executive Dr Rowan Gilmore said, “These export sales help confirm EM Solutions as a trusted supplier of broadband satellite communications to defence forces around the world. The orders come on the back of the tremendous support the company has received from the Australian Department of Defence in the development and commercialisation of its Cobra terminals.”

Operating at X-Band, military Ka-Band and commercial Ka-Band, and certified for operation on major global networks such as WGS and Inmarsat GX, the Cobra terminals provide users with robust and resilient beyond-line-of-site communications with unprecedented flexibility and assuredness for their operations at sea.

“As we continue to support the Royal Australian Navy with deployment of Cobra terminals on multiple vessel types, the confidence shown in Australian space communications technology by multiple allied navies is a strong endorsement of the sovereign capability that has been fostered by Australian Defence Industry Policy,” Dr Gilmore added.

Group CEO of EOS, Dr Ben Greene, added, “The global success of our Cobra technology underscores its suitability for a wider role in global satellite communications. Cobra is presently the most versatile satellite communication terminal available, providing users with access to both MEO (mid-Earth orbit) and GEO (geostationary orbit) satellites in multiple military and commercial bands, and from rapidly manoeuvring platforms such as fast naval vessels.”

“Cobra is now being extended in scale and adapted in spectrum for more platforms, and a wide range of potential roles in the EOS deployment of next-generation communication satellites in MEO.”

In parallel with the negotiation of these recent contracts, EM Solutions expanded its presence in Europe in co-operation with long-time partner UR Group, based in Milan, Italy.

This expanded co-operation has provided EM Solutions with a direct business development presence in the region and provides a platform from which more comprehensive customer support and service capabilities can be implemented as required.

Given the current challenges of the global pandemic, the company’s direct presence in North America and now Europe has cushioned the impact of supporting new and existing customers in these markets at this time.

EOS Defence Systems specialises in technology for weapon systems optimisation and integration, as well as ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) for land warfare. Its key products are next-generation vehicle turrets and remote weapon systems. (Source: Defence Connect)

24 Apr 20. Firefly Aerospace inks launch services deal with Spaceflight Inc.. Firefly Aerospace and Spaceflight have reinforced a long-term strategic collaboration to meet growing demand for reliable space access. The agreement establishes Spaceflight as the lead customer aboard upcoming Firefly Alpha launch.

The agreement confirms that Spaceflight will secure the majority of the payload mass aboard a Firefly Alpha launch, scheduled for lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2021.

In addition to being the anchor customer, Spaceflight will sign, manage, integrate and deploy multiple payloads on the flight, enabling Firefly to maximise its full 630-kilogram launch capacity on the commercial Alpha mission to sun synchronous orbit (SSO).

Also, according to the LSA, Spaceflight will help maximise payload capacity aboard future Firefly Alpha launches.

Curt Blake, chief executive and president of Spaceflight, said, “Spaceflight has long been committed to providing reliable, cost-effective access to space and we are eager to partner with Firefly, as both companies share this exciting vision.

“In fact, we have many customers in mind, including some specifically in APAC, which we believe will benefit from this additional capacity and flexibility. Spaceflight is honoured to secure the primary payload aboard an Alpha flight in 2021, and we very much look forward to working closely with the Firefly team to accelerate more small satellite rideshare launches for the industry.”

The Alpha launch vehicle is designed to address the needs and demands of the burgeoning small-satellite market, combining the highest payload performance with the lowest cost per kilogram to orbit in its vehicle class.

Alpha will provide launch options for both full vehicle and rideshare missions.

Dr Tom Markusic, Firefly CEO, added, “Our Alpha launch vehicle will quickly fill a major market gap with the capability to deliver one metric ton to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and 630 kilograms to the highly desirable 500 kilogram SSO, about four times the current payload capability of other small satellite launch vehicles.”

Spaceflight has launched a record-setting 271 satellites via 29 rideshare missions, establishing itself as the leading rideshare service provider, offering comprehensive launch and integration services across a global portfolio of vehicles.

Spaceflight successfully executed nine missions in 2019, the most rideshare launches the company has performed in one year. The company also completed the first-ever rideshare mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) in 2019, launching the first privately funded lunar lander.

Leading up to the maiden flight of the Alpha launch vehicle later this year, final acceptance of the first and second stage will take place over the next several months at Firefly’s test facilities in Briggs, Texas, with hardware deployments to Vandenberg planned for early summer.

Firefly teams are also integrating new composite technologies into its overall manufacturing capabilities, with the goal of significantly boosting production of its launch vehicles to align with demand growth over the next few years.

Firefly is developing a family of launch and in-space vehicles and services that provide industry-leading affordability, convenience and reliability.

Firefly’s launch vehicles utilise common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to four tonnes of payload at the lowest cost/kg in the small-lift class. Combined with Firefly’s in-space vehicles, such as the Orbital Transfer Vehicle and Genesis Lander, Firefly provides the space industry with a one-stop shop for missions to the surface of the moon or beyond.

Spaceflight is revolutionising the business of spaceflight by delivering a new model for accessing space.

A comprehensive launch services and mission management provider, the company provides a straightforward and cost-effective suite of products and services, including state-of-the-art satellite infrastructure and rideshare launch offerings that enable commercial and government entities to achieve their mission goals on time and on budget. (Source: Space Connect)

22 Apr 20. Pompeo says Iran military satellite launch might defy U.N. resolution. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called for Iran to be held accountable for the launch of a military satellite, adding that he thinks the action defied a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Wednesday it had successfully launched the country’s first military satellite into orbit, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs.

The U.S. military says the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons, perhaps someday including nuclear warheads.

Tehran denies U.S. assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.

A 2015 U.N. resolution “called upon” Iran to refrain for up to eight years from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons following an agreement with six world powers to limit its nuclear program.

Some states argue the language does not make it obligatory.

“Every nation has an obligation to go to the United Nations and evaluate whether this missile launch was consistent with that Security Council resolution,” Pompeo told reporters, referring to U.N. Security Council resolution 2231.

“I don’t think it remotely is, and I think Iran needs to be held accountable for what they have done,” he added.

Most U.N. sanctions imposed on Iran were lifted in January 2016 when the U.N. nuclear watchdog confirmed that Tehran fulfilled its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States. But Iran is still subject to a U.N. arms embargo, which is due to expire in October, and other restrictions.

The U.N. sanctions and restrictions on Iran are contained in the 2015 resolution, which also enshrines the 2015 Iran nuclear accord. Tensions have flared between Washington and Tehran since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration in 2018 withdrew from the accord and reimposed U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Trump said the deal, designed to put curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions, did not include restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for its proxies in the Middle East.(Source: Reuters)

22 Apr 20. BlackSky Launches Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle for Intelligence Analysts. For the first time, BlackSky offers remote access for intelligence analysts due to COVID-19 pandemic. BlackSky, a leading provider of geospatial intelligence, global monitoring services and satellite imaging, announced today its new Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle to support remote work options for intelligence analysts. The new Spectra solution allows analysts to securely share unclassified information. The Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle includes the ability to review multi-source data feeds, obtain timely access to satellite imagery and gain resources for event analysis.

“Given the coronavirus pandemic, intelligence analysts, financial analysts and researchers are seeking solutions that allow teams to continue critical security and intelligence projects while working remotely,” said Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky. “Our Spectra platform offers a blend of secure tools that help analysts continue monitoring the globe, even when constrained to working from an offsite location.”

The Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle offers unique global monitoring and satellite imaging including:

Global activity monitoring: Access, coordination and management of a wide range of open and commercial monitoring sources
Comprehensive commercial satellite imagery: Fast tasking and delivery with rapid access to image archives
Automated tipping and cueing: Rapid selection and tasking of the right sensor at the right time
Secure online environment for analyst collaboration, publication and dissemination: Internet accessible and unclassified resources

Strategic focus for the new Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle includes site, activity and crisis monitoring while leveraging ad-hoc imagery ordering. Intelligence analysts can access data from BlackSky’s satellites and multi-source event feeds in addition to information from third-party satellite sensors. BlackSky offers low latency, rapid task collection, frequent revisits and temporal diversity across time of day with imaging satellites in Sun-synchronous and mid-inclined orbits.

