Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
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21 Jan 21. GEM 63XL rocket motors will help launch ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) conducted a validation ground test of an extended length 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) today in Promontory. This variation of the company’s GEM 63 strap-on booster was developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to provide additional lift capability to the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
“This new motor optimizes our best-in-class technologies and leverages flight-proven solid rocket propulsion designs to provide our customers with the most reliable product,” said Charlie Precourt, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman. “Evolving the original GEM 63 design utilizes our decades of GEM strap-on booster expertise while enhancing capabilities for heavy-lift missions.”
During today’s static test, the motor fired for approximately 90 seconds, producing nearly 449,000 pounds of thrust to validate the performance capability of the motor design. Additionally, this firing verified the motor’s internal insulation, propellant grain, ballistics and nozzle in a hot-conditioned environment.
Northrop Grumman has supplied rocket propulsion to ULA and its heritage companies for a variety of launch vehicles since 1964. The GEM family of strap-on motors was developed starting in the early 1980s with the GEM 40 to support the Delta II launch vehicle. The company then followed with the GEM 46 for the Delta II Heavy, and the GEM 60, which flew 86 motors over 26 Delta IV launches before retiring in 2019. The first GEM 63 motors supported ULA’s Atlas V rocket in November 2020.
21 Jan 21. Mapbox launches 3D Maps with 135 million sq km of global, high-resolution imagery from Maxar. Mapbox just updated the entire world with fresh satellite imagery, totaling 135,000,000 km² of satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR), the leader in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure. The new data is from Maxar’s WorldView satellites — the most advanced, highest-resolution Earth observation instruments of their kind. The high-resolution imagery includes beautiful colors and textures, making it great for finding landmarks during a run on Strava, optimizing delivery times on Straightaway by zooming in on the last 100 feet, seeing snow storms forming along the coastlines in British Columbia with The Weather app, visualizing the landscape while reading National Geographic, and even seeing a real-time heatmap of what’s happening in a city on Snapchat.
“The world is beautiful, which is why we are working with Maxar to deliver its most accurate representation to our customers. Maxar builds excellent satellites, which are producing the highest quality imagery available today,” said Eric Gundersen, Mapbox CEO. “By incorporating the high-resolution satellite imagery, we are able to offer 3D maps that are far more advanced and detailed than anything else. The maps look stunning!”
This imagery, combined with the recent launch of Mapbox 3D, is the canvas for creating totally custom maps for the web and mobile. Now all maps are in 3D: the camera’s view of the map is controlled through the newly launched Camera API, and the sun’s position is simulated based on geographic location and time of day.
“We’re excited to continue our long partnership with Mapbox,” said Dan Jablonsky, Maxar CEO. “With the integration of Vivid Basic into their platform, Mapbox continues to raise the bar for providing end users with beautiful and accurate maps. When our next-generation WorldView Legion satellites launch, we will significantly expand our collection capacity supporting 3D model generation for the most accurate and up to date foundation data for mapping products.”
The combination of Maxar’s image quality, volume, and recency — together with the launch of Mapbox 3D — transforms the interactive map experience. This imagery lets you read runway markings, count cars and shipping containers, and see inside buildings under construction. To enable the realistic views this new imagery offers, Mapbox has released new APIs to deliver greater controls for developers:
Camera API: The Camera API is the free form low-level API for controlling the camera and its view of the map. This increases the map’s maximum pitch from 60 to 85 degrees. This provides access to the low-level camera code for developers to fine-tune details where the map can be tightly coordinated with other UI elements, transitioning smoothly and precisely, framing the right content in the viewport.
High Performance DEM (Digital Elevation Model): Terrain tile sizes are now reduced by 50% on average compared to the legacy terrain-rgb data, corresponding to a 35% improvement in hillshade layer rendering. Improved map load by 30% on average, and in some styles more than 50%, through improved prioritization of resource loading and task distribution.
Sky API: The new Sky API, allows the map to simulate the sun’s position based on geographic location and time of day. Gradient sky layers use color ramps, starting at a distance of 0 from the sky center, and 1 at the sky’s farthest extent. Here the fading is set between 0.8 and 1 to ramp within the visible range.
About Mapbox
Mapbox is a mapping and location cloud platform for developers that provides the building blocks (SDKs and APIs) for real time location awareness into automobiles and applications.
The Mapbox platform creates a feedback cycle, where AI-powered data pipeline processes +300 million miles of anonymized and aggregated live road telemetry data daily — allowing Mapbox to continuously update the map everywhere in the world. The cloud platform shares this live map with developers via its scalable mapping software components (maps, navigation, search) for mobile and web applications, logistics and dispatching, and in-car automotive navigation.
Founded by Eric Gundersen in 2010 in a garage space in Washington, D.C., Mapbox now has roughly 700 million monthly active users touching its maps, a global workforce of 520 employees, and its services power industry leaders, including CNN, General Electric, IBM, Instacart, Lonely Planet, Mastercard, Snapchat, Tableau, and The Weather Channel. Learn more at Mapbox.com
About Maxar
Maxar is a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure. We deliver disruptive value to government and commercial customers to help them monitor, understand and navigate our changing planet; deliver global broadband communications; and explore and advance the use of space. Our unique approach combines decades of deep mission understanding and a proven commercial and defense foundation to deploy solutions and deliver insights with unrivaled speed, scale and cost effectiveness. Maxar’s more than 4,300 employees in more than 20 global locations are inspired to harness the potential of space to help our customers create a better world. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
22 Jan 21. Myriota joins ground-breaking South Australian space services mission. South Australia-based Myriota has announced its involvement in the SASAT1 Space Services Mission to deliver space services to South Australia, as part of a $6.5m partnership with the SA government.
The Marshall government will be partnering with the South Australian space industry to send a locally manufactured small satellite to low-Earth orbit (LEO) – the first state government to ever embark on such a mission.
The ground-breaking $6.5m project was announced by Premier Steven Marshall, and marks a new partnership between the SA state government and industry.
