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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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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