“Our offering provides one pane of glass for deep visibility and access to the data and analytics our customers need, delivered within a matter of hours,” continued O’Toole. “With our extensive experience combining AI- and ML-driven analytic models and geospatial images, BlackSky’s ‘first to know’ global monitoring capabilities are already playing a crucial role supporting the redistributed workforces of U.S. analysts.”

BlackSky offers an enterprise licensing option for the Spectra On-Demand Secure Bundle that allows for use across multiple teams within an organization. To learn more about availability and pricing, visit https://blacksky.com/contact/.

About BlackSky

BlackSky is a global monitoring company. We monitor activities and facilities worldwide by harnessing the world’s emerging sensor networks, including our own remote sensing satellite constellation. BlackSky’s on-demand swarm of satellites can image a location multiple times throughout the day. We process millions of observations daily from space, from the air, from environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Industrial IoT, and Internet-enabled narrative sources like hyperlocal foreign news, social media, industry publications, and financial reports. We monitor for pattern-of-life anomalies and produce alerts, situational awareness, and geospatial analytics products. Our monitoring service is powered by cutting-edge compute techniques like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, and Natural Language Processing. BlackSky Global Monitoring is available via a simple subscription model and requires no IT infrastructure or setup time to begin making smarter decisions. For more information visit www.blacksky.com. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)

23 Apr 20. US Space Force welcomes first batch of graduates to ranks. Eighty-six graduates from the US Air Force Academy celebrated receiving their diplomas on 18 April and moved directly into the US Space Force, marking the first infusion of commissioned personnel into the new service since its creation last year.

The 86 newest members of the Space Force will fill a variety of roles, the majority of whom are assigned to the space operations career field and will be moving to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to begin undergraduate space training.

The remaining members are assigned to a variety of career fields, such as cyber space operations, intelligence, developmental engineer and acquisitions manager, and will go to their respective initial skills training locations across the country.

Upon completion of training, all 86 will be assigned to a Space Force unit.

Vice President Mike Pence was in attendance at the event and congratulated the entire graduating class.

“Last December, the President made that vision a reality when he put his signature on a historic law that created the six branch of our armed forces, the United States Space Force. I am proud to stand here today as 86 members of the Air Force Academy’s class of 2020 will commission as the first company grade officers of the Space Force,” Vice President Pence said.

While approximately 16,000 military and civilians from the former Air Force Space Command are now assigned to the Space Force, the arrival of these newest officers signals that the new service is taking a significant step towards filling its ranks.

Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett commented on the vital role these new officers will play in defence of the nation and in the newest branch of the US military.

“As our nation’s first Space Force lieutenants, these leaders will defend democracy and protect the ultimate high ground of space. As they depart the academy today, they will join the ranks of air and space power pioneers. They will be instrumental in building a lean, agile and forward-looking Space Force defending our nation, our allies and our American interests in space,” Secretary Barrett added.

The Space Force leadership team General Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations, and Chief Master Sargeant Roger Towberman, Senior Enlisted Adviser, welcomed the new space professionals with excitement.

Created by an act of Congress, the Space Force came into existence on 20 December 2019, with a mandate to organise, train and equip a force that protects US and allied interests in space. It must also be able to provide space capabilities to the joint force through the combatant commands.

Gen Raymond said, “You are our future, and I need you to be bold as you will build this service from the ground up. You will help define our warfighting culture, build the Space Force as the first digital service, and lay the foundation of a service that is innovative and can go fast in order to stay ahead of a significant and growing threat.”

Over the next 18 months it will define its organisational structure and move personnel into the service through military transfers and accessions, and civilian new hires and assignments.

As military transfers are complete, there will be roughly 6,500 military personnel in the Space Force while approximately 3,500 civilians will remain Department of Air Force civilians assigned to the new service.

In addition, there will be around 6,000 Air Force personnel, military and civilian, assigned to the Space Force to provide the base operational support functions such as medical, logistics, personnel, finance and security forces. (Source: Space Connect)

22 Apr 20. Battle For NRO Takes Shape As Space, Air Forces Grapple With Acquisition. DoD officials are extremely aware, almost to the point of paranoia, that even discussing the issue of NRO potentially being subsumed by the Space Force is playing with fire. As DoD struggles to decide how broad the new Space Force’s buying powers should be, the future of the builder and operator of America’s spy satellites, the NRO, is now uncertain.

Insiders say the wisdom of maintaining the long-standing and often hard-fought split between “black” and “white” space is once again being questioned.

On the military side, said one official close to the debate, the central question is ‘Why should the Space Force be different than any other service?’ The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all handle their own classified research and development, procurement, and training, so, the reasoning goes, why shouldn’t the Space Force?

Senior Air Force and space leaders have complained loudly in recent months that the size of the Air Force budget is often misconstrued in funding battles on Capitol Hill because a large chunk is tied up in classified funds, mostly for space, that are passed through to other agencies, mostly NRO. Indeed, in an interview with Air Force Magazine in January (her first), Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said DoD was evaluating whether that money ought to be put into the Space Force’s future budget.

The Intelligence Community is, of course, fighting back — arguing that, if anything, it ought to be the other way around. You want to take OUR money? Well, IC types say, acquisition authority for all intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data from all types of sensors, including satellites, ought to be put into our hands. This is because NRO is a joint venture between DoD and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

These source stress that the DNI actually is responsible for setting the formal requirements for classified satellite data and, more importantly, contributing most of the money for their development, production and operations. So, they say, DoD should not take acquisition authority over them.

Drones An “Immediate Threat” – DoD Plans Rapid Acquisition of Counter-UAS Systems

(Technically, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency serves as a clearinghouse for military requirements that it then transmits to NRO as the basis for their imagery satellite development and acquisition, including from commercial sources. That said, the NGA reports to the DNI.)

“It doesn’t matter where the DoD puts its space activities. So, the question is — do the DNI and SecDef decide it is better to end the joint activity and place space reconnaissance in the Space Force,” one old intelligence hand said. “This debate always seems to forget that there are many other users of NRO information than DoD.”

Whither Space Acquisition?

Part of the DoD debate about the relationship with NRO has been spurred by the congressional mandate to explore how future Space Force acquisition methods might benefit from copying NRO practices, and to ensure that systems planned by the two are aligned and not duplicative. The 2020 National Defense Acquisition Act (NDAA) required the Air Force to prepare a report on the issue that was due earlier this month.

But rather than issuing a separate report on working with the NRO, DoD decided to address DoD-NRO acquisition “alignment” in its first report on space acquisition, a spokesman for Space Force chief Gen. Jay Raymond confirmed. (That report, which, as Breaking D readers know, punts a decision on the chain of command for a future Space Force acquisition executive, was due to Congress by March 31 but is languishing in internal review.)

As explained by the seminal 2016 report on space acquisition by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), DoD follows Title 10 acquisition authorities for most space acquisition — although it does also have Title 50 authorities. According to GAO, NRO follows Title 50 acquisition authorities for buying satellite ISR. The NDAA asked DoD to look at how Space Force might benefit from using NRO’s practices once its new acquisition executive office is put in place — a Senate-confirmed position Congress said must be filled by October 2022.

“We have had very robust and vibrant discussions with the NRO about their acquisition authorities and how they execute them,” a senior DoD source told me in a written statement. “The Department of the Air Force’s Alternate Space Acquisition System report includes recommendations for the [Space Force] to adopt the best of breed authorities and practices. Adoption will allow us to further align and synchronize programs and architectures,” the source added.

However, the upcoming report does not touch directly on the question of a possible take over of NRO’s space acquisition authority by the Space Force.

That said, another USG source closely watching the debate characterized DoD’s approach to the acquisition issue as possible “baby steps” toward a Space Force land grab. DoD, the official said, may be “slowly removing the dirt under Chantilly (where the NRO’s Four Towers HQ sits) for them to have no choice but to slide down into a yet-to-be-monikered [Space Force] ISR command.”

