Posts by XTAR
Boeing Foresees Additional WGS Satellite Orders
Space News – The U.S. Air Force is discussing the possibility of building at least two more Wideband Global Satcom communications satellites with funding from potential international partners, Boeing Network and Space Systems President Roger Krone said May 13. Krone said in a briefing with reporters he believes there is enough international appetite for additional satellites.…
Read MoreA Look at “S4” of Federal Q1 &Q2 of FY 2014
By Guest Blogger Lt. General William Donahue, USAF (Ret.) – The consequences of “S4” (sequestration, shutdown, Snowden, and snow) were real and material during the first half of FY 2014. In spite of all the “S” that hit the fan, I applaud the successful budget deal that guided our leaders back toward their real job: funding the…
Read MoreU.S. Defense Firms Eye International Opportunities in a Slowing National Market
Via Satellite – Leading system integrators, ground-based and satellite operators weigh in how they see the global government market evolving in the next few years, particularly in the Pacific Rim, Africa and the Middle East.
Read MoreCOMSATCOM Policy Struggles Continue Between Providers, DoD
Defense Daily – The Defense Department and commercial satellite communication (COMSATCOM) providers continue to disagree over how the service should handle future acquisition policy in an era of declining defense spending.
Read More‘Talk Satellite’ Interviews Andrew Ruszkowski
Talk Satellite Audio Interview
Read MoreAgencies Discover Satellite Power
Federal Times – Sometimes forest fires rage inconveniently far from cell towers, leaving responder teams potentially cut off from support. But managers can look to the skies for communications solutions.
Read MoreThe future of satellites: What are the options?
Defense Systems – The Defense Department’s demand for bandwidth is increasing unabated as funding is being trimmed, forcing agencies to cut costs without scaling down communications capabilities. Meanwhile, the price of traditional satellite deployments continues to rise. A Global Positioning System satellite, for example, cost $43 million to build and $55 million to launch in early…
Read MoreSatcom Firms Seek Answers on Bandwidth Agreement
Defense News – One year ago, top Pentagon officials pledged to find a new way to work with the commercial satellite industry. And it was welcome news. Yet despite the backing of Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top acquisitions official, nothing has changed. Indeed, a study that Kendall promised industry during last year’s SATELLITE 2013 Conference in…
Read MoreBetter Buying for SATCOM
Military Information Technology – Commercial satellite operators are hailing a recently approved congressional provision that encourages the Department of Defense to investigate using multi-year leases for commercial satellite services and for procuring government-owned payloads on commercial satellites. Signed by President Obama in late 2013, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2014 includes…
Read MorePrivate SATCOM’s Promise
Satellite providers find military demands tough to plan for C4ISR & Networks – At the peak of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the demand for high-definition full motion video was so intense that about 90 percent of the bandwidth used by U.S. Central Command was supplied by commercial satellites, said Robert Tipton Osterthaler, CEO…
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