Emergency Comms - MilsatMagazine · MilsatMagazine — June 2012 — Vol. 3, #3 RECON: Moog Page 40 By the editors Our nation’s and our allies’ armed forces and government agencies

MilsatMagazineSatCom For Net-Centric Warfare June 2012

Emergency CommsHurricane Preparedness

COTM Benefits On The Mobile Battlefield

NRL Nanosatellite Platforms

Examining The Space Report

Sadtler On Growing A Federal Presence

Space Foundation’s Pulham: Redefining Export Policies

NSR’s Del Rosario On The NGO Market

RECON: Moog

Authors

Tony BardoKarl FuchsSgt. Sean HarrimanSgt. Lauren HensonSgt. Robert LarsonHartley LesserElliot H. PulhamJose Del RosarioBert SadtlerClaire SchwerinPattie Waldt

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 rights reserved.

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Published monthly by Satnews Publishers800 Siesta WaySonoma, CA 95476 USAPhone: (707) 939-9306Fax: (707) 939-9235© 2012 Satnews Publishers

Publishing Operations

Silvano Payne ......................................Publisher + WriterHartley G. Lesser ...................................Editorial DirectorPattie Waldt ............................................ Executive EditorJill Durfee .................... Sales Director, Editorial AssistantDonald McGee ...................................Production ManagerSimon Payne ................................. Development ManagerMike Antonovich ....Contributing Editor, SatBroadcastingChris Forrester ...........Senior Contributing Editor, EuropeAlan Gottlieb ...................... Contributing Editor, MaritimeBob Gough ......... Senior Contributing Editor, Asia-PacificRichard Dutchik ..................................Contributing EditorJos Heyman .........................................Contributing EditorJose Del Rosario .................................Contributing EditorDan Makinster....................................... Technical AdvisorGiles Peeters ..... Senior Contributing Editor, MILSATCOMBert Sadtler ........................................Contributing EditorJim Render ........................................ Contributing Author

MilsatMagazine — June 2012 — Vol. 3, #3

Keeping Customers Satisfied (KVH) .................... Page 06

101st Adds Realism To Army Network Test ......... Page 08

Demo’ing A New Prototype .................................. Page 10

‘Heavy Metal’ Brigade’s SecArmy Visitation ....... Page 11

A First Ever............................................................ Page 12

Link Sim Makes It To Market (RT Logic) ............... Page 14

Show Off SOTM (ITT Exelis) ................................. Page 14

Iron Thunder Roars .............................................. Page 15

Trend BUC’ing (ST Electronics) ............................ Page 16

A Seamless Switch (ASC Signal) .......................... Page 17

NexGen Of Birds For Multi-Missions (Harris) ....... Page 18

Makin’ It Work ...................................................... Page 19

2 SatMagazine — June 2012

Dispatches

2012 International Satellite Directory ................ Page 51

Advantech Wireless .............................................. Page 09

Agile Milcoms ........................................................ Page 25

AVL Technologies .................................................. Page 37

Comtech EF Data .................................................. Page 27

Comtech Xicom Technology, Inc. ......................... Page 23

CPI, Inc. ................................................................ Page 17

GigaSat Limited .................................................... Page 13

GL Communications, Inc. ..................................... Page 05

Harris Corporation ................................................ Page 03

MITEQ / MCL, Inc. ................................................ Page 31

MTN Government Services ................................... Page 07

NewSat Limited .................................................... Page 47

NSR (Northern Sky Research) .............................. Page 21

Space Foundation ................................................. Page 33

Teledyne Microwave Solutions ............................. Page 45

Wavestream Corporation ..................................... Page 15

Advertiser Index

4 SatMagazine — June 2012


INTEL: Carving A Niche Within The NGO/Aid Markets Page 20

By Jose Del Rosario, Senior Analyst—Manila, NSR

The shifting global military agenda and challenging fiscal picture have signaled decreased procurement from many countries for peacekeeping purposes. However, agencies in the humanitarian assistance sector (the NGO community as well as vendors serving these customers) are seeing increased demand for commercial SATCOM services. Additionally, in recent years, the impetus to support operational requirements as well as fund poverty alleviation programs, over the long term, could lead to increased spending.

FOCUS: The Evolution Continues... Space Report Executive Summary Page 22

By Space Foundation editors and writers

Each passing year brings advances in space systems and technologies, as well as new applications and services that rely on them. There is a natural evolution of capabilities as governments and companies push the boundaries of what is possible, seeking ways to improve the lives of their citizens or customers. A number of events in 2011 marked a period of transition during this long-term process of capacity-building, as some major programs ended while others started or expanded...

PRIME: Disaster Preparedness—Hurricanes Page 30

By Tony Bardo, Hughes

Already, 2012 has distinguished itself as a year of severe storms, with record-breaking tornado outbreaks this past winter in the United States. With the hurricane season’s official start in June, first responders are preparing for the worst... last year’s biggest event, Hurricane Irene, caused more than $15 billion in damage and killed 49 people. Meteorologists predict fewer named storms, but those that do form will have a greater proximity to the U.S. coastline, making forecasting more difficult and reducing warning lead-times.