What we do know for sure is that senior DoD officials are extremely aware, almost to the point of paranoia, that even discussing the issue of NRO being subsumed by the Space Force is playing with fire. This is certainly not the first time the divide between black and white space has been hotly debated.

A Tangled Oversight Web

The venerable spy satellite agency has a fiercely loyal contingency of supporters on Capitol Hill — in part for political reasons. Congressional oversight of IC bodies is complicated by overlapping jurisdictions, and the NRO more so than most because it receives both funding under the Military Intelligence Program (MIP) and the National Intelligence Program budgets.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) are the authorizing committees for NIP funds. The HPSCI also has authorization authority for MIP funds; but the divide changes in the Senate. There, the SSCI is not the authorizing committee, that falls to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

As for appropriations, the House and Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittees on defense have funding authority for both NIP and MIP annual spending.

All that said, HPSCI and SSCI members are extremely powerful, and vigorously exert their influence over both the authorization and appropriations processes.

In fact, the 2020 NDAA explicitly prohibits DoD from folding the NRO into the Space Force in part due to these political considerations. Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Space Force and then-chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces Subcommittee, admitted as much in 2018, citing the need to keep discussion of Space Force within his committee’s jurisdiction.

Thus, the NDAA specifically states that no NRO funding is to be transferred to the Space Force. Instead of giving the Space Force acquisition authority for spy satellites, it establishes a Space Acquisition Council that includes NRO. The council will be chaired by the new Space Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration once that spot is filled, and it will report to Barrett. By law, it will include: the Air Force undersecretary, a newly created assistant secretary of Defense for space policy, the NRO director, the Space Force chief and the head of Space Command. The council held its first meeting on April 9 (oh, to have been a fly on that wall!)

Likewise, President Donald Trump’s Space Policy Directive-4, signed Feb. 19, 2019, also specifically instructed DoD to not include NRO in its legislative proposal on the establishment of a Space Force. One might note, however, that it did not rule out an eventual reorganization.

To Merge or Not To Merge: That is the question

For its part, NRO is a wee bit sharpish about the question of a potential shift in authorities for classified ISR satellites. Spokeswoman Laura Lundin provided me the following statement:

“As a member of the IC and a Defense element, the NRO provides vital space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) in support of national strategic and tactical customers. The NRO provides tremendous value to the Nation and the national security domain. The NRO’s unique role bridging the IC and DoD customer sets–combined with our end-to-end responsibility from R&D through acquisition to launch and operations–enables us to support a wide range of customers while maintaining agility to innovate within the space domain. We believe the current construct bridging the IC and DoD communities is an asset to the Nation.

While the military services organize, train, and equip personnel for the joint force, including IC elements such as the NRO, NSA, and DIA, the IC elements are not, and should not, be part of the military services.

As outlined in Space Policy Directive-4, the U.S. Space Force does not include NASA, NOAA, NRO, or other non-military space organizations and recognizes the need to retain a focus on those unique missions while also building unity of effort and collaboration. The NRO continues to support the DoD as a critically important customer and continues to work closely with our U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command partners, as well as the Department of the Air Force and other military services.”

While NRO’s own position is crystal clear, the 2016 GAO study points out that numerous studies, dating back to the 2001 Space Commission Report led by Donald Rumsfeld, have recommended the merger of all DoD space acquisition bodies and authorities, including NRO, into one executive office.

As GAO famously reported, some 60 organizations have a finger in the DoD space acquisition pie, eight of which have acquisition management authorities, including NRO and Space and Missile Systems Command (SMC), which now is part of Space Force. In other words, there is nobody really in charge of space acquisition within DoD — which accounts for the ponderous process that results in satellite programs often taking a decade or more from design to launch.

On the other hand, GAO noted, NRO has a much more streamlined satellite acquisition process that involves only a handful of personnel. (Hence the above-mentioned congressional report on Space Force possibly taking up some NRO acquisition practices.)

Bureaucratic Baggage

Complicating the ongoing discussion about exactly what acquisition powers Space Force should have vice NRO is the heavy bureaucratic political baggage involved in the often testy relationship between the Air Force and NRO. The military space community has long complained that NRO does not play well with the other children — a tendency that solidified under the previous NRO director Betty Sapp. Sapp, as Colin reported extensively back in the day, instituted a cone of silence around the spy agency, while at the same time assiduously courting Congress.

In arguing for moving “black space” acquisition to the Space Force, several sources pointed out that the increasing need for for tactical ISR already is driving greater demand by commanders in the field for commercial imagery, including through NGA.

Indeed, the Space Development Agency (SDA) plans to develop a constellation of low-cost satellites to allow detection and tracking of ground targets beyond-the-line of sight in near-real time — a capability desperately desired by the Army, which is working on the effort with SDA via the service’s TITAN multi-domain ground station effort. Meanwhile, the Army itself is testing out its own small satellite concepts including for reconnaissance.

All-Domain Operations: Is A New Relationship Required?

In addition, several DoD sources asserted, a separate NRO increasingly makes less sense as the US military moves to implement a new warfighting strategy based on All-Domain Operations. One of the key tenets of all-domain is the need to seamlessly link all sensors to all shooters. While acquisition management is slightly sideways to that effort — which involves sorting out the changes required to chain of command, force organization, doctrine and technical capability — the issue of command and control of assets is central.

Indeed, DoD and the IC in August struck a deal with NRO that gives Space Command the authority to order NRO satellites to take protective measures, such as maneuvering, if they come under attack.

That agreement, however, does not give Space Command any authority over actually tasking the satellites (i.e. ordering them to focus or refocus on a particular target area). Tasking authority remains solidly with the DNI, one IC-savvy source said. And the DNI — as of Feb. 20 Acting Director Richard Grenell — is unlikely to give that authority up easily.

(Grenell was appointed after the withdrawal of Trump loyalist Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe following questions about his qualifications. Ratcliffe was nominated by President Donald Trump in August 2019, after the July resignation of Dan Coats, who had clashed with the White House.)

Better integration of NRO and military space operations is precisely the raison d’etre of the National Space Defense Center (NSDC), which was created in 2017 under Strategic Command. (Sapp, Breaking D readers may recall, fought fiercely against the original establishment of the NSDC.) The new deal, struck by a high-level DoD-IC task force working to implement SPD-4, which was supported by current NRO head Christopher Scolese, reinvigorates the NSDC’s mission.

“After months of analysis and deliberation, the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense have agreed to align US space command and the NRO into a new unified defense concept of operations (emphasis ours) at the National Space Defense Center,” said Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire at the time. “As part of US Space Command, the National Space Defense Center is a joint DoD-Intelligence Community organization and will become the center of gravity for defending our vital interest in space.”

However, ensuring that space can support All-Domain Operations also means ensuring that when space systems are developed and procured, they must be technically capable of working with all the military services. They also need to be organizationally capable to be responsive to commanders on a fast-paced battlefield.

That is precisely what the Air Force and NRO have fought over for all these years. As noted above, satellite tasking is controlled by the DNI rather than the Secretary of Defense — and military leaders have complained loudly and often about NRO ignoring their needs.

NRO supporters, however, stress that the organization, and the DNI, have to make judgements about strategic-level priorities — because high-value, high-fidelity imagery is precious and in high demand from all its clients.

Further NRO says it already has incorporated all-domain operations into its own strategy and is working closely with DoD to help ensure everyone is on the same page.

“Multi-domain (or All Domain) operations is a key element of NRO’s strategy – both in terms of data we provide and how we coordinate with our IC and DoD partners,” Lundin said. “We support both national decision makers and warfighters in all domains through the collection of intelligence. Shortening the intelligence cycle – that is, getting intelligence data from “sensor to shooter” as quickly as possible – remains an NRO priority. The NRO provides multi-domain intelligence by collaborating with our IC and DoD partners including coordination of space operations through the NSDC to ensure operations of our assets are in synch.”

And so, the debate rages on. (Source: Breaking Defense.com)

23 Apr 20. Thales Alenia partnership to support Omnispace IoT development. Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo, has been selected to develop the initial component of Omnispace’s satellite-based internet of things (IoT) infrastructure to support its plan to deliver a global hybrid communications network based on 3GPP standards.