The information gathered by the satellite will boost SA’s space economy, as well as helping to improve state services such as emergency services, the environment, water quality monitoring, mining and bushfire mitigation.
Importantly, the SASAT1 Space Services Mission will strengthen the competitiveness of South Australian businesses in the small-satellite supply chain and pave the way for external investment and future growth in Australia and abroad.
The SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) will lead the mission and application prototyping, with Adelaide-based satellite manufacturing company Inovor Technologies designing and building the satellite and South Australian space company Myriota contracted for the internet of things (IoT) space services.
Research consortium SmartSat CRC will lead the mission and application prototyping, with satellite manufacturing company Inovor Technologies designing and building the satellite. (Source: Space Connect)
14 Jan 21. It’s time for a tactical LiDAR satellite. Confronting potential threats emerging from the rise of great-power competition dictates new approaches to collecting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). The U.S. is on the right path by making large new investments in conventional long-range precision weapons. If it does become necessary to use these advanced weapons, however, will they be effective? That is the critical question.
Throughout the Cold War, America’s national security focused on the former Soviet Union as the strategic threat. The U.S. intelligence community (IC) and the Air Force developed and fielded collection systems to monitor vast geographic areas. By maintaining large repositories of potential military targets, policymakers and military leaders could count on getting early indications and warnings of threats emanating from the USSR.
At that time, much of the ISR collection came from high-altitude aircraft, providing us invaluable “eyes and ears” over the Soviet Union. To counter this advantage, the USSR developed air defenses capable of shooting down America’s ISR aircraft, including the most famous incident – the 1960 downing of Francis Gary Powers and his U2. This event drove the U.S. to field new intelligence satellite systems beyond the reach of enemy missiles.
Not until after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq did American airborne systems once again become a predominant ISR source. U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft could fly with virtual impunity.
An entire generation of military leaders came to rely on persistent collection from the new generation of sensors on aircraft. Amazing new electro-optical, infrared, radar and LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging — sensors delivered crucial and timely information to the warfighter and the IC. LiDAR sensors use lasers that can effectively operate from far distances to map terrain and structures, offering both superb resolution and absolute geolocational accuracy – critical elements to direct precision guided munitions to their intended target. LiDAR also permitted field-deployed analysts and operators alike to see through dense forests and build 3D scenes of a target. While no one can dispute the effectiveness of airborne collection, advanced anti-aircraft weaponry put these platforms at risk. With the U.S. national security strategy refocused on China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, America’s ISR would be vulnerable to improved air defenses, should surveillance aircraft need to enter an adversary’s airspace. These advanced air defense systems are known within defense circles and the IC as “anti-access/anti-denial” systems. This means U.S. aircraft (and even ships) require a “stand off” distance to operate without coming into harm’s way. To mitigate for A2/AD, collection capabilities must be incorporated into satellites. Simultaneously, the U.S. is building a new generation of weapons systems that can provide conventional (non-nuclear) strikes on targets at great distances with great precision. For instance, the Army is developing a new generation of long-range precision fires, including a new cannon, missile and hypersonic missile. In each case, the weapons can travel much further than any U.S. airborne ISR system can see, requiring satellites to effectively use these new weapons.
Supporting the new weapons such as strategic hypersonic missiles depends on delivering high-quality ISR in tactically relevant timelines. The good news is that a NASA science mission called ICESAT2 proved the U.S. can collect space-based LiDAR. The bad news is that the NASA LiDAR doesn’t deliver the high-resolution, 3D, foliage-penetration imagery or even tactical timelines the military needs. Intelligence and military planners along with field operators need a space-based LiDAR capable of rapidly surveying large areas at very high resolution in a single pass. For example, they must scan areas that range from 100,000 to 400,000 square meters with resolutions of 1 meter, .5 meter and .2 meter.
But the news is not all bad for America’s military planners. There is a promising new concept, based on proven technology, for a multi-aperture, space-based LiDAR satellite system with multiple telescope receiver modules observing a single target. This approach, which would solve the intelligence and defense problem relies on a laser pulse from a single-photon LiDAR system that reflects from the target. The signal photons propagate not only back to the transmitter but also in other directions. These results could provide unmatched visibility of a denied area of interest alongside the data necessary for more effective and accurate use of advanced weapon systems.
What is needed? First is a feasibility study by the Army partnering with the appropriate IC element focused on building space capabilities. We need confirmation that any system in development will work with detailed modeling and simulations. If those tests prove a system effective, it’s urgent we move to deployment of a demonstration satellite.
Our national decision-makers must do all they can to prevent war. However, if war is necessary, the U.S. must win and do so decisively. The nation’s precision guidance weapons require investments in new ISR satellites. LiDAR is a combat-proven sensor technology that must now be deployed in space. Such a space-based capability will assure decision-makers in and out of uniform that reliable and precise information is available when and where needed. (Source: Defense Systems)
21 Jan 21. KISPE Space signs up to SPRINT to develop proton testing campaign for next-generation microsatellite technologies.
Collaboration with University of Surrey to drive commercialisation of new platform for cost-effective space missions.
KISPE Space Systems Limited (‘KISPE Space’), a Farnborough-based programme execution and systems engineering company, in collaboration with the University of Surrey, is making detailed preparations for a comprehensive proton-testing campaign on its next-generation microsatellite platform microelectronics. These tests will enable the company to continue the development of the platform and drive the commercialisation of the microprocessors for future, low-cost small-satellite missions.
SPRINT, the national business support programme, will fund the detailed planning and preparation for comprehensive proton testing campaign and enable KIPSE Space to develop virtualised environments for collaborators to develop solutions based on these processors and initiate evaluations of a new group of commercial processors for additional mission applications.
This new project follows on from the first SPRINT project where KISPE Space collaborated with the Surrey Space Centre (SSC) at the University of Surrey to evaluate and downselect low-cost microprocessors that can be used in the next wave of new, small-satellite missions; test results from the project will be publicly released in the first quarter of 2021.
This second project will be co-funded by KISPE and a grant from the £5m SPRINT (SPace Research and Innovation Network for Technology) programme that provides unprecedented access to university space expertise and facilities. SPRINT helps businesses through the commercial exploitation of space data and technologies.
