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NASA Declares SMAP Satellite With Northropâ€™s Mesh Reflector Operational; John Alvarez Comments

NASAâ€™s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has formally launched the three-year mission of its Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite equipped with a mesh reflector developed by a Northrop Grumman subsidiary. NorthropÂ said Tuesday the Astro Aerospace-built mesh reflector is designed to help SMAPÂ measure soil moisture, gather data on thawed and frozen water, and improve forecasting of floods and […] More

by Jane Edwards May 27, 2015, 4:27 am
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Lockheed Selects Thales Airborne Surveillance System for UK Navy Helicopters

Lockheed Martin has chosen Thales to provide airborne surveillance and control capability for the U.K. naval forces’ new Merlin airborne surveillance helicopters. Thales said Friday it received the Merlin ASaC subcontract for theÂ company’sÂ Searchwater radar and Cerberus mission system, which will be installed on the helicopters. The technology will work to protect the U.K. navy’s aircraft […] More

by Anna Forrester May 26, 2015, 8:21 am
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Thales Considers Broadband In-Flight Connectivity for Transmitting Operational Data

Thales‘ in-flight entertainment and connectivity business and others in the aviation industry are eyeing broadband pipes for the transmission of non-safety Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting SystemÂ operational data, Runway Girl Network reported Thursday. Seth Miller writes that the transfer ofÂ ACARS data over broadband could present a potential threat to theÂ in-flight connectivity system’s security. Dominique Giannoi, […] More

by Anna Forrester May 22, 2015, 12:47 pm
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Japan Weather Satellite Tracks Typhoon Maysak Through Exelis Imager

Japan’s national weather agency has used an ExelisÂ imaging instrument on the Himawari-8 weather satellite toÂ collect weather and environmental imagesÂ such asÂ Typhoon Maysak and the clouds and snowÂ around Mount Fuji. The company said FridayÂ the imager works to support the satellite’s weather forecasting and tracking, fireÂ detection, air pollution analysis, vegetation assessment and volcanic ash monitoring operations. Eric Webster, […] More

by Anna Forrester May 22, 2015, 10:08 am
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Exelis, UrsaNav, DHS, Coast Guard to Test Potential GPS Backup; Ed Sayadian Comments

Exelis has partnered with UrsaNav, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate a potential alternative to USCG’s decommissioned Loran-C radio navigation system. Exelis, UrsaNav, USCG and DHS signed a cooperative agreement to test the eLoran low-frequency technology as a backup for GPS infrastructure being used by the public and private […] More

by Mary-Louise Hoffman May 22, 2015, 9:18 am
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Harris Tests MUOS Waveform on Tactical Radios; George Helm Comments

Harris Corp. has demonstrated the company’s Falcon III tactical radios with a Mobile User Objective System waveform technology. The demonstration aimed to validate the ability of a multiband radio platform to deliver narrowband communications over the U.S. Defense Department‘s MUOS satellite network, Harris said Wednesday. “More than 30,000 AN/PRC-117G radios are already deployed and capable […] More

by Mary-Louise Hoffman May 21, 2015, 1:00 pm
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ITU Takes Iridium Satellite Phone Donation for Emergency Communications; Matt Desch Comments

Iridium CommunicationsÂ has donated 25 satellite phones and batteries to the International Telecommunication Union as part of efforts toÂ increaseÂ the organization’s emergency communications capacity forÂ disaster response and recovery activities. ITU said WednesdayÂ Iridium first donatedÂ emergency telecommunication equipment to the organization in 2007. “Iridium’s donation comes at a critical time when natural disasters are on the increase,” said Brahima […] More

by Anna Forrester May 21, 2015, 10:55 am
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Leidos, Exelis Continue Work on DARPA’s Counter-Radar Program; Mitch Friedman Comments

ExelisÂ will continue to provide technology development support toÂ LeidosÂ for the second phase of theÂ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency‘s Adaptive Radar Countermeasures program as part of a potential $15.6 million subcontract. Exelis said WednesdayÂ it will integrate its electronic warfare hardware with Leidos’ software-based algorithms and demonstrate counter-radar functions in a loop test environment. “The work we’re doing […] More

by Anna Forrester May 21, 2015, 9:28 am
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Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Lifts Off; Chris Hoyler Comments

The U.S. Air Force launched a Boeing-built X-37B spacecraft Wednesday morning at Cape Canaveral AF Station in Florida to conduct on-orbit scientific experiments, Space.com reported Wednesday. Mike Wall writes the launch marks the fourth mission of the military service’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle program. “OTV missions allow us to examine a payload system or technology […] More

by Mary-Louise Hoffman May 21, 2015, 5:19 am
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Raytheon to Extend Patriot Weapon Support for UAE

Raytheon has received a $7 million contract modification to perform technical assistance work on ground support equipment of the United Arab Emirates’ Patriot air and missile defense systems. The Defense Department said Monday that the company will add 138 man-months to support the Patriot missile ground infrastructure for UAE. The U.S. Army awarded the contract […] More

by Mary-Louise Hoffman May 19, 2015, 7:46 am
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Lockheed-Built Imaging Satellite Concludes On-Orbit Operation; Mike Hamel Comments

The IKONOS imaging satellite made by Lockheed Martin for DigitalGlobe has been retired after nearly two decades of gathering and sharing more than 400 square kilometres of images of the Earthâ€™s surface. The satellite, launched in September 1999, concluded its operation on March 31 after 15 years of collecting high-resolution images used in mapping, agriculture, […] More

by Elizabeth Leigh May 19, 2015, 6:12 am
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Boeing Awards Subcontract to D-J Engineering for NASAâ€™s Space Capsule; Ryan Hernandez Comments

D-J Engineering has secured a subcontract from Boeing to help manufacture machine parts for a space capsule under NASAâ€™s Commercial Crew Program, Spaceflight Insider reported Sunday. Collin Skocik writes D-J Engineering will manufacture hatch frame and frangible joints for the CST-100 spacecraft that is meant to bring astronauts to the International Space Station and Bigelow […] More

by Elizabeth Leigh May 18, 2015, 12:27 pm