Thales Alenia Space will design and build an initial set of two satellites for operation in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO).

These initial satellites will support 3GPP-defined (the 3rd Generation Partnership Project telecommunications specifications that unite standard development organisations) narrow-band IoT radio interface and will serve to advance the development and implementation of Omnispace’s global hybrid network.

This announcement marks a key milestone as Omnispace initiates the development of its new generation NGSO satellite constellation which will operate in the S-band.

Ram Viswanathan, president and chief executive of Omnispace welcomed the announcement: “Thales Alenia Space has a successful track record of developing NGSO satellite constellations and is well-qualified to support our vision of delivering the world’s first global 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN).”

“This investment in our next-generation satellite infrastructure allows us to progress the development of our technology and demonstrate our unique capabilities as we continue to work towards launching our broader vision of a global hybrid network.”

The development of this initial set of satellites will begin immediately and they are scheduled for launch in 2021.

Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, added, “Thales Alenia Space is pleased to be working with Omnispace, which is taking a holistic approach to the design, development and deployment of their next-generation, IoT-based satellite network infrastructure.

“Omnispace’s selection of Thales Alenia Space reinforces our leadership position as a major industrial partner and our expertise in space-based IoT communications. We look forward to collaborating with Omnispace in delivering this innovative project.”

Omnispace and Thales Alenia Space, along-side other industry stakeholders, will contribute to the development of the 3GPP NTN friendly standard for global implementation. (Source: Space Connect)

22 Apr 20. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it has launched a military satellite. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it put the Islamic Republic’s first military satellite into orbit, dramatically unveiling what experts described as a secret space program with a surprise launch Wednesday that came amid wider tensions with the United States.

Using a mobile launcher at a new launch site, the Guard said it put the “Noor,” or “Light,” satellite into a low orbit circling the Earth. While the U.S., Israel and other countries declined to immediately confirm the satellite reached orbit, their criticism suggested they believed the launch happened.

Iranian state TV late Wednesday showed footage of what it said was the satellite and said it had orbited the Earth within 90 minutes. It said the satellite’s signals were being received. Already, Iran has abandoned all the limitation of its tattered nuclear deal with world powers, from which President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America in 2018. Trump’s decision set off a monthslong series of escalating attacks that culminated in a U.S. drone strike in January that killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, followed by Tehran launching ballistic missiles at American soldiers in Iraq.

As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and historically low oil prices, the missile launch may signal a new willingness to take risks by Iran.

“This raises a lot of red flags,” said Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. “Now that you have the maximum pressure campaign, Iran doesn’t have that much to lose anymore.”

How did the launch go?

On its official website, the Guard said the satellite successfully reached an orbit of 425 kilometers (264 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The Guard called it the first military satellite ever launched by Tehran.

The three-stage satellite launch took off from Iran’s Central Desert, the Guard said, without elaborating.

Hinz said based on state media images, the launch appeared to have happened at a previously unnamed Guard base near Shahroud, Iran, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of Tehran. The base is in Semnan province, which hosts the Imam Khomeini Spaceport from which Iran’s civilian space program operates.

The paramilitary force said it used a Ghased, or “Messenger,” satellite carrier to put the device into space, a previously unheard-of system. It described the system as using both liquid and solid fuel.

“Today, the world’s powerful armies do not have a comprehensive defense plan without being in space, and achieving this superior technology that takes us into space and expands the realm of our abilities is a strategic achievement,” said Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard. He described the satellite as “multifunctional.”

Wednesday marks the 41st anniversary of the founding of the Guard by Iran’s late leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. An image of the rocket that carried the satellite showed it bore a Quranic verse typically recited when going on a journey, as well as a drawing of the Earth with the word Allah in Farsi wrapped around it.

The Guard, which operates its own military infrastructure in parallel to Iran’s regular armed forces, is a hard-line force answerable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Responding to a query from The Associated Press, Iranian Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi wrote on Twitter that the Guard’s space program was “defensive” in nature, while the overall program was “peaceful,” without elaborating.

What was the response?

International criticism of the launch came quickly.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “Iran needs to be held accountable for what it’s done.”

At a Pentagon news conference Wednesday, senior officials called the satellite launch a provocation. “We view this as further evidence of Iran’s behavior that is threatening in the region,” said David Norquist, the deputy secretary of defense.

Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launched vehicle “went a very long way.” He said it was too early to say whether Iran successfully placed a satellite in orbit.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry described the launch as a “facade for Iran’s continuous development of advanced missile technology.” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger warned that “the Iranian rocket program has a destabilizing effect on the region and is also unacceptable in view of our European security interests.”

U.S. Army Maj. Rob Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesman, told The Associated Press that American officials continue to monitor Iran’s program.

“While Tehran does not currently have intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), its desire to have a strategic counter to the United States could drive it to develop an ICBM,” Lodewick said.

Iran has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent months. The latest came in February, when Iran failed to put its Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit.

That failure came after two failed launches of the Payam and Doosti satellites last year, as well as a launchpad rocket explosion in August. A separate fire at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in February 2019 also killed three researchers, authorities said at the time.

The rocket explosion in August drew even the attention of Trump, who later tweeted what appeared to be a classified surveillance image of the launch failure. The successive failures raised suspicion of outside interference in Iran’s program, something Trump himself hinted at by tweeting at the time that the U.S. “was not involved in the catastrophic accident.”

Tension builds

The U.S. alleges such satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, previously maintained its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. The Guard launching its own satellite now calls that into question.

Tehran also says it hasn’t violated a U.N. resolution on its ballistic missile program as it only “called upon” Iran not to conduct such tests.

Wednesday’s launch, however, raised new questions. While Iran isn’t known to have the know-how to miniaturize a nuclear weapon for a ballistic missile, any advances toward an intercontinental ballistic missile would put Europe and potentially the U.S. in range.

Tensions have increased elsewhere as well. A U.S. Navy video last week showed small Iranian fast boats coming close to American warships as they operated in the northern Persian Gulf near Kuwait, with U.S. Army Apache helicopters. On Sunday, the Guard acknowledged it had a tense encounter with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, but alleged without offering evidence that American forces sparked the incident.

Trump acknowledged the incident in a tweet Wednesday, saying: “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet referred questions on the tweet to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Source: Defense News)

21 Apr 20. Ball hits milestone with weather satellite for military operations. A new satellite that will provide weather data for U.S. military operations has passed its critical design review, Ball Aerospace announced April 20, and the company is now moving forward into full production. The Weather System Follow-on satellite is meant to fill three vital space-based environmental monitoring gaps identified by the Defense Department: ocean surface vector winds, tropical cyclone intensity and low-Earth orbit energetic-charged particles.

The satellite will include a passive microwave-imaging radiometer instrument for the first two missions, which will provide timely weather collection in support of maneuvering forces. A government-furnished energetic-charged particles sensor will be used for the third mission, which will provide important space weather capabilities such as the ability to characterize operational orbits, space situational awareness and information on the ionosphere.

“Measuring and understanding the physical environment is critical to military operations, from determining tropical cyclone intensity for asset protection and maneuver operations to how wind and sea state play into assured access and aircraft carrier operations,” Mark Healy, Ball Aerospace’s vice president and general manager of national defense, said in a statement.

In addition, the WSF satellite will collect information on sea ice characterization, soil moisture and snow depth.

Ball Aerospace is the prime contractor for the entire WSF system, meaning it will deliver the space vehicle along with instrument, spacecraft and system software and algorithms for data products. The company was initially awarded $93,713,423 in November 2017 to design the system, and a year later was awarded an additional $255,418,494 to develop and fabricate the satellite. According to the Space Force, the WSF satellite is projected for a launch in fiscal 2024. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

21 Apr 20. Ball Aerospace completes CDR of Space Force’s WSF satellite. Ball Aerospace has completed the critical design review (CDR) of the US Space Force’s next-generation Weather System Follow-on (WSF) satellite. Developed for the US Space Force Space and Missile Systems Centre (SMC), the satellite is being designed to support military operations.