Dr. John Paffett, KISPE Space Founder and Managing Director said: “We want to ensure that our space systems are robust in order to promote environmental and business sustainability.
“This new SPRINT project with the University of Surrey team will position us to extend our knowledge of how these low-cost microprocessors perform in a representative space environment and increase our confidence in baselining them in our clean-sheet microsatellite design. Through this academic collaboration, the University will underpin our commercialisation efforts with their rigorous research and state-of-the-art facilities.”
Dr. Keith Ryden, Reader in Space Engineering at SSC and the Principal Investigator for this project from the University of Surrey added: “This is another example of SSC’s outreach to UK space companies who can benefit from our knowledge of the space radiation environment and its impact on microelectronic technology. We gain immensely too by learning what engineers in the space industry are looking to do next and seeing how the latest technology performs under realistic space test conditions.”
21 Jan 21. KTN and UK Space Agency launch UK Space Sector Landscape Map. The new interactive tool is set to become a main point of reference for the UK space sector, mapping the capabilities of over 900 organisations in the industry. Developed in collaboration with the UK Space Agency and with support from key stakeholders, the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) has outlined the universities, companies, funding bodies and networks that form the UK space sector.
The map is now available publicly through a free, interactive, web-based tool, allowing users to search and visualise the sector as never before. It will deliver high-quality insights and showcase our excellent space sector across the world.
Iain Hughes, Market Intelligence Manager, UK Space Agency said:
This tool will bring genuine value to stakeholders across the space sector and beyond. By providing access to new data, visualisations and search functions, it will generate insights that will help companies identify opportunities, improve their strategies for growth, and increase collaboration.
Andy Bennett, Knowledge Transfer Manager for Space at KTN said, “KTN supports innovative organisations by creating diverse connections to drive positive change. We have built landscape maps in many sectors in order to give a representation of current UK capabilities and activities which help identify and drive opportunities in innovation. This UK Space Sector Landscape Map showcases our knowledge and aims to support those both inside and outside the sector to build new collaborations. We hope that it supports our ambitious UK space sector to continue to grow and succeed.”
The UK space sector is a huge economic success story, growing by over 60% since 2010. In addition, the sector supports wider UK economic activities worth an estimated £300bn through the use of satellite services. This market is expected to grow further as government support unlocks commercial opportunities.
What does the map include?
The map includes:
- over 340 space manufacturing businesses, from launch vehicle providers and satellite manufactures to component and materials suppliers
- over 300 satellite applications companies who deliver satellite communications services, process satellite data or develop applications dependent on GNSS or Earth observation data
- 44 space operation companies including launch services, launch brokerage services, proprietary satellite operation and ground segment operators
- 170 organisations offering ancillary services including consultants, IT and software services providers, insurers and legal services
- 67 research groups and universities across the UK with their research interests
- incubation centres, networks, funding opportunities, key sector organisations and developing spaceports
This tool will continue to improve and evolve over time, capturing the UK space sector as it grows. Companies and organisations belonging to the space sector not currently listed are invited to notify KTN for inclusion.
The interactive map allows users to search and filter by a range of data points including market segment, company details, technologies, expertise and capabilities. The satellite applications companies can be searched by the key markets they serve.
All featured organisations are also geographically tagged, allowing users to pan around the UK virtually, explore regions of interest, and to visualise the relationships between local space networks.
How can the UK Space Sector Landscape Map help?
The tool will offer value to all stakeholders interacting with the UK space sector by:
- identifying regional clusters of expertise to support local growth ambitions, signposting space support networks, and informing users’ strategies for investing around the UK
- supporting collaboration and innovation by providing a comprehensive and searchable directory of companies and organisations
- identifying UK capabilities, gaps, strengths, and opportunities to inform the development of the National Space Strategy and national space programmes
- informing market intelligence strategies, including the identification of potential collaborators or competitors within market segments, or new supply chains and customers
- signposting of public and private space-focused funding bodies
- provision of a knowledge base to inform analysis among the UK space community and sector researchers
- raising profiles of UK space organisations of all types and sizes, providing a free platform to promote expertise and capabilities and inform a range of stakeholders
The map can be accessed here: https://ktn-uk.org/programme/space-satellite-applications-landscape-map/ (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
21 Jan 21. Framework agreement facilitates future slot bookings by ESA. The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have agreed on service orders for two independent payload missions to be launched to the Bartolomeo payload hosting facility on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
The first payload mission is ESA’s Exobiology Platform (EXPO). This facility carries a set of radiation experiments aimed at better understanding the evolution of organic molecules and organisms in the space. Placed in a Zenith-facing slot, the facility will connect two scientific modules to Bartolomeo. These modules will host everything needed for the experiments, including the scientific sample containers, fluidics systems and sensors related to the individual experiments called Exocube, IceCold and OREOcube. At the end of the three-year mission, the samples will be returned to Earth for detailed investigation and analysis.
The second payload is the Euro Material Ageing experiment platform (SESAME), developed by the French Space Agency (CNES). This mission will study the ageing behaviour of new materials in space and will also make use of Bartolomeo’s payload return option. After a year of exposure in space, the experiments will be returned to Earth, allowing scientists to thoroughly investigate the samples and fully understand the effects of the space environment on the materials.
These service orders, amounting to €6.5m, are the first under a new framework agreement which ESA and Airbus have put in place, pre-defining the overall commercial conditions for ESA payload missions on Bartolomeo
“With this framework contract, we are making it significantly easier for ESA to use the Bartolomeo Service for quick and affordable use of the ISS,” said David Parker, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration. “Commercial arrangements have been streamlined, which enables our researchers to enjoy the full benefits of Bartolomeo’s short lead times and high flexibility. We are very pleased to have the first two ESA payloads secured on the platform, and are looking forward to using this new European asset on the ISS.”
Andreas Hammer, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus, said: “We are looking forward to working with our partners at ESA on bringing these two and future payloads to space – and back again as needed. The strong interest from across ESA and other institutions as well as a number of commercial players confirms the need for our efficient and affordable payload hosting solutions in LEO.”
