Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
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29 Dec 22. Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced it was awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract award worth up to $325m over a five-year period to support the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This sole-source IDIQ is an extension of a $350m IDIQ contract awarded to Viasat in 2017.
Under the contract award, Viasat will continue to provide advanced mission equipment, services and support to sustain and improve situational awareness, integration, terrestrial networking, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), tactical satellite communications, information assurance and network management capabilities of Special Operations Forces.
“This contract award reaffirms Viasat’s deep commitment and partnership with the SOCOM community to understand and address the capability needs of forces for the most complex missions,” said Craig Miller, president of Viasat Government Systems. “Networking and communications needs across the modern battlespace are continually evolving and we’re excited to help SOCOM maintain the advantage with solutions that deliver the performance, flexibility and resilience Special Operations Forces require to successfully operate independently and interoperate effectively with joint forces.”
The IDIQ contract vehicle is intentionally flexible to allow for the evolution and adaption required to shift with rapid technology developments and the dynamic mission requirements of SOCOM forces. This structure is important to enabling new concepts of operation (CONOPS) and achieving desired mission effects through rapidly deployed technologies, systems and services. (Source: PR Newswire)
30 Dec 22. Kleos Geospatial Intelligence Released to Customers.
- Radio frequency data collected from Vigilance Mission (KSF1) has been successfully processed through the Kleos technology platform generating the geospatial intelligence product (LOCATE)
- Kleos’ LOCATE product has been released to initial customers
Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1, Kleos or Company), a space-powered defence and intelligence technology company, confirms it is now successfully processing RF data collected by the Vigilance Mission (KSF1) satellites through its signal processing technology platform to create its geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) product, LOCATE, which has been released to initial customers alongside other intelligence collected by the Vigilance Mission.
Kleos CEO Andy Bowyer said, “Our geospatial intelligence is now available to initial customers, with additional data volumes being made available as we bring more of our satellite constellation online. Our technology delivers actionable intelligence from sensor collections, helping solve some of the world’s greatest societal, economic, and environmental challenges.”
The Kleos proprietary technology platform uses signal processing techniques to convert the raw data collected from sensors onboard Kleos’ RF data collection satellite constellation that is designed to collect and downlink RF data accurately and with redundancy, or potentially from other sources, into actionable intelligence.
The technology platform performs signal analysis and processing operations to detect and locate targets, cooperative or not. The geospatial intelligence product output from the technology platform (LOCATE) provides the frequency of the detected transmitter, the reception time, the transmitter coordinates, and the confidence ellipse parameters.
LOCATE provides a valuable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability to governments and commercial entities. It complements other intelligence sources to improve the detection of illegal and/or hidden activity such as piracy, drug, and people smuggling, illegal fishing, pollution, and border challenges.
Recent advancements in Kleos’ ground signal processing technology now allow the Company to deliver the LOCATE geospatial intelligence product with as few as two satellites in a formation, a reduction from the previous minimum of three. The algorithm advancements will also facilitate the ability for Kleos’ processing platform to ingest raw data from other sensors in addition to those owned by Kleos, potentially accelerating the volume of intelligence available to customers with the possibility of lower CAPEX spending.
RF Data Collection Constellation Status Update i
The Vigilance Mission (KSF1) is delivering collected RF data to the Kleos intelligence processing platform with full capacity expected to be achieved over the coming weeks, and the Observer Mission (KSF2) is expected to be delivering data to the platform by the end of March 2023.
As previously reported, there have been technical issues with one of the four Vigilance Mission (KSF1) satellites that have so far prevented it from joining the cluster formation during commissioning as planned. Similarly, one of the four Observer Mission (KSF2) satellites had technical issues which have prevented it from continuing nominal commissioning to date. A plan provided by the manufacturer to correct the anomalies will be enacted to resolve the issues and have the two satellites re-join their respective cluster siblings.
With both Vigilance (KSF1) & Observer (KSF2) Missions, the focus has been to complete commissioning and to commence data acquisition. The number of satellites in each mission is intended to provide a layer of redundancy alongside technical advantages (the number of satellites collecting simultaneously and in formation affects the potential accuracy of the geospatial output). Due to the Kleos signal processing technology capability advancements detailed above, the number of satellites that are required to be active and in-formation has been further reduced.