Once operational, it will provide critical environmental intelligence that can be used in all defence domains. Following the completion of CDR, Ball Aerospace will now commence full production of the satellite.

Ball Aerospace National Defense vice-president and general manager Mark Healy said: “Measuring and understanding the physical environment is critical to military operations, from determining tropical cyclone intensity for asset protection and manoeuvre operations to how wind and sea state play into assured access and aircraft carrier operations.

“Ball is proud to be a mission partner with the Space Force, working closely and collaboratively to ensure the success of this program, which extends Ball’s legacy of providing precise measurements from space to enable more accurate atmospheric and ocean forecasting.”

WSF is mainly designed to address three gaps associated with the US Department of Defense Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM).

The high-priority gaps are ocean surface vector winds, tropical cyclone intensity and the space weather gap, low Earth orbit (LEO) energetic charged particles.

Additionally, it will help minimise three more SBEM gaps, namely sea ice characterisation, soil moisture and snow depth.

Ball, who is the main contractor for the mission, will supply to SMC the instrument, spacecraft and system software, and the algorithms for data products. (Source: airforce-technology.com)

21 Apr 20. A consortium of Norwegian and Dutch research centres selected satellite integrator NanoAvionics to build two nanosatellites, ‘Birkeland’ and ‘Huygens’. The purchase order is part of a military use of space (MilSpace) project under a bilateral strategic mutual assistance in research and technology (SMART) memorandum of understanding (MoU). The two nanosatellites are intended to demonstrate the concept of a space based spectrum monitoring system to geolocate radar signals. It is the first time for Norway and the Netherlands to launch a formation of satellites.

The BROS (binational radiofrequency observing satellites) mission is the first known two-satellite system to detect, classify, and accurately geolocate Radio Frequency signals, including navigation radars used on ships, by combining the measurement angle of arrival (AoA) and time difference of arrival (TDOA). Simultaneous detection of pulsed radio signals by both satellites flying in tandem enables accurate geolocation during all weather conditions.

“Exchanging science, research and technology experience in this MilSpace mission is a great start for flourishing partnerships with the participating organisations,” said Vytenis J. Buzas, co-founder and CEO of NanoAvionics. “The agreement is also an example of the new cross over between commercial and military space missions. This was made possible by standardising NanoAvionics’ bus design which allows our nanosatellites to host a wide variety of payloads for diverse applications.”

“Birkeland” and “Huygens” will both be based on NanoAvioncs’ pre-configured M6P nanosatellite bus with a deployable solar panel configuration, high precision attitude determination and control system (ADCS) and a propulsion system. The mass of each 6U nanosatellite will be up to 10 kilograms. The launch of the two nanosatellites is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022 when they will be placed into a polar low Earth orbit (LEO) with an altitude range of 450 to 600 km. Both will be positioned in the same orbital plane with a separation of 15-25 km, allowing the two nanosatellites to simultaneously detect emissions from radar systems. For a polar LEO orbit of 600 km altitude, the payload antenna will be able to cover any point on the Earth’s surface at least four times per day.

Drawing from experience from the Norwegian NorSat-3 and the Dutch BRIK-II missions, the consortium for this strategic and bilateral mission also expects to gain valuable insights into formation flying. The project team consists of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

20 Apr 20. Russia’s new navigation plan reveals a fear of jamming. Russia regularly jams GPS signals in northern Scandinavia. The government often “spoofs” receivers in Moscow and elsewhere into thinking they are tens of kilometers from their true location. It is no surprise then that Russia’s five-year radio navigation plan focuses so much on countering such threats for its citizens and military forces.

The plan, signed on Oct. 25 and recently made available on the internet, was agreed to by representatives from 11 nations.

Russia’s significant concern with disruption of signals from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS and its Russian equivalent GLONASS, is clear. The plan shows how Russia — and its allies — are making users safer by integrating space and terrestrial systems into a more robust and resilient positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) architecture.

It also confirms a mobile terrestrial PNT capability, likely for military use, that has received little public attention.

Interference Concerns

Russians are exceptionally proud of their electronic warfare capability. Several years ago, official pronouncements claimed the ability to disrupt systems and “makes aircraft carriers useless!”

In addition to jamming NATO exercises and spoofing GPS receivers to protect VIPs, Moscow also claims it added GPS jammers to over 250,000 domestic cell towers to help defeat U.S. cruise missiles should they attack.

It is no wonder, then, that Russia’s radionavigation plan states that “intentional and unintentional interference represent the greatest threat” to users. The plan lists 13 operational electronic systems like radars and TV channels that can unintentionally degrade GNSS reception.

Deliberate disruptions, it suggests, could come from “radio hooligans and terrorists.” Adversary nations are not mentioned, nor are military conflicts, other than the need for special forces to operate in a “difficult interference environment.”

Among the recommendations to counter this threat are establishing as system to monitor GNSS frequencies for disruptions and use of both America’s GPS and Russia’s GLONASS satellite systems.

The most effective method, though, is seen as simultaneous use of space and terrestrial systems like Loran.

“Integration of terrestrial and space RNS will allow creating separate navigation areas superior in technical characteristics of each of its constituent systems…,” it read. “One of the ways to integrate ground and space RNS is integration of systems like ‘Seagull’ [Loran] and GLONASS. Integrated systems ‘Seagull”’/ GLONASS may in the future used as the main systems for route stages navigation.”

There is some indication that these systems have already been incorporated into some “consumer equipment.” The plan also says that at least one version of Seagull/Loran is being modernized.

Loran and GNSS Together

In addition to Loran and GNSS being dissimilar and good complements for each other, the plan outlines ways Russia is using the two systems to support each other.

Differential corrections sent by Loran transmitters improve the accuracy of GLONASS, GPS and other space-based systems.

“In the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus there is a ground navigation base that supports control technology transmission corrective information from regional differential GNSS satellite subsystems using Eurofix technology,” it read. “In Russian Federation, this base is presented in the form of pulse-phase RNS types ‘The Seagull,’ ‘Tropic-2V’ and ‘Tropic-2C.’ Modernization in progress a similar station located in the city of Slonim of the Republic of Belarus.”

In the United States these types of corrections had been provide by a network of 85 ground-based transmitters and the space-based Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The ground-based system is in the final stages of being disestablished.

A network of 13 Loran transmitters do the same thing in Russia. Some of the advantages listed in the plan are coverage of a large area per transmitter (600- 2,200 km) at relatively low cost, improved channel up time and availability, data transmission in urban and mountainous areas, and that both Loran and GNSS are needed to ensure users have PNT.

It also points out that Loran and GNSS are mutually supportive in other ways:

“GNSS location determinations can be used to calibration of readings RSDN and compensate for errors due to the propagation of radio wave. In turn the data Laurent-C/Seagull [Loran] can be used to monitor the integrity of satellite RNS,” the report reads.

Mobile Loran/Scorpio

In 2013 the U.S. Army Journal “OE Watch” reported on an emerging Russian terrestrial navigation system called “Skorpion” that sounded like a modernized version of Loran. Little has appeared since then, until a brief mention in this radionavigation plan.

It is shown as an on-going Ministry of Defense research and development modernization program. Also, as a mobile form of the Tropic-2P variant of Seagull/Loran. “In the period until 2020, a planned replacement of mobile long-range radio navigation systems ‘Tropic-2P’ to the information system coordinate-temporal support ‘Scorpio,’” the report read.

The rationale for this, according to “Ivestia” quoted by the US Army is:

“During combat activity all satellite signals coming through space will be actively suppressed with so called ‘white noise’… The Skorpions are designed to be a kind of backup of GLONASS in such a situation.”

Note: The United States had a terrestrial Loran navigation system complementing and backing up GPS until 2010. It was disestablished despite a presidential policy requiring a backup system. That policy is still in place. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

21 Apr 20. SpaceX, NASA confirm second Crew Dragon demo. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and NASA have confirmed 27 May as the launch date for the company’s Falcon 9 launch of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission (Demo-2) from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be the first two NASA astronauts to fly onboard the Dragon spacecraft as part of the Demo-2 mission to and from the International Space Station, which will return human spaceflight to the US for the first time since the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011.