Airbus’ Bartolomeo platform was launched and robotically attached to the ISS Columbus Module in 2020. Following the final connection of the cabling during an Extravehicular Activity (EVA), or ‘spacewalk’, in early 2021, the platform will be ready for in-space commissioning.
Bartolomeo is an Airbus investment into the ISS infrastructure, enabling hosting of up to twelve external payloads in the space environment, providing unique opportunities for in-orbit demonstration and verification missions. It is operated in a partnership between Airbus, ESA, NASA and the ISS National Laboratory.
Bartolomeo is suitable for many types of missions, including Earth observation, environmental and climate research, robotics, material sciences and astrophysics. It provides sought-after payload-hosting capabilities for customers and researchers to test space technologies, verify a new space business approach, conduct scientific experiments in microgravity or enter into in-space manufacturing endeavours.
Launch opportunities are available on every servicing mission to the ISS, which occur about every three months. The payload accommodation allows slots for a wide range of payload mass, from 5 to 450 kg. As an evolution of the platform, Airbus will provide optical data downlink capacity of one to two terabytes per day.
Payloads can be prepared and ready to operate within one and a half years after contract signature. Payload sizes, interfaces, preparation before launch and integration processes are largely standardised. This reduces lead times and significantly reduces costs compared to traditional mission costs.
Airbus offers this easy access to space as an all-in-one mission service. This includes technical support in preparing the payload mission; launch and installation; operations and data transfer; and an optional return to Earth.
19 Jan 21. Astronauts to Boost European Connectivity. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are planning a spacewalk to install a high-speed satellite link that will improve their connections with Europe.
The system will enable astronauts to connect at home broadband internet speeds – delivering a whole family’s worth of video streaming for communications and a data pipeline connecting the scientific experiments aboard the Station to researchers in Europe.
The 20-year-old Station – which was built when the internet was in its infancy – will be equipped with a dedicated European autonomous communications module, complementing the connectivity provided by a US satellite communications system.
The small fridge-sized device to be installed on the outside of the ESA Columbus module of the Station will send signals into space, where they will be picked up by a European telecommunications satellite in geostationary orbit 36 000 km above Earth – some 90 times the height of the Station.
The satellite is part of the European Data Relay System and will enable internet-like connectivity with the Station, relaying data directly between the Station and European soil via the system’s ground station in Harwell in the UK.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover are due to install the communications device during a spacewalk on 27 January. The device – nicknamed “ColKa” for “Columbus Ka-band terminal” – connects to a plug outside the Columbus module that will relay the data to and from the astronauts computers inside.
The state-of-the-art system will ensure faster communications by using European infrastructure to relay data to the ground for experiments in the Columbus module, allowing researchers on Earth to access their experiments in real time when the Station is within range of the European Data Relay System satellite.
ColKa will provide speeds of up to 50 Mbit/s for downlink and up to 2 Mbit/s for uplink.
It was designed and built by British and Italian companies, using products from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany and Norway, some of which have been qualified under the ESA’s programme of Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES).
ColKa will use the infrastructure for the European Data Relay System developed as a telecommunications Partnership Project between ESA and Airbus, as part of ESA’s efforts to federate industry around large-scale programmes, stimulating technology developments to achieve economic benefits.
The know-how gained from designing, building and running ColKa will be instrumental for ESA’s communications package under the ESPRIT communications and refuelling module that is being designed for the lunar Gateway – an outpost over 1000 times farther from Earth than the International Space Station that will provide vital support for a sustainable, long-term human return to the lunar surface. (Source: ASD Network/ESA)
19 Jan 21. Redwire Acquires Oakman Aerospace, A Leading Digitally Engineered Spacecraft and Satellite Design Firm. Redwire, a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy, announced today that it has acquired Oakman Aerospace, Inc. (OAI) a leading provider of cutting-edge products and services related to digital engineering, spacecraft and satellite design and development, mission payload development, and data distribution services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Oakman Aerospace adds a critical capability in digital engineering that will significantly enhance our space infrastructure solutions,” said Peter Cannito, Chairman and CEO of Redwire. “Their modular open systems architecture design and development approach and proprietary commercial off-the-shelf software suite is transforming the way future space capabilities are designed, developed, deployed and operated.”
“Joining Redwire advances our strategic ambition to achieve the next level of growth and expand our technological innovation,” said Maureen O’Brien, Co-Founder and CEO of OAI. “We look forward to leveraging these additional resources to enhance our capabilities and offer new products and services to our customers.”
“This is an exciting opportunity to join an experienced team that is developing state-of-the-art space systems and hardware solutions that, combined with our leading digital engineering proficiencies, will expand our ability to provide world-class solutions to our customers for many years to come,” said Stanley Kennedy, Jr., Co-Founder, President and Chief Systems Engineer of OAI. “We are eager to join Redwire and accelerate our competitive position as a provider of disruptive space-based technologies.”
Based in Littleton, Colorado, OAI is a global provider of space solutions specializing in rapid and responsive, modular, and open-architecture space systems. The company’s technology focus areas include modular open system architecture, rapid spacecraft design and development, and custom missions, payloads, and applications. OAI offers its customers tailored, innovative, and end-to-end capabilities, backed by a proven track record of successful deployments and operations, since its founding in 2012.
OAI marks the sixth acquisition by Redwire. Redwire has amassed an innovative portfolio of space infrastructure capabilities through the strategic acquisitions of Adcole Space, Deep Space Systems, Made In Space, Roccor, and LoadPath.
Redwire was formed in June 2020 by AE Industrial Partners, LP, a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense and government services, power generation, and specialty industrial markets.
“Redwire has quickly positioned itself as a leader in space infrastructure solutions with an impressive portfolio of innovative capabilities and we are pleased to see this strong growth,” said Kirk Konert, Partner at AE Industrial Partners. “OAI provides deep digital engineering expertise and a unique set of capabilities that will augment Redwire’s technology portfolio and enable the organization to support a broader range of customer missions.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as the financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as the legal advisor to Redwire. Fortis Law Partners LLC served as the legal advisor and Karsh & Co. and ReliAscent LLC served as financial advisors to OAI.
