Tag Archives: National Security Space

By Ralph Thiele Part One of this essay was published on 21 December 2019 and can be found here. … open for business Large companies and start-ups are using space as a business model, as it enables them to offer new services or generate key data for processing and commercialisation …

Satellites are a critical infrastructure. They enable television, internet, telecommunications, energy, trade, and financial networks to function. As access to space gets cheaper, the commercial sector continues to grow its presence in space.

The U.S. Congress has formally acknowledged India's NAVIC global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to be an "allied system" in its finalized 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the legislative bill that outlines the U.S. Department of Defense's budget, policies, and priorities for the coming fiscal year.

HawkEye 360 Inc., the first commercial company to use formation flying satellites to create a new class of radio frequency (RF) data analytics, reports it has been awarded a contract for a commercial RF survey study from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., a worldwide leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services, announced on 4 December 2019 that its subsidiary Wavestream received orders for over U.S.$6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for its state-of-the-art GaN BUCs,  to be supplied as the first award of a five-year base-period of potentially over U.S.$10 million of deliveries to the U.S. DoD.

NATO Foreign Ministers met in Brussels on 20 November 2019 to address a wide range of security challenges in preparation for the meeting of NATO leaders in London. “We all agree that NATO remains indispensable for our security, and that despite our differences, we are stronger as we face the future together,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, announced on 13 November 2019 the launch of the Techstars Allied Space Accelerator. The accelerator, a virtual program, will run in partnership with the United States Air Force, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Space Agency and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.

The European Union's (EU) Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) defence technology initiative announced on 12 November 2019 its decision to cooperatively develop several military space projects designed to enhance the defence and security of EU member states.

Viasat Inc. reports that its Multi-Mission Terminal (MMT), the AN/TSC-241, has started the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) Skynet satellite communications (SATCOM) architecture assurance and certification process, which will authorize the terminal's operation on the Skynet X-band system as well as other government and commercial networks

Processing is now underway with the TIBA-1 satellite passenger for Arianespace’s next dual-payload Ariane 5 mission, which is scheduled for a November liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana.