SatCom For Net-Centric Warfare October 2011 MilsatMagazine AEHF-1 The Naval Research Lab Ball Aerospace celebrates 100 launches... EMS Technologies and TacSat-4 Glowlink GPS This photo captures the “unof- Hughes ficial” symbol of the NRL, the 50- Integral Systems foot dish atop the agency’s main Iridium administration building at sunset. Jos Heyman Lockheed Martin NASA Naval Research Laboratory NPP Schreiver AFB SSC USN TerraGo Track24 Defense U.K. MoD U.S.A.F. SMC MilsatMagazine Vol. 4, no. 7 — october 2011 Silvano Payne, Publisher + Author Hartley G. Lesser, Editorial Director Pattie Waldt, Editor Jill Durfee, Sales Director, Editorial Assistant Donald McGee, Production Manager Simon Payne, Development Manager Chris Forrester, Associate Editor Richard Dutchik, Contributing Editor Alan Gottlieb, Contributing Editor Dan Makinster, Technical Advisor Authors Michael Bufkin Walter DeKnopper Jos Heyman Hartley Lesser Jennifer LaPann David Rhodes Pattie Waldt Published monthly by Satnews Publishers 800 Siesta Way Sonoma, CA 95476 USA Phone: (707) 939-9306 Fax: (707) 838-9235 © 2011 Satnews Publishers We reserve the right to edit all submitted materials to meet our content guidelines, as well as for grammar and spelling consistency. Articles may be moved to an alternative issue to accommodate publication space requirements or removed due to space restrictions. Submission of content does not constitute acceptance of said material by SatNews Publishers. Edited materials may, or may not, be returned to author and/or company for review prior to publication. The views expressed in our various publications do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of SatNews Publishers. All included imagery is courtesy of, and copyright to, the respective companies. 4 MilsatMagazine — October 2011 MilsatMagazine — october 2011 — PaYloaD COMMAND CENTER Jeffrey Chu, Glowlink Communications 24 Richard M. Lober, Hughes Network Systems 38 Giles Peeters, Track24 Defence SSC 46 Thomas M. Pirrone, SSC USN 52 DISPATCHES Current MILSATCOM News, Part 1 10 Current MILSATCOM News, Part 2 56 NPOESS satellite FOCUS One Hundred Launches... And Counting... 20 Naval Research Laboratory Preventing Climate Gaposis With NPP 28 Ball Aerospace & Jennifer LaPann, NASA A Discussion—The Fight Against Maritime 50 Piracy: SATCOM’s Role with Wouter DeKnopper, Iridium Communications INTEL Early U.S. Recon Satellites 32 by Jos Heyman, Tiros Space Information Survivable, Protected Communications 42 David Rhodes, EMS Technologies 6 MilsatMagazine — October 2011 MilsatMagazine — october 2011 — aDVertisers AAE Systems 43 Iridium Communications 09 Advantech Wireless Inside Front Cover (02) JD Events — CABSAT 41 Agile Communications 51 Locus Microwave — CODAN SATCOM 08 ANTCOM 03 MITEQ Inc. / MCL Inside Back Cover (59) AVL Technologies 37 NewSat Limited 45 Bruel & Kjaer 06 Newtec CY 11 Comtech Xicom Technology 53 Newtec CY Insert Between 12 + 13 CPI—SATCOM Division 47 SATFinder 55 EM Solutions 35 SatNews Publishers Subscriptions 04 GigSat 17 Skyware Global 23 Harris CAPROCK Cover (01) SMi Group — Global MilSatCom 49 Harris CAPROCK 07 Spacenet Integrated Government Solutions 15 Harris Corporation 31 TeleCommunication Systems 27 iDirect Government Technologies 33 Teledyne Paradise Datacom Back Cover (60) Intelsat General Corporation 05 W.B. Walton Enterprises 19 8 MilsatMagazine — October 2011 DepartmentDispatchesInfoBeam Header TacSat-4 Makes It’s Move The U.S. Department of the Navy prepared well as they moved toward September 27th, the selected date for the launch of the new, joint tacti- cal satellite, which will bring on-the-go communications to the battlefield. The Tactical Microsatellite (TacSat)-4, funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and devel- oped by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), will start transmitting data 30 days af- ter the satellite attains its planned orbit. “TacSat-4 fills a Navy and Marine Corps capability gap by enabling ‘comms on the move,’” said Bob McCoy, an ONR senior scientist. “That is a unique feature of this system — no other Department of Defense It enables warfighters to use connectivity to the base of [DoD] satellite system can relay a regular handheld radio for operations at all times, so one information from the satellite all mobile communications without is never out of touch, said John the way down to warfighters’ having to stop and set up an Moniz, ONR’s program officer portable communications packs antenna in the field. This elimi- for Expeditionary Warfare and handheld radios.” nates downtime and maintains Command, Control, Computers 10 MilsatMagazine — October 2011 Dispatches through all 10 UHF channels. The areas where users currently X-band downlink is functional as cannot access UHF satellite is the advance