About Redwire
Redwire is a new leader in mission critical space solutions and high reliability components for the next generation space economy. With decades of flight heritage combined with the agile and innovative culture of a commercial space platform, Redwire is uniquely positioned to assist its customers in solving the complex challenges of future space missions. For more information, please visit www.redwirespace.com.
About Oakman Aerospace
Founded in July 2012, Oakman Aerospace, Inc. (OAI) is dedicated to providing cutting-edge products and services related to space systems architectures, spacecraft and satellite design and development, and mission payload and data distribution services. As a global provider of space-based solutions, OAI offers complete end-to-end capabilities for customers, teammates, and stakeholders. More information can be found at www.oak-aero.com.
About AE Industrial Partners
AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense and government services, power generation, and specialty industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from its deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout its target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com. (Source: PR Newswire)
19 Jan 21. Trump administration updates GPS policy. The outgoing Trump administration issued a new policy memo outlining the need to continue providing a worldwide GPS signal while preventing adversaries from using it against the U.S.
In its final weeks in office, the administration released a number of policy documents clarifying its approach to space, including a new National Space Policy released in December.
Space Policy Directive-7, released Jan. 15, is the first update to the government’s space-based PNT policy in 16 years. As with past administration statements and executive orders, the policy emphasizes the importance of the 31-satellite GPS constellation as not only a critical enabler of military systems, but also as a driver of the nation’s economy.
Accordingly, the policy recommits the government to providing the GPS signal free worldwide, while preventing its use by adversaries for hostile activities. The policy calls for improvement to the nation’s navigational warfare capabilities to deny hostile use of the system.
It also calls for the development of more robust GPS signals that are less susceptible to spoofing or degrading by adversaries. As nations like China, Russia and Iran invest in new tools to block the signal, the U.S. military wants to ensure its soldier and weapons systems know their own location at all times. The navigation and timing data provided by GPS are key to enabling coordination between various American weapon systems.
“GPS remains critical to United States national security. Its applications are integrated into virtually every facet of United States military operations,” reads the policy. “The widespread and growing dependence on GPS by military, civil, and commercial applications, systems, and infrastructure make the performance of many of these systems inherently vulnerable if disruption or manipulation of GPS signals were to occur.”
To help make GPS more robust, the administration wants to improve GPS cybersecurity and invest in domestic capabilities to detect and mitigate GPS interference.
While much of the policy memo focuses on improving GPS, it also restates the administration’s concern of over reliance on the system for PNT data, especially in regard to critical infrastructure. Similar to an executive order issued in February 2020, the administration’s policy expresses the need to adopt multiple sources of PNT data that can supplement or replace GPS if needed. To that end, the administration directs the government to engage with international satellite-based PNT providers and ensure they are compatible with GPS and GPS-related systems. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
19 Jan 21. Satellogic and SpaceX Announce Multiple Launch Agreement. First mission, scheduled for mid-2021, will further expand Satellogic’s industry-leading in-orbit capacity.
Satellogic, the first company to develop a scalable Earth observation platform with the ability to remap the entire planet at both high-frequency and high-resolution, today announced a Multiple Launch Services Agreement (MLA) with SpaceX. Through the agreement, SpaceX becomes Satellogic’s preferred vendor for rideshare missions. The first launch, scheduled for June 2021, will deliver Satellogic satellites to Low Earth Orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket.
Today’s agreement with SpaceX will enable Satellogic to maintain and extend their position as the global leader in high-resolution, high-frequency geospatial analytics. Satellogic expects to complete the initial buildout of their Earth Observation Constellation by the end of 2022. At that point the company will have the capacity to deliver weekly, high-resolution coverage of the entire landmass of the planet. Through a series of rideshare launches over the next two years and beyond, the company will be moving from weekly to daily world remaps by 2025 with more than 300 microsatellites in orbit.
Both Satellogic and SpaceX have a vertically integrated approach. Satellogic builds their own spacecraft, manages an entire constellation, and performs data analyses, creating efficiencies that drive down the cost of geospatial analytics at an order of magnitude far beyond that of their competitors. Similarly, SpaceX’s ownership over the entire development process for their rockets has enabled new advances in launch technology. Falcon 9’s reusability allows SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket, driving down the cost of space access.
This partnership puts Satellogic in a unique position to capitalize on SpaceX’s competitive rideshare program and frequent launch schedule. By securing SpaceX as their preferred partner for rideshare missions, Satellogic will be able to accelerate the time between satellite development and deployment. This accelerated timeline will allow Satellogic to continue to rapidly expand their in-orbit capacity, while also increasing revisit capabilities to monitor the planet on a high-frequency basis, serving customers at the right price.
“What SpaceX has accomplished through their agile launch schedule is a perfect complement to our own business model at Satellogic — which prioritizes the ability to iterate quickly at every stage of development, as well as quickly deploy updated capabilities to our customers,” said Alan Kharsansky, VP of Mission Engineering and Operations at Satellogic. “As the global leader in high-resolution, high-frequency data collection from space, this partnership enables us to continue to grow our fleet at an aggressive pace that matches the increased demand for geospatial insights across industries.”
With Satellogic’s superior collection capacity and unparalleled unit economics, the company is poised to democratize Earth Observation (EO) imagery by massively expanding their capacity to serve large verticals including agriculture, energy, forestry, insurance, telecommunications and financial services, among others. Satellogic provides a disruptive and compelling economic use case to current users of EO imagery, as well the ability to simplify the image collection process, eventually replacing considerably less efficient technologies and solutions such as drones, helicopters, planes, and boots-on-the-ground manpower.
“Satellogic’s business model makes them the ideal partner for SpaceX’s rideshare missions. SpaceX’s frequent launch schedule means that Satellogic’s end customers will get the latest satellite technology as soon as it’s ready to launch,” said Tom Ochinero, Vice President of Commercial Sales at SpaceX. “We’re excited to support Satellogic’s ambitions to democratize access to geospatial analytics.”