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Crew Dragon spacecraft that will support Demo-2 are onsite at SpaceX’s facilities in Florida. To mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil, NASA has revived their worm logo for Demo-2.

In preparation for Demo-2, SpaceX has completed a number of major milestones for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

In March 2019, SpaceX completed an end-to-end test flight of Crew Dragon without NASA astronauts onboard, making Dragon the first American spacecraft to autonomously dock with the International Space Station and safely return to Earth.

In January 2020, SpaceX demonstrated Crew Dragon’s in-flight launch escape capability to reliably carry crew to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency on the launch pad or at any point during ascent.

SpaceX has completed over 700 tests of the spacecraft’s SuperDraco engines, which fired together at full throttle can power Dragon 800 metres away from Falcon 9 in 7.5 seconds, accelerating the vehicle more than 640 km/h.

SpaceX has completed 26 tests of Crew Dragon’s enhanced Mark 3 parachute design, which will provide a safe landing back on Earth for astronauts returning from the Space Station.

These tests include 13 successful single parachute drop tests, 12 successful multi-parachute tests, and a successful demonstration of the upgraded parachute system during Crew Dragon’s in-flight abort test

Additionally, SpaceX and NASA have jointly executed a series of mission simulations from launch and docking to departure and landing, an end-to-end demonstration of pad rescue operations, and a fully integrated test of critical crew flight hardware on the Demo-2 Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley participating in their Demo-2 spacesuits.

Demo-2 is the final major milestone for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station.

Once Demo-2 is complete, and the SpaceX and NASA teams have reviewed all the data for certification, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and JAXA astronaut Noguchi Soichi have been assigned to fly on Dragon’s first six-month operational mission (Crew-1) targeted for late 2020.

SpaceX is returning human spaceflight to the US with one of the safest, most advanced systems ever built, and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is a turning point for America’s future in space exploration that lays the groundwork for future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. (Source: Space Connect)

16 Apr 20. USAF Seeks Freedom To Shift $$ Between Space Programs.

“[T]he way that the Air Force and now Space Force put their budget submissions into Congress, it puts all of the programs into individual program elements,” Roper said, “and that’s like locking [each] program into a little financial prison.”

The USAF wants Congress to approve new powers allowing the service to fund space acquisition in ‘blocks’ that would allow it more freedom to shift funds from one specific program to another, says service acquisition head Will Roper.

The idea, he told reporters today, is to give the Space Force acquisition authorities that mimic those used by fast-moving and highly capable organizations such as the Special Capabilities Office and the NRO. The mechanism: putting multiple programs into one budgetary program element (PE) number so priorities can be juggled or monies shifted to ailing programs to help them cope with cost or schedule overruns.

“One of the things that we are very passionate about for space acquisition is trying to consolidate the space portfolio into a few number of program elements,” Roper said, noting that when he headed the SCO “we funded almost all of our programs out of one program element. That’s really important because it let me optimize the portfolio of programs, not just do individual programs,” he explained. “Well, the way that the Air Force and now Space Force put their budget submissions into Congress, it puts all of the programs into individual program elements, and that’s like locking [each] program into a little financial prison.”

Although it is true that other organizations with acquisition powers — including SCO, NRO and the Missile Defense Agency — have such flexibility, it is unclear whether Congress will acquiesce to the same for the Space Force. The 2016 NDAA created a new “major force program” — MFP 12 — for DoD reporting on the national security space budget precisely to overcome: a) the lack of transparency in DoD budgeting for space programs, and b) the long-standing Air Force practice to shift space funds to air power programs that were suffering setbacks. However, an MFP does not allow the Air Force or other space services to move money around without congressional assent.

As late as the 2020 budget request, DoD admitted that it still had not sorted out how exactly to meet the MFP-12 requirement as it was still developing standard practices for determining what should be included or not.

Joshua Huminski, director of the National Security Space Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), said wryly that the Air Force request is likely to “require very artful selling to Congress.” He explained in a phone conversation today that congressional leaders already are keeping the Air Force on a short leash regarding space acquisition.

Drones An “Immediate Threat” – DoD Plans Rapid Acquisition of Counter-UAS Systems

Roper said the request for such new authorities will be included in the space acquisition report Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett is required to send to Congress under language in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That report was due March 31 but has yet to be transmitted.

Roper said the report is finished but is being reviewed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

As I’ve reported, Barrett’s report will punt on the question of whether the NDAA-required Space Force acquisition executive will be a fully separate office or will be organized in some fashion as a subunit of Roper’s current shop. It’s no secret that Roper has strenuously opposed a fully bifurcated space acquisition office.

Roper confirmed today that the pending report is concentrating on how the service hopes to use its current, and newly proposed, acquisition authorities to speed the often decades-long process of moving new space capabilities from design to procurement. He explained that the Air Force will wait until after Congress decides on its proposal for future space acquisition authorities before circling back to the organizational question — in effect, meaning that the service will not address the issue until after the 2021 NDAA is passed.

“And then once we determine what will be given to us or not, then for round two, we’ll look at what’s the right way to organize with these new authorities, and at that point we’ll take on the question of whether there should be one or two service acquisition executives,” he elaborated.

The service has until October 2020 to establish the controversial new space acquisition post. (Source: glstrade.com/Breaking Defense.com)

16 Apr 20. COVID-19 NEWS: Air Force Wants More Money to Bolster Space Industry. The Air Force and other defense agencies need more funding to prop up the space industrial base during the COVID-19 crisis, the service’s acquisition chief said April 16. The spread of the virus has forced the closure of some businesses in the supply chain, created inefficiencies in production lines and introduced market uncertainty, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Will Roper noted during a teleconference with reporters.

“We’re all worried about the space industrial base during COVID-19, especially the small suppliers who are at risk and especially vendors who are reliant on commercial capital,” he said. “We do see a hesitancy and conservatism start to enter the market with all the uncertainty with COVID-19. Now is the time for the government to take a bold move and stabilize those markets.”

Interagency leaders from the Air Force, Space Force, National Reconnaissance Office, Space Development Agency, Missile Defense Agency and the office of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment are expected to hold an emergency meeting next week or the following week to identify all the areas of the space industrial base that need support during the crisis, Roper said

The aerospace industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. More than half of the defense-related companies that have had to shut down operations because of COVID-19 are part of that sector, he noted.

Commercial companies that focus on low-Earth orbit payloads and small satellite launch are part of an emerging market that is vulnerable to disruptions.

“Right now we see investors moving in more of a conservative posture waiting to see what is the government going to do,” Roper said. “We’ve got to send a message loud and clear that innovation is not a COVID-19 victim; that we will keep it immunized from this disease and we will keep it moving so that warfighters now and in the future have the systems that they need.”

Officials are worried that some companies might go out of business. Roper is pushing for more stimulus money from Congress and more funding for Defense Production Act investments to bolster supply chains.

“A lot of our stimulus ideas center around space and ways that we can make sure that that burgeoning ecosystem that was there before COVID-19 is sustained and then reemerges on the other side,” he said.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act provided $2.2trn to stimulate the economy and help businesses impacted by the pandemic. That included billions of dollars to help bolster national security-related supply chains. Roper declined to disclose how much additional money he is seeking from Congress for these efforts.

More broadly, the Air Force expects program hiccups stemming from requirements for social distancing, sanitizing and other virus mitigation efforts. Companies affected can receive allowable adjustments to existing contracts so they aren’t penalized, he noted.

“We will have slips across the board,” he said. “What I’m proud of is that nothing has come off the rails.” However, more funding is needed urgently to mitigate the disruptions and help industry.

