MUOS Satellite Delayed Further

Objective System (MUOS) satellite is facing another significant delay, pushing out the availability of the US Navy's next-generation ultra-high frequency satellite until December 2011, according to a report submitted to Congress by the service's top weapons buyer.


Back in February 2007 the Australian government announced that an MoU had been agreed between the Australian Department of Defence and the US Navy, setting out the governing arrangements for a joint military communications ground station near Geraldton, Western Australia.

The purpose of the joint ground station is to support the US Navy's MUOS, a narrow-band networked satellite constellation for UHF satellite comms enabling secure all-weather and all-terrain 3G mobile telecommunications.

It is designed to support US and Australian military users including deployed forces.

The MUOS ground station is collocated with the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Ground Station at Kojarena, 30 km east of Geraldton WA, but will be managed separately.

Boeing Australia Ltd was awarded a contract to develop the MUOS compound at the Australian ground site with the station scheduled to become operational by March 2010.

However, the MUOS constellation of four geosynchronous satellites (and one spare) will not reach full operational capability until some time after 2014.

General Dynamics C4 Systems is the lead contractor for the entire MUOS ground infrastructure and GD and Ericsson are also providing the waveform technology driving MUOS capabilities.

Based on its 3G technology, Ericsson's WC DMA will be modified by GD to operate over the satellite.

It is anticipated that there will be emphasis on dismounted handheld user terminals provided under the JTRS Cluster 5 program, which is a major user of this waveform, with the same applying to future ADF users already familiar with JTRS capable radios - which will now sport 3G waveforms.

(Australian Defence)
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Electric Cars: A Definitive Guide

What Is An Electric Car?

An electric car is powered by an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine. The electric motor gets energy from a controller, which regulates the amount of power—based on the driver’s use of an accelerator pedal. The electric car (also known as electric vehicle or EV) uses energy stored in its rechargeable batteries, which are recharged by common household electricity.

With the all-electric Leaf, Nissan is taking the lead in pure electric cars in the United States. The Nissan Leaf is a medium-size all-electric hatchback that seats five adults and has a range of 100 miles. The company is hinting at a price around $30,000. It will begin to roll out in select cities in late 2010.

Unlike a hybrid car—which is fueled by gasoline and uses a battery and motor to improve efficiency—an electric car is powered exclusively by electricity. Historically, EVs have not been widely adopted because of limited driving range before needing to be recharged, long recharging times, and a lack of commitment by automakers to produce and market electric cars that have all the creature comforts of gas-powered cars. That’s changing. As battery technology improves—simultaneously increasing energy storage and reducing cost—major automakers are expected to begin introducing a new generation of electric cars.

Electric cars produce no tailpipe emissions, reduce our dependency on oil, and are cheaper to operate. Of course, the process of producing the electricity moves the emissions further upstream to the utility company’s smokestack—but even dirty electricity used in electric cars usually reduces our collective carbon footprint.

Another factor is convenience: In one trip to the gas station, you can pump 330 kilowatt-hours of energy into a 10-gallon tank. It would take about 9 days to get the same amount of energy from household electric current. Fortunately, it takes hours and not days to recharge an electric car, because it's much more efficient. Speaking of convenience, let's not forget two important points: charging up at home means never going to a gas station—and electric cars require almost none of the maintenance, like oil changes and emissions checks, that internal combustion cars require.

Electric motors develop their highest torque from zero rpms—meaning fast (and silent) zero-to-60 acceleration times.

Note: In the illustration, we show the relative features of electric cars and gas-powered cars. However, it doesn't have to be an "either-or" situation. Plug-in hybrids offer many of the benefits of electric cars while mitigating most of the drawbacks, such as limited driving range.

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Top 10 iPhone Knockoffs

Chinese manufacturers piggyback off of successful products by cranking out thousands of copies, nowhere is this truer than with the success of the iPhone. There are literally hundreds of iPhone knockoffs, ranging from empty shells with the LED Apple logo lit up to exact copies (until the phone stops working and you crack it open to find all the parts are in the wrong place).