After completing three launches in 2020, Satellogic’s in-orbit capacity now enables access to up to four daily revisits of any point of interest and the collection of more than 4 million sq. km per day in high-resolution data. This industry-leading capacity expands access to sub-meter imagery for both Satellogic Solutions and Dedicated Satellite Constellations (DSC) customers. Further, Satellogic’s robust capacity and today’s MLA with SpaceX represents a new and exciting phase in Satellogic’s growing relationship with the US government and commercial partners and customers.
Founded in 2010, Satellogic is a global company with more than 200 employees and offices in Charlotte, Miami, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Montevideo, Beijing and Tel Aviv.
About Satellogic
Satellogic is the first vertically integrated geospatial analytics company. We drive real outcomes with planetary-scale insights you can trust.
Our low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation, platform, and data science teams work together to deliver high-frequency, high resolution, end-to-end solutions at the right price point. We make sense of the data so you can focus on the big decisions at hand.
Our satellite engineers, AI experts, and solution specialists are on a mission to deliver a fundamentally better picture of our planet and the many forces that reshape it every day. We bring space down to earth for large enterprises and governments of all sizes who need to see for themselves how our world is changing. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
15 Jan 21. Space Force Awards NSTXL Space Consortium Contract. The Space & Missile Systems Center has reaffirmed its choice of NSTXL to manage the public-private Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC), rejecting allegations by The Washington Post.
After The Washington Post questioned the choice of the nonprofit National Security Technology Accelerator to run the public-private Space Enterprise Consortium, the Space Force delayed the contract award while it reviewed the concerns. Two weeks after the Post article appeared, the service today officially gave the contract to NSTXL, saying it had found no issues that would affect the firm’s performance.
“The United States Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) competitively awarded the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) consortium manager agreement to National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) on Jan. 15, 2021,” SMC announced earlier today. “SMC previously delayed award to further evaluate a judgment against NSTXL that occurred separate from the source selection of the consortium management agreement. SMC assessed the matter with due diligence as part of the responsibility determination, and concluded the filing would not affect the company’s ability to execute the terms of this contract in the best interest of the Government.”
The judgment against NSTXL came in a Texas court, which ruled the firm in breach of contract with an events manager. The matter had no direct relation to the Space Force, though it did touch on a Navy project NSTXL was working on in 2014. But the Post headline blared that the company had been “found to have acted fraudulently,” and the story consistently described the company’s actions as “fraud” – despite “fraud” not having been the actual charge.
NSTXL said it would appeal the Texas judgment and bitterly denounced the Post story on the company website as “rife” with errors. As of today, there is no correction posted to the Post story.
The Post piece also had a wider agenda: calling for “fresh scrutiny,” not just of NSTXL, but of the wider practice of using public-private consortia, managed by independent contractors, to award R&D contracts under a streamlined system known as Other Transaction Authority. OTA awards have exploded in popularity at the Pentagon, soaring 712 percent since 2015, with most awards being managed by a small number of consortium management firms. Their rise has led to calls for stricter oversight by Congress.
Will Congress now trust the Space Force award of the contract, after review, has settled the matter? Or will it press for stricter oversight of OTA consortia anyway? We’ll be watching. (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
18 Jan 21. Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit launches rocket into space . Successful test puts satellites into orbit eight months after failed first attempt. Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit has put a rocket in space, demonstrating for the first time the feasibility of its “air launch” strategy for space transportation. Following the test, in which it sent small satellites into low orbit, the company said it would now “transition into commercial service for its next mission”. Eight months after a previous test ended in failure, the company’s LauncherOne rocket was on Sunday dropped from a Boeing 747 — nicknamed Cosmic Girl — off the coast of southern California at 11:39am Pacific time. The rocket ignited moments later and headed towards space. “According to telemetry, LauncherOne has reached orbit!” the company posted on Twitter 10 minutes later, confirming a successful first phase. “Everyone on the team who is not in mission control right now is going absolutely bonkers.”
The rocket was carrying a payload of 10 small satellites that will be used as part of Nasa educational missions. Virgin Orbit confirmed at 2:28pm that the payload had been deployed into low orbit. “We are so, so proud to say that LauncherOne has now completed its first mission to space,” the team wrote. Virgin Orbit’s system of airborne rocket launches, which take place at 35,000 feet, stands apart from its competitors in that it removes the need for specialist ground-based launch sites. Virgin Orbit said its method opened up the potential to send payloads into orbit from airstrips all over the world, and lessened the risk of weather-related disruption to flight plans. For Sunday’s test, Cosmic Girl took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in southern California. Virgin Orbit, which was spun out as a separate company three years ago, is looking to catch up with competitors in the increasingly competitive commercial market for space transportation.
Long Beach-based Rocket Lab has to date launched 96 satellites, according to its website. Its next mission — codenamed “Another One Leaves The Crust” — is set for launch when conditions allow from a site in New Zealand. Sunday’s mission will give Virgin Orbit confidence in its strategy, following a failed test of the system in May last year. In that attempt, which carried a dummy payload, the rocket failed to fully ignite once dropped from the 747. Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said later that a breach in a propellent feed line had caused the rocket to prematurely shut down. In a statement following Sunday’s test, Richard Branson said: “Virgin Orbit has achieved something many thought impossible”. Virgin Orbit is a separate effort to Virgin Galactic, a company that intends to offer space tourism beginning later this year. Galactic will compete with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, which carried out a successful full-scale test of its New Shepard capsule last week, bringing a dummy — named Mannequin Skywalker, a play on the Star Wars character — safely back to earth after a trip to the edge of space. (Source: FT.com)
14 Jan 21. L3Harris Technologies Demonstrates Antenna Technology for US Space Force Satellite Communications.
- Integrates advanced antenna solution with legacy U.S. Air Force Satellite Control Network
- Confirms live contacts with DOD satellites for downlink, uplink and orbital ranging
- Leverages L3Harris’ proven technology in designing and building space systems
L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has successfully completed a technology demonstration, under a Defense Innovation Unit prototype contract, for the U.S. Space Force satellite communication system to improve communications with the agency’s growing number of satellites.
