December 2014

A conceptual photograph of the Athena 2S at the Kodiak Launch Complex. Photo: Lockheed Martin [Via Satellite 12-15-2014] The state-owned Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC), owner and operator of the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC), has selected Lockheed Martin’s Athena launch vehicle to conduct the spaceport’s small and medium lift missions. The two are finalizing the scope…

An ILS Proton launch of the Yamal 401 satellite. Photo: Roscosmos [Via Satellite 12-15-2014] International Launch Services (ILS) has successfully launched Gazprom Space Systems’ Yamal 401 satellite aboard a Proton launch vehicle. The launch, which took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Dec. 14, was the 400th mission for Proton. ISS Reshetnev built the Yamal…

The Thuraya XT-LITE Satphone. Photo: Thuraya [Via Satellite 12-15-2014] Thuraya has announced the availability of a new satellite phone targeting casual, non-enterprise customers. The Thuraya XT-LITE can make phone calls and send SMS messages in satellite mode throughout Thuraya’s coverage, which extends to 160 countries. The satellite phone can connect people who work or travel…

A GPS 2F Satellite offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. on Feb. 12, 2010. Photo: Air Force Space Command [Via Satellite 12-12-2014] The cost of storing satellites for various United States Department of Defense (DOD) programs is expected to surpass $200 million over the course of the next five years, according…

NASA’s Wallops Island Va. launch site the day after Orbital Sciences’ Antares launch failure. Photo: NASA/Terry Zaperach [Via Satellite 12-12-2014] NASA has awarded a $49 Million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority of Norfolk, Virginia. The follow-on contract is to support the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport 3 (MARS 3)’s…

Antennas atop the new MUOS Test Radio Access Facility (TRAF). Photo: Lockheed Martin [Via Satellite 12-12-2014] Lockheed Martin has opened a radio terminal development and certification facility for the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) at its Sunnyvale, Calif. campus. The $6.5 million Test Radio Access Facility (TRAF) supports a ground segment test-bed and satellite simulator…

Digital rendering of the Optus 10 satellite. Photo: SS/L [Via Satellite 12-12-2014] The Optus 10 satellite, operated by Optus Satellite, has begun providing commercial services following its Sept. 11 launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Optus is currently using the satellite for cellular backhaul and connection services for the Optus mobile network. The company is…

Chad Anderson, managing director of Space Angels Network. Photo: Space Angels Network. [Via Satellite 12-12-2014] Space Angels Network, a collection of seed and early-stage investors concentrating on funding aerospace ventures, and Space-Nest, an Israeli space technologies and applications incubator supported by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have launched a partnership to grow space startups. The partnership…

How SatGuard works. Photo: VeriSat [Via Satellite 12-12-2014] VeriSat announced the availability of a satellite interference analysis tool called SatGuard that was jointly developed with SES. SatGuard identifies Adjacent Satellite Interference (ASI) and cross-polar interference (XPOL) caused by VSAT terminals. The tool uses software radio technology and off-the-shelf hardware to capture and analyze the signals…

A NovaWurks Conformal Spacecraft based on the modular HISat platform. Photo: NovaWurks [Via Satellite 12-11-2014] Spaceflight Inc. has signed NovaWurks as a customer to launch the experimental eXCITe satlets on a 2015 Sherpa mission for the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). NovaWurks is building the modular spacecraft for the agency based on…