Kleos CTO Vincent Furia commented: “While the commissioning of the KSF1 and KSF2 satellites has been slower than anticipated, we have made significant progress recently that gives us confidence that our satellite build partners will resolve the remaining issues in a timely manner, and continue delivering the capabilities required to make our intelligence products available to customers.”
The next mission, the Patrol Mission (KSF3), is launching on SpaceX Transporter 6 and is now expected to launch in January 2023.
Revenue Timing Update i
It is anticipated, subject to the risks as set out below, that the catalyst for deferred revenue recognition, revenue growth and cash receipts will begin with the Vigilance Mission (KSF1) as its operational capacity is ramped up over 1H-2023 (deferred from Q4 2022 in the Q3 2022 Quarterly). Subsequent clusters will follow a similar process once becoming commercially operational in 2023.
28 Dec 22. GITAI USA Launches Full Operations in US, Securing First Purchase Order from Major Local Space Company. GITAI USA is excited to announce the launch of its full operations in the US, along with the securing of its first purchase order from a major local space company. The company has also published an introduction movie about its new US office.
GITAI, founded in 2016 by Sho Nakanose, is a leading provider of space robots in Japan. The company’s expansion to the US marks a significant step in its growth and brings its innovative space robots to a wider market.
“We are thrilled to fully launch our operations in the US and serve our customers in this market,” said Sho Nakanose, GITAI’s CEO. “We are proud to have secured our first purchase order from a major local space company, which is a testament to the quality and value of our products and services. We are confident that our unique approach to Agile development of space robots will be well received by the US space industry.”
GITAI will initially focus on the commercial space station support, and keep expanding the LA office. The company plans to hire 50+ new employees in the US in 2023 to support its expansion.
About GITAI
GITAI is the world’s leading space robotics company that aims to provide a safe and affordable means of labor in space and reduce operational costs by up to 100 times. GITAI is developing highly capable, safe, and reliable robots to help build and maintain satellites, space stations, lunar bases, and even cities on Mars. (Source: PR Newswire)
21 Dec 22. Flight VV22 Failure: Arianespace and ESA Appoint an Independent Inquiry Commission.
- Arianespace announced December 20, the failure of Flight VV22 carrying Pleiades Neo 5 & 6 satellites.
The Vega C launch vehicle lifted off as scheduled on December 20, 2022 at 10:47 pm (local time in French Guiana). The lift-off, the mission and the separation of the first stage (P120C) were nominal. Following the nominal ignition of the second stage’s (Zefiro 40) engine around 144 seconds after lift-off, a decrease in the pressure was observed leading to the premature end of the mission. Under standard procedure, the order of destruction of the launcher was given by CNES, the launch safety authority; no damage to persons or properties occurred.
Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA) immediately decided to appoint an independent inquiry commission. This commission is tasked with analyzing the reasons for the failure and defining the measures fulfilling all requisite safety and reliability conditions to allow the resumption of Vega C flights. Composed of independent experts, the commission will work with Avio, Vega C launch system prime contractor.
The inquiry commission is co-chaired by the Inspector General of ESA and the Chief Technical Officer of Arianespace. More information will be shared as soon as the Commission will have progressed in its investigations. (Source: ASD Network)
22 Dec 22. Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, today announced the delivery of the final of ten satellite buses to prime contractor Lockheed Martin in support of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 0 Transport Layer.
The delivery of the ten Tranche 0 buses proves Terran Orbital’s ability to build modules and deliver vehicles at scale – marking the company’s shift from lower quantity, mission-unique satellites to robust production. Terran Orbital delivered the satellite buses at a rate greater than one per week over an approximately six-week period.
“The delivery of all ten Tranche 0 satellite buses marks a key milestone, and we are excited to continue effective teamwork as Terran Orbital will also design and build the buses for Lockheed Martin’s SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites,” said Terran Orbital Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer Marc Bell. “We are always thrilled to work with Lockheed Martin and look forward to delivering the Tranche 1 satellite buses.”
The Tranche 0 constellation, operating in low-Earth Orbit, will provide secure high-bandwidth, low-latency data links to enable the initial warfighting capability of the SDA’s National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA). This beyond-line-of-sight tracking, targeting, and communications will dramatically extend U.S. warfighting options and allow additional coalition and allied partners to eventually bring their capabilities into the network.
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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 ms 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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