L3Harris developed a Multi-Band Multi-Mission (MBMM) phased array ground antenna system and integrated it with the Space Force’s Satellite Communication Network system in order to demonstrate multiple simultaneous satellite contacts. Traditional parabolic or radio antennas can contact only one satellite at a time.
The MBMM system’s all-digital architecture established 16 simultaneous contacts during the demonstration. The system can scale up to support hundreds of concurrent satellite connections from a single phased array antenna system, reducing the physical footprint needed for ground antennas and lowering the infrastructure cost per satellite contact.
“L3Harris developed an all-digital phased array antenna technology to meet the enormous ground system capacity demands created by the increasing number of satellite missions,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “This successful demonstration from L3Harris readies our nation with a capable and affordable advanced satellite communications approach today for the further proliferation of satellites in the near future.”
The L3Harris demonstration successfully confirmed live contacts with Space Force satellites across multiple orbital regimes at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.
“The MBMM demonstrations were a complete success that showcased the advancements in phased array technology and relevance for satellite command and control with live DOD systems. It has reinvigorated interest in the MBMM program as a key part of the overall space architecture,” said Col. Wallace “Rhett” Turnbull III, Director, Cross Mission Ground and Communications Enterprise, Space and Missile Systems Center. “Capabilities like those recently demonstrated may play an important role in meeting the growing demand for satellite control capacity by providing more affordable and resilient access to Space Force satellite systems.”
L3Harris performed the successful demonstration with support from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Mercury Systems. (Source: ASD Network)
18 Jan 21. Ku-band: The Other Side of IoT + M2M. MSS satellite services, and smallsats are generally the main focus for M2M and IoT nowadays, with narrowband applications being well suited to these technology types. However, NSR also covers the Ku-band and VSAT M2M/IoT markets, which currently take up approximately 21% of overall revenues for SATCOM M2M/IoT. Today we turn to this more niche market, and identify where is this market heading, what’s different with it compared to other technology types, and the pitfalls to be aware of.
NSR’s recently released M2M and IoT via Satellite, 11th Edition, found that Ku-band and VSAT will indeed grow revenues, albeit more slowly than other technology types. Recent innovations will increase and accelerate demand and revenues in the medium and long term. For VSAT operators looking to repurpose excess capacity, this can provide additional revenue streams, although this will be modest compared to other technology types.
VSAT IoT has a disproportionately large revenue share for the number of units, due to the much greater bandwidth used for applications such as backhauling, big data and data analytics. Consequently, it can appear to be a potentially attractive market to attempt to enter. This is compounded by the fact that there is excess Ku-band capacity in many markets, especially as video markets are no longer the growth center they once were. However, it is important to downsize expectations for Ku-band M2M/IoT growth, as the vast majority of demand will be difficult to tap into from a Ku-band perspective, with most usage going to MSS and smallsat demand, and of course terrestrial solutions where available.
The first key difference with VSAT M2M/IoT is that it is primarily used currently in Utilities, Oil & Gas and Transport & Cargo with respect to dedicated M2M and IoT terminals, and this is not expected to change over the forecast period, although agriculture will see a boost. In the long run, the dynamics will change as utilities becomes the dominant vertical. In fact, 70% of new revenues from the VSAT M2M and IoT markets are derived from Utilities, which is an indication of how already well penetrated the Oil & Gas market segment is when it comes to Satcom connectivity, including hybrid M2M and broadband solutions.
The increased deployment of smart grids and continuing grid modernization efforts is driving this growth within the Utilities segment, and the Asia region is expected to drive the most demand. Even as grid modernization efforts expand, and generation profiles switch towards relatively more remotely located renewable resources, there does not appear to be a strong backlog of projects seeking direct satellite connectivity on a per-asset basis.
One of the drivers of this growth is a result of the continued generation mix towards renewable energy. As additional users come online in the generation market, and as more distributed/remote generation locations are connected, additional revenue sources will come from the management and support of these networks in addition to bandwidth connectivity for M2M and IoT. Although traditional utilities generation continue to grow, there is a shift towards renewable resources, which is driving emerging real-time requirements for robust and redundant connectivity and will continue to expand – this can only be addressed by VSATs for M2M and IoT.
While MSS and smallsat technologies will also be competing with these applications, the introduction of new small satellite constellations does not negatively affect the growth opportunities for VSAT operators. VSATs will target high end markets and smallsats on the low end.
While growth will supplement satellite operators’ revenues, it is the ground equipment side of the market which will see the most disruption, growing to over $20m in annual revenues by 2029. The VSAT terminal price is significantly greater than MSS. For the energy markets in particular, the aggregation of sensor data, the robustness of terminals in harsh environments, and the greater level of feature requirements result in high VSAT pricing – including those for lower bandwidth use cases such as in pipeline monitoring. For agriculture in particular, terminals with the ability to backhaul via terrestrial networks will be key.
Eutelsat has a two-pronged strategy in this regard, with its Eutelsat First service for IoT over a VSAT for higher bandwidth and fixed IoT use cases, and Eutelsat ELO for very narrowband and mobile applications. Alternatively, companies like HiSky have been developing smaller terminals more suited to mobile use cases which can utilize Ku-band or Ka-band spectrum for higher bandwidth IoT applications (relatively speaking) that do not have the same costs as a full flat panel antenna for a connected car, for instance. However, given the greater cost in terminals, such terminals will be used primarily in high value and niche use cases, and mass market or lower end use cases will go to other technologies. New flat panel antennas do have the potential to grow the mobile market further; however, many of these will be used within hybrid or connected car use cases, which are considered separately.