Here are our ten favorite wannabe phones:
10. Prada

We had to start the list off with the Prada for two reasons: one, because the name is so closely associated with great design, and two, because the design here is so flagrantly an iPhone it’s hilarious.

Seriously, Prada? How often do you complain about those evil pirates stealing your clothes, and then you turn around and do this? We’re going to buy knockoff handbags without wincing, now.
9. LG Dare

LG, on the other hand, should really know better. So, your big innovation on the iPhone is…to mess up the icons on the screen? Really? That’s your big sales innovation? Sheesh.
8. oPhone

The oPhone is the first of many fine Chinese products that will make this list, but it comes first because this is from a respectable manufacturer. Lenovo is what IBM’s computer division used to be before IBM became a trivia question. And, we see they’re carrying on the torch of innovation that led to IBM being taken over by a Chinese company in the first place. We think they just recycled the case from a Palm for this one.
7. The tPhone

Of all the competitors on this list, the tPhone gets the praise for being the most gutsy. They don’t even pretend they’re not ripping off the iPhone, they just get right in there and even steal the Apple logo, flipping it around so that, well, we guess that if you look in the mirror you can pretend you own an iPhone (image: chineseornot.com).
6. The 200 Fashion Mobile Phone

The 200 Fashion, on the other hand, is just kind of sad. It’s like they wanted to do an iPhone knockoff, they were so close, but the touch screen thing just wasn’t affordable, so they kind of stuffed a keypad down at the bottom and called it a day. There’s nothing sadder than piracy that fails.
5. The A88

On the other end of the spectrum is the A88, a knockoff so perfect you won’t even notice it’s a knockoff until you look more closely at the icons on the screen, and try to use the phone (which isn’t exactly a zippy, fun-filled experience) and realize you’ve been had. As counterfeits go, this one is awesome. Also, illegal.
4. The HiPhone

Second place in the fairly convincing knockoff sweepstakes is the HiPhone, which is just like the iPhone, but not quite enough for Apple to sue, because other than looking exactly like it, it’s one letter off. Somehow, we don’t think the Jimmy Hart Version laws really apply to consumer electronics, guys.
3. The C-002

The C-002 missed first place for one reason; that screen is terrible! Even in the few ugly as heck JPEGs we found of this thing, it looked like somebody had run over a monitor from 1995 with a steamroller. Who was this going to fool? The blind? The technophobic? It’s the details that make a forgery, people! I mean, really, if you don’t even care enough to get the details right…
2. Meizu M8

Of all our knockoffs, the Meizu M8 deserves credit for actually bothering to inject some of its own design elements. Instead of just looking completely like an iPhone, it injects a little bit of its own style into the mix. Granted that style makes it look like it’s from the late ’90s, but it’s a start, anyway.
1. CECT P168

Our number one phone gets the top position for a very simple reason. It’s kind of exactly what you imagine when you imagine “iPhone knockoff;” something with the same design that’s just not quite as good as the original.

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PlayStation 3 System Begins Preview of Hulu Plus

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) and Hulu(TM) have announced that the Hulu Plus(TM) preview will begin on the PlayStation®3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system in the United States with the consumer release of Hulu Plus available to all PS3 owners set to occur in the coming months.

SonyPS3 is the first and only console with dedicated gaming functionality that will offer Hulu Plus in 2010. Hulu Plus will deliver a library of high-definition (HD) content including full seasons of popular TV shows and blockbuster movies from nearly 150 leading content companies. Content on Hulu Plus is complementary to the more than 23,000 movies and TV episodes already available on the PlayStation®Store

“We are delighted to offer the Hulu Plus preview starting today on PlayStation 3 and that PlayStation 3 will be the only console to offer Hulu Plus in 2010,” said Jack Tretton, president and chief executive officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. “The combination of Hulu’s premium video library and PlayStation®Network’s expanding game and video catalogue further cements PlayStation 3 as the industry’s best entertainment device for all of your content experiences from games, TV shows and movies to live sports, original content and 3D.”