“Congress has to act now because we can’t wait for these smaller suppliers” to fold, Roper said. “If Congress does [act] and we get funding, we will be able to stabilize our defense industrial base and keep program slippages to the minimum [and] come out the other side of this crisis as an Air Force and Space Force … that are much better postured to complete against China and Russia long term.” (Source: glstrade.com/National Defense)

19 Apr 20. A satellite may be healthy and fully operational, but it can still be retired if its fuel supply has depleted. Once fuel runs dry, that’s it: The satellite is done, unusable. Enter the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV). On average, there are about 20 satellites each year that reach this condition and are retired. Since the number of potentially unusable satellites is so vast, Northrop Grumman is leading the way in developing satellite servicing plans and technology. MEV has solved this issue: It is a vehicle designed to dock with geostationary satellites whose fuel is nearly depleted.

Once connected to its client satellite, MEV will use its own thrusters and fuel supply to extend the satellite’s lifespan by performing station-keeping maneuvers. Then, when the customer no longer needs MEV’s service, it will undock and move on to the next client satellite.

“Our MEV is a multi-use vehicle,” said Joe Anderson of Northrop Grumman’s satellite servicing operations unit. “It has a 15-year design life, but there’s much more than 15 years of life extension fuel in the vehicle. This will allow us to service satellites in inclined orbits too.”

A Space Rendezvous at 7,000 Miles per Hour

MEV-1, launched on Oct. 9, 2019 — is the first life-extension vehicle to market, under a contract with Intelsat, the world’s largest commercial satellite operator.

After launch, MEV-1 raised its orbit to rendezvous with its client satellite, Intelsat 901 (IS-901), in geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO), a process that took three and a half months from launch and used both its chemical and electric propulsion systems.

MEV-1 traveled directly to graveyard orbit, also known as a disposal orbit, which is situated approximately 180 miles above GEO and more than 22,000 miles above Earth, as a precautionary measure. A few weeks after the MEV-1 launch, the IS-901 began to raise its own orbit from GEO to the graveyard, where the two vehicles rendezvoused and finally docked in late February 2020, moving at a rate of approximately 7,000 miles per hour while successfully aligning.

Future MEV dockings will take place directly in GEO.

Simple Yet Revolutionary In-Orbit Docking

MEV-1’s method for docking is simple. The vehicle takes advantage of a feature that approximately 80% of GEO satellites share: a liquid apogee engine (LAE). GEO satellites use the LAE to finalize their orbits at the start of their life but are never used again. Fortunately, only a few manufacturers worldwide build LAEs, and all use very similar designs.

The Mission Extension Vehicle uses a patented mechanism to capture and dock with a client’s LAE. This mechanism is inserted into the cone of the LAE to capture the client satellite —with an approach termed “cone-to-capture,” the same approach to docking utilized as far back as the Gemini program in the 1960s.

Once captured, the mechanism retracts and the MEV’s stanchions make firm contact with the client vehicle’s launch adapter ring ensuring a secure docking. The launch adapter ring is another feature common to most GEO satellites. It’s important to note that the MEV-client vehicle connection is purely mechanical, thus avoiding the complications of fluid transfers and electrical or data connections.

Returning the Satellite to GEO

On April 2, 2020, MEV-1 returned IS-901 to service in its designated location in GEO where it will remain for five years — the length of Northrop Grumman’s contract with Intelsat. At the end of this contract, MEV-1 will return IS-901 back to graveyard orbit and release it there to be decommissioned.

MEV-1 will then move on to provide mission extension services to new client spacecraft, repeating the process once again and breathing new life into satellites in need.

17 Apr 20. Intelsat 901 Satellite Returns to Service Using Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle. Combined spacecraft stack now fully operational as companies demonstrate advantages of satellite life-extension service. Intelsat (NYSE: I) today announced that Intelsat 901 has returned to service following the successful docking with the first Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1) from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SpaceLogistics LLC, on February 25 – the first time that two commercial spacecraft docked in geostationary orbit.

Since the February rendezvous, MEV-1 has assumed navigation of the combined spacecraft stack reducing its inclination by 1.6° and relocating IS-901 to its new orbital location. Intelsat then transitioned roughly 30 of its commercial and government customers to the satellite on April 2. The transition of service took approximately six hours. IS-901 is now operating at the 332.5°E orbital slot and providing full service to Intelsat customers.

Intelsat views life-extension services, like MEV technology, as a cost-effective and efficient way to minimize service disruptions, enhance the overall flexibility of its satellite fleet and better support the evolving needs of its customers.

“With a focus on providing the best customer experience in our industry, Intelsat is proud to have pioneered this innovative first with Northrop Grumman. We see increased demand for our connectivity services around the world, and preserving our customers’ experience using innovative technology such as MEV-1 is helping us meet that need,” said Intelsat Chief Services Officer Mike DeMarco. “I want to thank Northrop Grumman, SpaceLogistics and our valued Intelsat customers, who put their trust in us to successfully execute this historic mission. As commercial space-servicing technology progresses, Intelsat looks forward to pioneering new applications in support of our customers’ continued success.”

“Our partnership with Intelsat was critical to delivering this innovative satellite technology into operation,” said Tom Wilson, vice president, Northrop Grumman Space Systems and president, SpaceLogistics, LLC. “This historic event, highlighted by the first in-orbit rendezvous and docking of two commercial satellites and the subsequent repositioning of the two-spacecraft stack, demonstrates the business value that MEV offers to customers. Now that MEV-1 has successfully delivered on its mission to place the Intelsat 901 satellite back into operational service, we will continue to pioneer the future of on-orbit servicing through our multi-year technology roadmap leading to additional services such as inspection, assembly and repair.”

Under the terms of the contract, Northrop Grumman and SpaceLogistics will provide five years of life extension services to IS-901 before returning the spacecraft to a final decommissioned orbit. MEV-1 will then be available to provide additional mission extension services for new clients including orbit raising, inclination corrections and inspections. Intelsat has already also contracted with Northrop Grumman for a second MEV (MEV-2) to service Intelsat 1002 satellite later this year. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)

17 Apr 20. Intelsat (NYSE: I) today announced that Intelsat 901 has returned to service following the successful docking with the first Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1) from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SpaceLogistics LLC, on February 25 – the first time that two commercial spacecraft docked in geostationary orbit.

18 Apr 20. OneWeb Bankruptcy Leaves Plans for Arctic Satellite Broadband In Limbo. OneWeb’s ambitious goal of bringing high-speed broadband connectivity to the entire Arctic by early next year now appears improbable. The company declared bankruptcy last month after having launched 74 out of 648 planned satellites.

OneWeb, a global communications company with the goal of providing high-speed broadband internet to “everyone, everywhere,” announced plans to bring reliable, low-latency high speed internet service to the Arctic in September 2019. It had planned to provide 375Gbps of capacity above the 60th parallel North, increasing capacity more than 200-fold in the region.

The company successfully demonstrated its system’s capability with the first six satellites in August 2019, followed by launching 34 satellites in February and another 34 spacecraft on March 21st.

Bankrupt just days after launching 34 satellites

OneWeb, however, filed for bankruptcy at the end of March, after having launched 74 satellites and completing or breaking ground on about half of its 44 ground stations. OneWeb’s bankruptcy filing leaves up in the air the current status and future use of its satellites.

OneWeb had been engaged in negotiations to secure investments to fully fund the project through launching all 648 satellites part of the first phase. However, due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic the company has been unsuccessful in obtaining financing. OneWeb is now pursuing a sale of its business. It did not respond to inquiries about the current or future status of connectivity of the Arctic.

It also remains unclear how or if its planned cooperation with the U.S. military to provide satellite-based communications in the Arctic will continue. OneWeb had announced this novel partnership between a private communications provider and the military earlier this year.

For this purpose the U.S. Northern Command had requested $130m in funding for 2021. The plan involved using prototype terminals capable of uplinking to these new low earth orbit constellations consisting of hundreds of mass-produced small satellites. Similar plans for cooperation between the U.S. military and SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will continue as scheduled.

High-speed connectivity across Arctic

OneWeb’s initial coverage was planned to be established by late 2020 with full-time 24 hour coverage provided by 2021. The company explained that it would bring high-speed internet to the 48 percent above the Arctic Circle, which has limited or no connectivity.

