Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 by MDAA

The Missile Defense Agency says it is merging its $1.7 billion STSS tracking satellite mission with ground- and sea-based interceptor tests, a campaign officials hope will enable the military to launch kill vehicles against missiles before they fly in range of conventional radars. 

Source info-aviation.com

7 février 2011 par info-aviation.com

Où en est le développement de microsatellites par l’armée américaine et des programmes de lancement ? Comment se déroule le développement des nanosatellites pour la communication sur les zones de conflit, et comment prendre en compte le problème des débris spatiaux ?

À une époque où les budgets de la défense se réduisent, l’ère des programmes de satellites militaires « multi-milliardaires » est révolue. En témoigne, le sort de l’immense programme TSAT de 12 milliards de dollars, qui a été fermé en 2009. En guise d’alternative, les gouvernements explorent la possibilité d’utiliser des microsatellites pour exécuter la plupart des fonctions actuellement exercées par de coûteux systèmes de satellite de grande taille : la navigation GPS, la télécommunication, la surveillance et l’imagerie terrestre.

An Orbital Sciences Minotaur 1 rocket blasts off with the Air Force's TacSat-3 satellite onboard.

04 February 2011 BY Stephen Clark, Spaceflight Now

The U.S. military plans to launch a Minotaur rocket Saturday with a secret technology research mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, the government agency that oversees the country's spy satellites. The solid-fueled Orbital Sciences Corp. Minotaur 1 launcher is scheduled to lift off some time Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The launch window is a secret for now, but the Air Force plans to announce a time for the blastoff Thursday evening. The release of the launch time will come after the Launch Readiness Review adjourns Thursday to give approval for final flight preparations, according to an Air Force spokesperson.

Published: 03 February, 2011,RUSSIA TODAY

The Defense Ministry has decided to create 70,000 officers’ positions in the Russian army despite previous plans to decrease military personnel. ­The number of officers in the Russian armed forces will increase by 70,000 in 2012, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has said. He discussed on Wednesday the military reform with President Dmitry Medvedev.    Currently, the army employs 150,000 officers and 180,000 contract servicemen. The decision to increase this number to 220,000 has been made because a whole new type of armed forces, a military space defense, is being created, Serdyukov explained. In February, the Defense Ministry will also decide whether to increase the total number of professional army servicemen. Then, proposals of top military officials will be considered by Russia’s Security Council.

January 28th, 2011 by MDAA

    The Government Accountability Office has called into question President Obama’s Phased Adapitive Approach to missile defense in Europe. Lack of oversight and  poor management could cause cost overruns and uncertainty about the EPAA’s effectiveness against missile threats from the Middle East. “DOD has initiated multiple simultaneous efforts to implement [the European Phased Adaptive Approach missile defense plan], but faces three key management challenges—the lack of clear guidance, life-cycle costs and a fully integrated schedule,” the GAO reported

Without better management and oversight, the Defense Department’s missile defense plans in Europe face potential cost overruns and increased uncertainty about the system’s capacity to effectively counter missile threats from the Middle East, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday.

Publié le 22 janvier 2011 par Nicolas Gros-Verheyde

L’Ukraine et la Moldavie le demandaient depuis plusieurs mois déjà (depuis avril 2010). Ils souhaitaient, en effet, obtenir de l’Union européenne un soutien technique et logistique afin de pouvoir continuer leur travail de délimitation de frontière entre les deux pays sur une portion délicate du territoire, en bordure de la Transnistrie. Dans cette région autonome de Moldavie dont l’indépendance n’est reconnue par personne, perdurent en effet, quelques trafics et contrebandes. Et les Européens y ont déployé une mission d’assistance aux frontières (EUBAM).

Source www.russiablog.org

Brussels (AFP) Jan 20, 2011

 The former Cold War foes agreed at a landmark summit in Lisbon last November to explore the possibility of cooperating in the European missile defence system, but left the complex details of how it would work for later.NATO wants to cooperate with Russia on a missile defence shield for Europe but the two sides should keep their systems separate, the Western alliance's chief said ahead of a meeting of military brass.

NROL-49 logo. source www.thespacereview.com

January 20, 2011 www.nro.mil

A National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload was successfully launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) from Space Launch Complex-6, Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California, at 1:10 p.m., PST, on January 20, 2011.

This is the third in a series of six launches that will take place during the 50th anniversary of the NRO. This is also the first Delta IV-Heavy mission to launch from VAFB, and is the third Delta IV vehicle to launch from United Launch Alliance’s Space Launch Complex-6.

“I’m grateful to everybody who worked so hard to make this mission happen, the launch team, the satellite vehicle team, and our mission partners. It is always a great feeling to have hard work culminate in success. When the satellite becomes operational, it will assure the US continues to enjoy superior vigilance from above,” remarked Col Alan Davis, Director of Office of Space Launch.

The NRO is a joint Department of Defense-Intelligence Community organization responsible for developing, launching, and operating America’s signals, imagery, and communications satellites to meet the needs of our nation.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Jan. 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Space Tracking and Surveillance (STSS) Demonstration program satellites are ready to fully participate in Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) tests after on-orbit calibration of the acquisitions and track sensors for both spacecraft was completed Nov. 3 by prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), and infrared sensor payload provider Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN).

Calibration of those sensors was the last major step during the on-orbit tests of the space vehicles, which were launched Sept. 25, 2009, in tandem configuration from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

"We are confident that upcoming BMDS tests involving STSS will generate the kind and quality of data that will validate our projections of the value of space-based sensors for missile tracking," said Doug Young, vice president of Missile Defense and Warning Programs for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. He noted the data will validate models used to define an operational system. 

"STSS brings unique capabilities to missile defense. It's the only system capable of tracking ballistic missiles through all phases of flight, starting with boost extending through midcourse and terminal phases," Young added. "In 2010, the satellites demonstrated many capabilities essential to performing their missile defense role in initial exercises, such as tracking U.S. missile test launches. While those were not operational tests, they point to the potential applications of this satellite technology."

Using sensors capable of receiving infrared radiation, the STSS demonstration satellites are able to detect missile launches, provide continuous target tracking and communicate with missile defense command and control systems. The STSS Demonstration satellites will be integrated into MDA's overall testing strategy that calls for multiple missile defense elements to participate in each test event.

"Integrated tests involving multiple BMDS elements will provide opportunities for STSS to demonstrate a wide range of missile tracking capabilities geared toward decisions regarding required future operational systems capabilities," Young said.

These capabilities include boosting missile detection and tracking; midcourse object tracking and characterization; missile track handover between the two space vehicles; and interceptor cueing via downlink communications to the ground station.

illustration www.raytheon.com

Aurora CO (SPX) Jan 20, 2011

Raytheon's new Global Positioning System Collaboration Center opening in February 2011 in El Segundo, Calif., will allow U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems personnel to interact with the GPS Operational Control Segment (GPS OCX) system in an operations-like environment.

January 18, 2011 CAMBRIDGE, ON

COM DEV International Ltd., a leading manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, today announced that it has been awarded a contract valued in excess of US$9 million to provide equipment for a military communications satellite.

18.01.2014 army-guide.com

Renault Trucks Defense has signed with Thales a contract for supplying 21 units of vehicles type Premium, Midlum and Sherpa Light carrier dedicated to the tactical stations of the Syracuse III military satellite communications program. In 2009 Renault Trucks Defense has already sold 33 units of Sherpa light carriers. These new vehicles will be delivered in 2011.