Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company, has deployed Jupiter 3, a next-generation ultra-high-density satellite manufactured by Maxar Technologies, to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The Ka-band spacecraft, also known as EchoStar XXIV, was released from the launch vehicle three hours and twenty-eight minutes after lift-off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A in […] More

SpiderOak used a Ball Aerospace-made prototype payload to demonstrate a zero trust, end-to-end data security technology it recently deployed to space. The space systems software company said Thursday its OrbitSecure platform achieved flight heritage following tests on the Ball payload operating in low-Earth orbit. OrbitSecure is designed to mitigate disruptions in space communications and satellite […] More

Viasat will contribute on-orbit space relay communications to an Air Force Research Laboratory program aimed at demonstrating connectivity between military spacecraft on low Earth orbit and commercial geostationary platforms. The global communications company said Wednesday it will provide a Ka-band space relay payload for an AFRL mission spacecraft in support of the ARBALEST program. Viasat […] More

CGI Federal has shown success in testing two partner-developed platforms within the Marine Corps Platform Integration Center systems at Blount Island Command. During the process, Microsoft Azure Orbital Cloud Access and Nokia Private 5G communications were incorporated into the CGI-managed MCPIC 2.0 systems, providing a look into future capabilities expected to enhance mission operations, CGI announced from its Fairfax, […] More

Iridium Communications has sent five spare satellites to orbit as part of its 10-year constellation resilience plan and in an effort to ensure continued delivery of critical network services to end users. The company announced Saturday that it launched additional spare satellites on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, bringing its on-orbit spacecraft to 14. In […] More

Solstar Space has won a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer contract from the Department of the Air Force to assess the company’s Slayton Space Communicator for high-speed data communications. In conducting this work, Solstar Space will partner with Andrei Zagrai, a professor of mechanical engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the Santa Fe, […] More

ThinKom has demonstrated an airborne satellite communications antenna over SES‘ medium Earth orbit and geostationary satellite networks to deliver multi-orbit connectivity in support of manned and unmanned command and control missions. The ThinKom ThinAir Ka2517 airborne satcom terminal showcased its capability to interface with Hughes Network Systems‘ software-defined ruggedized HM400 airborne modem to enable roaming […] More

Erik Daehler, former senior director at Lockheed Martin, has joined Sierra Nevada Corp.‘s space-focused business arm as vice president of orbital systems and services, according to his LinkedIn post. The executive has over two decades of aerospace and defense experience and is now responsible for the development of satellite products and services at Sierra Space. […] More

General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems business, SES and Hughes Network Systems combined their technologies to conduct a higher data rate transmission of a multi-orbit satellite communications system. A demonstration event was held on Oct. 20 to show the resilience and capability of unmanned aerial vehicles to maintain high workload and mission-critical connectivity in congested and contested […] More

Orbit Communications Systems obtained full type approval for its GX30 airborne Ka-band multipurpose terminal to operate on Inmarsat‘s Global Xpress network and be utilized for commercial and military Ka-band services.  The Orbit terminal can be stationed in various aerial vehicles and can yield a forward link of up to 126Mbps and a return link of […] More

Robert Geckle, chairman and CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, said the company is planning to produce satellite laser communications terminals in the U.S. in the next couple of years, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday. “I’m seeing a real strong demand signal for laser comms, for investment in laser communication terminals. Also star trackers, also […] More

Northrop Grumman performed a ground demonstration of a laser communications system as part of a prototype satellite constellation for the first tranche of the National Defense Space Architecture’s transport layer. The company said Tuesday Mynaric supplied the laser communications in the space domain and Innoflight provided encryption, decryption and other components of its prototype architecture. […] More