“Connectivity is critical in our modern economy,” said U.S. Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski back in September 2019 when the project was first announced. “As the Arctic opens, ensuring the people of the Arctic have access to affordable and reliable broadband will make development safer, more sustainable and create new opportunities for the next generation leading in this dynamic region of the globe.”

With OneWeb’s bankruptcy the arrival of high-speed internet to all of the region is yet again delayed. A much talked-about attempt to bring land-based high speed internet to the region through the Arctic Fibre project has been mired in delays, technical challenges, and legal trouble related to fraudulent contracts.

Some good news and more projects on horizon

With OneWeb’s setback all eyes will be focused on SpaceX’s Starlink project which also aims to beam high-speed internet to underserved regions like the Arctic. In the meantime, some progress has been made in enhancing the offerings of established providers. Last month Iridium, a satellite-based communications firm, announced that its connectivity along Russia’s Northern Sea Route received a significant boost with speeds doubling to 700kbps.

Another provider, Inmarsat, launched two new satellites introducing satellite-based broadband in the Arctic region for the first time. The satellites were placed into a Highly Elliptical Orbit guaranteeing reliable coverage above 65 degrees North. The payload was developed in partnership with Space Norway and represents the first and only dedicated mobile broadband connectivity for the Arctic.

As plans for the launch of thousands of satellites by companies like OneWeb and SpaceX have been announced, experts have warned of the long-term impacts of adding that many objects to the skies above.

Especially low Earth Orbit is becoming increasingly crowded with operational and dysfunctional satellites and space debris. More than 100 million pieces of debris orbit the Earth, with 30,000 fragments larger than 10 centimeters. Astronomers have also expressed dismay about the effects of the growing number of satellites in low Earth orbit on night-sky observations. Uncertainty over the long-term status of OneWeb’s 74 satellites confirms concerns over who will ultimately be responsible for thousands of new satellites once they are abandoned or become derelict. (Source: Satnews)

15 Apr 20. Ovzon and Airbus Defence and Space Enter Into a Reseller Agreement for SATCOM Services. Ovzon and Airbus Defence and Space have entered into a partnership through a reseller agreement wherein Airbus will include Ovzon’s innovative satellite communication services into their portfolio in the UK.

Together, Ovzon and Airbus will market Ovzon’s end-to-end services that include Ovzon’s mobile terminals and efficient, reliable support.

Airbus will integrate the Ovzon solution in to its extensive satellite communications product and system portfolio.

From late 2021, the offering will be expanded to include Ovzon’s own first satellite. According to the firm, this is an important step to further revolutionize mobile broadband by satellite, offering the highest bandwidth with the smallest terminals. Ovzon 3 is the first of a number of satellites planned for global reach of Ovzon’s high-end service.

Airbus is a leading integrator and provider of advanced secure satellite communication services and network management infrastructure. Airbus delivers flexibility, resiliency and security for governments, militaries and international agencies with an end-to-end service offer bringing the most comprehensive bandwidth and terminal portfolio coupled with leading capabilities in network services and solutions.

Magnus René, CEO of Ovzon, said the firm is excited to team with Airbus for them to include the company’s industry leading, end-to-end, satellite service in their product portfolio. Their professional team has a long history and legacy supplying satellite-based communication services to demanding customers.

Richard Budd, Head of Secure Communications in the UK and US at Airbus Defence and Space added that the company is always looking to ensure customers are benefiting from the best and latest technologies as part of the company’s ongoing service capability and offering. Being able to offer Ovzon’s advanced services and associated exciting mobile terminals to the firm’s portfolio means Airbus can continue to bring the best available solutions to the front line commands and end users. (Source: Satnews)

13 Apr 20. Now Approved for the IntelsatOne FlexGround Network is Paradigm’s MANTA Terminal. Paradigm’s versatile, high speed SATCOMs-On-The-Move (STOM) and SATCOMs-On-The-Pause (SOTP) MANTA terminal has been approved and is now fully qualified on the high-throughput IntelsatOne FlexGround network.

On FlexGround, the MANTA will now be able to provide even greater throughput than previously available, dynamically accessing bandwidth where it is most needed without the operator needing to manage multiple beams and satellite.

The MANTA is a field-proven Ku-band complete solution designed for both static and mobile satellite communications. It is a single-case carry and is simple to operate in minutes. No pointing is required and there are no moving parts… just add power.

With the MANTA+ option, users can also connect to satellite and 3G/4G/LTE networks; over multiple locations, the terminal will seamlessly switch from terrestrial to satellite, ensuring constant connectivity and least cost routing.

The MANTA’s integrated PIM® technology also provides crucial connectivity situational awareness for the user, allowing full control over satellite selection and operation of the terminal and simplifying satellite operations. The PIM is Paradigm’s environmentally rugged terminal controller, able to integrate all major modem types and designed to provide a common level of operation to all satellite terminals.

Intelsat’s FlexGround service combines global availability, high data rates and flexible, pay-as-you-go plans for rapid, cost-efficient connectivity around the world – even in the most austere environments.

Specifically designed to deliver operational agility for COTM/COTP, Mobile Military and Emergency Responder communications, it provides the optimal solution for mobility without sacrificing speed.

Jon Godfrey, GM at Paradigm, commented that the versatile, easy-to-use and field-proven MANTA terminal together with the high-throughput FlexGround network will make a powerful combination. (Source: Satnews)

14 Apr 20. Thuraya’s MarineStar is a Star for the Company. Thuraya, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE-based global satellite company, Yahsat, has announced that Thuraya MarineStar, the company’s maritime voice solution with advanced two-way tracking and monitoring capabilities is a bestseller, especially in the Asian maritime markets.

This versatile solution was sold out within a month after its launch and first installations have been made successfully. Due to robust demand from fisheries, Thuraya’s Service Partners are now placing new bulk orders for the hardware units.

As an entry-level solution, Thuraya MarineStar is built on the same successful voice platform that has sold more than one million Thuraya satellite voice devices. As the offering enables tracking and monitoring, in addition to voice communications, vessel operators do not have to invest more in their tracking systems or a brand new tracking application.

Thuraya MarineStar is popular in many Asian markets for a variety of reasons. In China, users cite the cost-effective voice communications as a key differentiator, while Vietnamese fishermen appreciate its tracking and monitoring capabilities. This solution makes compliance with national and international fish catch reporting regulations simple by bundling essential elements into one affordable package.

Moreover, Thuraya MarineStar supports multiple languages, further cementing its appeal among regional users. Thuraya MarineStar enables fishing crews to remain connected on their local GSM numbers, even beyond the coastline.

The terminal, with its IP67 rated antenna, can be deployed to perform condition based, on-board monitoring for maintenance activities. This results in better planning and upkeep that is more efficient.

The hardware and service advantages of Thuraya MarineStar are complemented by the most flexible rate plans for the service. Thuraya has devised bespoke pricing models and bundles that are based on actual usage.

The solution is also available to third-party system integrators who want to integrate their tracking platforms with that of Thuraya. Its terminal has multiple physical interfaces that support external sensors and devices for further customization.

Shawkat Ahmed, Thuraya’s CCO, said that when the company launched Thuraya MarineStar in late 2019, the firm was certain this was a winner… for the cost-conscious user who has to abide by a tight budget, this feature-rich voice solution offers a wide range of value add-ons at an affordable price. The company has seen products that had ambitious launches, but are still, unfortunately, out of reach due to the total cost of ownership. Thuraya MarineStar is an unprecedented success as the product meets all of the essential requirements in terms of connectivity, safety, flexibility and affordability. (Source: Satnews)

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At Viasat, we’re driven to connect every warfighter, platform, and node on the battlefield. As a global communications company, we power millions of fast, resilient connections for military forces around the world – connections that have the capacity to revolutionize the mission – in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Our customers depend on us for connectivity that brings greater operational capabilities, whether we’re securing the U.S. Government’s networks, delivering satellite and wireless communications to the remote edges of the battlefield, or providing senior leaders with the ability to perform mission-critical communications while in flight. We’re a team of fearless innovators, driven to redefine what’s possible. And we’re not done – we’re just beginning.

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