Put together, Ku-band and Ka-band will have a limited growth path for mobile assets within transport and cargo. While Omnitracs-type satellite solutions have traditionally been popular, many of these units have migrated to terrestrial networks, given the explosion of terrestrial network coverage over the past couple of decades. However, this will change slightly as new technologies come to market. Bottom Line
Utilities will have the largest growth trajectory; however, the focus on this and other applications should be to offer a broader, integrated service incorporating both enterprise applications, and IoT together, perhaps over a VPN. Alternatively, it can also be beneficial to VSAT operators’ bottom lines to form partnerships and offer complementary services, primarily through backup connectivity options, especially in the Transport and Cargo market segment as well as for connected vehicles.
Ku-band and Ka-band M2M/IoT certainly have their advantages, but it is no sure way to ensure revenue growth – with a careful strategy required to target only the intersection of those customers and applications which can truly benefit from a higher bandwidth solution. Despite the large overall M2M and IoT potential, “build it and they will come” does not apply here. VSAT wholesale revenues will aggregate to $131m in 2029, while VSAT equipment revenues will add another $21m that same year. Not a pittance by any measure but also not explosive where M2M/IoT becomes a game-changing vertical for the VSAT ecosystem. (Source: Satnews)
08 Jan 21. SpaceX Pushes Turksat 5A To Orbit. On Thursday, January 7, at 9:15 p.m., EST, SpaceX launched the Turksat 5A mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida – this was SpaceX’s first mission of 2021. Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously supported launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 03 and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9’s fairings were also flight-proven: one half previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission and the other flew aboard the ANASIS-II mission. (Source: Satnews)
12 Jan 21. Orbit Fab + SCOUT To Host The 1st Commercial Inspection Payload for SSA. Orbit Fab, the Gas Stations in Space™ company, and SCOUT, an in-space inspection firm, have announced the world’s first, dedicated, commercial, in-space situational awareness (SSA) mission.
SCOUT will launch a SCOUT-Vision payload on Orbit Fab’s Tanker-001 Tenzing fuel depot, scheduled to ride to orbit aboard a Spaceflight Inc. Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) on an upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 mission later this year.
The hosted payload is a demonstration mission of SCOUT’s on-orbit inspection capability and the collaboration provides tangible evidence of Orbit Fab and SCOUT’s alignment and shared commitment to the satellite servicing ecosystem.
Orbit Fab previously announced that it had signed an agreement with Spaceflight Inc. to launch its first operational fuel depot to orbit in 2021. Tanker-001 Tenzing will store propellant in SSO, where it will be available to satellite servicing vehicles or other spacecraft that need to replenish fuel supplies.
The SCOUT-Vision sensor suite is a multi-purpose observational payload that enables passive space situational awareness in a small form-factor. As a hosted payload on Tanker-001 Tenzing, it will be the first commercial demonstration of close-range (1-2 km) in-orbit inspection.
Once on-orbit, SCOUT-Vision will be available to inspect spacecraft in LEO SSO with operator consent, and SCOUT has already initiated conversations with a number of organizations that wish to access images of their spacecraft.
SCOUT’s future satellite inspection spacecraft will include the Orbit Fab Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI), which provides cost effective, reliable satellite fill and drain functions both on the ground and in space. SCOUT also plans to purchase propellant from Orbit Fab in orbit for long term sustainability.
Orbit Fab’s fuel depots are designed to sustain a broad range of spacecraft with a Self-Driving Satellite™ docking kit, known as SPARK, for guiding spacecraft together for docking without the need for complex robotic arms. Its Satellite Gas Cap™ fluid transfer interface, RAFTI, has been adopted by multiple spacecraft manufacturers to extend the life of their satellites. SPARK and RAFTI were developed in cooperation with 50 companies and organizations and are expected to become the industry’s common cooperative docking and refueling interfaces.
Last month, Orbit Fab announced that it received funding from Munich Re Ventures, the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Munich Re Group, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-related risk solutions. The investment is helping Orbit Fab achieve its vision of an in-orbit ecosystem for satellite servicing, national security, and space commercialization.
“Our collaboration with SCOUT will advance a sustainable in-orbit environment for next-generation commerce and protection of the space domain that both our companies envision,” said Daniel Faber, CEO of Orbit Fab. “The Orbit Fab in-orbit propellant supply chain will be essential for SCOUT’s small spacecraft that extend satellite lifetimes, prevent orbital debris, and keep space secure through data gathered from in-orbit inspections.”
“Orbit Fab’s mission is vital to making our business sustainable, and our development roadmap includes use of the Gas Stations in Space refueling technologies,” said Eric Ingram, CEO of SCOUT. “This collaboration allows us to more quickly get SCOUT-Vision to market and keeps us on track to launch our first dedicated inspection satellite by late 2023.” (Source: Satnews)
11 Jan 21. Over-the-Air Tests with K/Q-Band, Phased-Array, Multi-Beam Antenna on Protected Comms Satellite Successful For ThinKom. ThinKom Solutions, Inc., recently completed successful, over-the-air tests of a pair of 17-inch, active diameter, K-/Q-band phased-array antennas communicating through an Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite.
The tests verified that the antenna, based on ThinKom’s patented Variable Inclination Continuous Transverse Stub (VICTS) architecture, meets or exceeds all performance metrics for operating effectively with the frequency-hopping waveform of the AEHF protected communications satellite network.
A broad range of uplink and downlink communication plans and modes were tested on an operational K/Q-band satellite, exercising full 1 GHz and 2GHz “hopped” bandwidths. The VICTS antennas successfully acquired, tracked, logged on and joined downlink and uplink services in all cases at elevation angles from 24 to 73 degrees.
The conformal flat-panel VICTS phased-array antennas can be cavity mounted on a variety of aero, naval and land-mobile platforms, according to Milroy.
The constellation of six AEHF satellites provides secure, survivable, jam-resistant and near-worldwide satellite communications for U.S. sea, ground and air assets.
“The stabilized beam of the VICTS antenna eliminates the need for ‘de-hopping,’ requiring substantially less processing power than electronically steered antennas and given that VICTS is the only phased-array technology that can work with very widespread waveforms, it uniquely enables use on new communication waveforms such as the Protected Tactical Waveform,” said Bill Milroy, chairman and CTO of ThinKom Solutions. (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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