thermal loop heat communications. pipe system. The NRL Blossom Point ONR provides the science Ground Station provides and technology necessary to the command and control for maintain the U.S. Navy and U.S. TacSat-4 and maintains its user Marine Corps’ technological Virtual Mission Operations advantage. Through its affiliates, Center (VMOC) tasking system, ONR is a leader in science and allowing dynamic reallocation technology with engagement to different theaters worldwide in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 and enables rapid SATCOM institutions of higher learning, augmentation when unex- and 914 industry partners. ONR pected operations or natural employs approximately 1,400 events occur. people who are comprised TacSat-4 is an experimental of uniformed, civilian, and spacecraft that will test advances and Communication, whose work contract personnel, with addi- in several technologies and could potentially benefit from tional employees at the Naval SATCOM techniques. It will the TacSat-4 satellite. Research Lab in Washington, augment the existing fleet by The fourth-generation micro- D.C. The website for the Naval giving the SATCOM Support satellite, TacSat-4 is a fourth- Research Laboratory is http:// Centers (SSC) an additional space generation (4G) microsatellite www.nrl.navy.mil/ asset to provide communica- and weighs in at 990 pounds, as tions to otherwise under-served opposed to the industry average The Launch users and areas that either do not of approximately 4,300 pounds. TacSat-4 successfully launched have high enough priority, or do The just-launched satellite is September 27th aboard an not have satellite visibility. The less expensive than a conven- Orbital Sciences Minotaur-IV+ project will potentially provide tional system and is designed launch vehicle from the Alaska the option for launching smaller to support traditional satellite Aerospace Corporation’s (AAC) highly elliptical orbit (HEO) communications, providing two Kodiak Launch Complex, satellites and enabling 24-hour hours of global coverage up to located on Kodiak Island, Alaska. coverage in multiple regions three times per day in multiple The spacecraft augments simultaneously, allowing the theaters within a 24-hour period. current geosynchronous satel- military to achieve the benefits “This gives additional capa- lite communications, having an of a combined HEO and geosyn- bility and more communications apogee of 12,050 kilometers in chronous orbit constellation. channels to where there’s a ‘hot the high latitudes to deliver near, The spacecraft bus was built spot’ in the world,” McCoy said. although not continuous, global by NRL and Johns Hopkins TacSat-4’s communication is communications on-the-move University Applied Physics also flexible and faster, providing (COTM) to the battlefield and Laboratory (APL) to mature ORS dynamic channel assignments provide access to mountainous bus standards. It was devel- within 24 hours during normal regions that have previously oped by an Integrated System operations rather than the proved problematic. Engineering Team (govern- typical several days. It offers a TacSat-4 is a Navy-led joint ment and industry), known smarter, more efficient way of mission that provides 10 Ultra as the the “ISET Team,” with assigning channels. High Frequency (UHF) channels active representation from The satellite carries an and allows forward deployed AeroAstro, the U.S. Air Force ONR-sponsored payload built by troops to communicate from Research Laboratory, Johns NRL on infrastructure funded by obscured regions using existing Hopkins Laboratory APL, ATK the former DoD Office of Force hand-held radios without the Space, Ball Aerospace and Transformation and built by need to stop and point an antenna Technologies, Boeing, Design NRL and the Johns Hopkins towards the satellite. University Applied Physics “TacSat-4 supports a crit- Laboratory. The Operationally ical warfighting requirement: Responsive Space Office funded communication,” said Chief the launch, which is managed of Naval Research Rear Adm. by the Space Development and Nevin Carr. “We’ve developed Test Directorate, a directorate a technology that will supple- of the U.S. Air Force Space ment traditional satellites, giving and Missile Systems Center, military personnel on the ground and launched via a Minotaur-IV another outlet for data transmis- rocket built by Orbital Sciences. sion and facilitating ‘comms on As of October 3rd, the satellite the move’,” into its checkout phase and the TacSat-4 provides flexible up TacSat-4 spacecraft bus is func- and down channel assignments, tioning fully on-orbit. The 12-foot which increase the ability to ‘umbrella-like’ UHF antenna has operate in busy radio-frequency been deployed and RF tones environments and will cover the have