Starting today, a select group of PlayStation®Plus subscribers will gain access to a preview version of Hulu Plus for an additional $9.99 per month. All PlayStation Plus subscribers may download the free Hulu Plus application and, within it, request an invitation to the exclusive preview.

General availability of Hulu Plus in the United States is expected in the coming months on the PS3 computer entertainment system and additional Sony Electronics Internet-connected entertainment devices, including select BRAVIA® TVs and Blu-ray(TM) Disc players.

Source: Sony Computer Entertainment America
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Skynet 5D Provides Boost to Britain’s Military Communication Capability

Thanks to a £400 million contract to use a new satellite, Britain’s military communications on operations will be further enhanced, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, has announced.

The Skynet 5D which is the fourth satellite of its kind to be used by the MoD is roughly three times the length of a London bus and will be launched in 2013 playing a key role in gathering intelligence on operations. The satellite will also be used to provide the telephone and internet welfare support facilities for Service personnel on operations.


Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

“Future operations require that our Armed Forces are given access to the best possible communications and this new satellite will go a long way to ensuring this.

“This value for money package not only builds upon a tried and tested capability for the Armed Forces, but also secures hundreds of jobs in a very important field of technology.”

The build of Skynet 5D will directly create around 100 new jobs, mainly at EADS Astrium’s sites in Portsmouth and Stevenage. It will also sustain approximately 800 jobs at these sites and in Corsham, Wiltshire, at Paradigm’s Hawthorn site.

Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, said:

“The UK’s thriving space and satellite industry has been a real recession-buster – creating jobs and achieving exceptional growth. This latest success cements the UK’s position as a world leader in satellite technology, with the sector forecast to be worth £40Bn to the UK by 2030.”

Darrell Midgley, MOD Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), Information Systems and Services Networks Head, said:

“The demand for satellite communications is growing faster than originally predicted. To ensure that future operations will continue to have access to the vital communications they may need, the MOD has decided to make arrangements to take advantage of the services that a fourth satellite in the Paradigm’s Skynet constellation would provide.”

Source: Ministry of Defence
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STPSat-2 Shopped to Kodiak Launch Complex

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has shipped the STPSat-2 satellite built for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) to Alaska’s Kodiak Launch Complex for scheduled liftoff aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket for a fall 2010 launch.

STPSat-2 is the first spacecraft for the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) program managed by Space Development and Test Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, N.M. The STP-SIV architecture developed for STPSat-2 supports the Operationally Responsive Space strategy to ensure U.S. space superiority.

The STPSat-2 spacecraft provides a standard interface compatible for multiple launch vehicles that support a variety of experimental and risk reduction payloads at different low-Earth orbits. This was demonstrated on STPSat-2 when a third payload was manifested following the Critical Design Review and then successfully integrated without spacecraft design modification. Using flight-proven hardware for the spacecraft (and developmental hardware only on the experimental payloads), each bus can accommodate up to four independent payloads, each one having its own separate power and data interface.

“STPSat-2 is putting responsive space into practice for the U.S. Air Force,” said David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace. “This small but robust satellite provides a flexible solution for a variety of customer mission needs, from missile warning, to earth-remote sensing, to situational awareness.”

Production is also continuing at Ball on the second STP-SIV, STPSat-3, an identical spacecraft that will host four DoD experimental payloads. The STPSat-3 spacecraft will be completed in November, with payloads integrated in the first quarter of 2011.

In addition to STPSat-2, the Minotaur 4 rocket will launch two FASTRAC spacecraft from the University of Texas, the Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 5 satellite, NASA’s O/OREOS CubeSat mission, and NASA’s FASTSAT (Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite), which includes the Threat Detection System built by Ball Aerospace for the Air Force Research Lab/Space-Based Advanced Sensing & Protection Branch for detecting tracking, and characterizing space objects and the space environment.

Source: Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
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