INTEL: COTM Benefits The Mobile Battlefield Page 34

By Karl Fuchs, iDirect Government Technologies

Communications On The Move (COTM) allows for warfighters to receive timely communications anywhere, and at any time. COTM is critical to winning battles, protecting forces and supporting overall military operations. It helps warfighters achieve instant access to information in a mobile environment on the ground, at sea or in the air.

RE:SOURCES... The Road To The Future—Growing A U.S. Federal Presence Page 38

By Bert Sadtler, Boxwood Executive Search

A question for Bert... “Our European based company is focusing on expansion into the U.S. Federal Government Sector, which will include recruiting critical talent who will be responsible for driving revenue and growing our U.S. presence.”


RECON: Moog Page 40

By the editors

Our nation’s and our allies’ armed forces and government agencies are highly dependent upon the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data beamed to them by various MILSATCOM satellites. Retasking flexibility, observation without detection, the delivery of near-instant communication and data, and critical reliance upon a satellite’s capabilties are just four reasons for the continuance of satellite build programs, with the end result being saved lives and operational successes.

POV: Barbarians At The Gates Page 48

By Elliot Holokauahi Pulham, Space Foundation

Growing up in a ranch family, I heard plenty of cowboy wisdom about “closing the gates after the horses have all run off.” So, I naturally tend to think about U.S. “protection” of space technologies in similar terms.

OPS: NRL Journal—Nanosatellite Experimental Platforms Page 52

By the editors of the NRL’s SPECTRA Magazine

Two nanosatellites designed and built by NRL’s Naval Center for Space Technology were placed in orbit to evaluate nanosatellites as platforms for experimentation and technology development. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on December 8, 2010, as secondary payloads on board a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Inc., Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

6 MilsatMagazine — June 2012

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Keeping Customers Happy WorldwideKVH Industries, Inc. has entered into an agreement that will enable the MVS Group, one of the world’s largest distributors of mobile satellite services, to offer KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband service and TracPhone V-series satellite communications systems to its global customer base.

The agreement will enable MVS Group to bundle KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband service within its state-of-the-art billing and airtime management system and full suite of value-added services to provide one-stop shopping for its global customer base.

“The MVS Group is a market leader that has won a solid following of loyal customers throughout the world by providing outstanding customer support and offering satellite services enhanced with its comprehensive, value-added services,” said Brent Bruun, KVH’s senior vice president of global sales and business development. “We’re delighted to enter into this cooperation to offer its customers next-generation VSAT services delivered by our mini-VSAT Broadband network and our award-winning TracPhone V-series product line.”

The MVS Group was founded in 1995, focusing on offering customers with mobile applications access to L-band MSS services on land, at sea, or in the air.

Winning customers by providing excellent support, high quality billing systems, and a full range of value-added services, MVS Group grew to become a leader in the mobile satellite communications market, and is currently the world’s third largest Inmarsat Distribution Partner as well as a global Iridium Service Provider. From its corporate headquarters in the United States, and regional offices in Cyprus, Russia, and the Netherlands, MVS Group employees work closely with their customers to help them achieve their business objectives by leveraging satellite communications services.

“Broadband connectivity offshore is becoming an important requirement in the commercial maritime industry,” explains Deborah Deffaa, executive director of the MVS Group. “Our customers are asking for faster, more affordable satellite

communications service to support their new applications, which are designed to save fuel, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance efficiency, and improve crew morale. KVH has developed a remarkable new maritime broadband network that takes advantage of advanced, spread spectrum technology to dramatically reduce the size and cost of the antennas needed to receive the service onboard the vessels, making it easier than ever before to deploy affordable broadband service at sea.”

With more than 2,000 onboard terminals sold, KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband service is the most widely used maritime VSAT solution. The network uses ArcLight spread spectrum technology, which was developed by KVH’s technology partner, ViaSat, Inc., (Nasdaq: VSAT) specifically for mobile use. ArcLight is unique due to its fast speed, low latency, efficient reuse of satellite

channels, and ability to support very small antennas that provide reliable service, even in poor weather conditions.

KVH manufactures three onboard antennas for the mini-VSAT Broadband network—the award-winning 24” diameter TracPhone V7, the compact 14.5” diameter TracPhone V3, which is the world’s smallest and most affordable maritime VSAT antenna, and soon, the new dual-mode TracPhone V11, which will provide coverage of 95 percent of the Earth as a result of its ability to receive both C- and Ku-band satellite signals from KVH’s global network. The mini-VSAT Broadband service equips vessels with the highest data rates available today with downloads as fast as 4 Mbps and uploads as fast as 1 Mbps, as well as Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone lines with optimized service and prioritization of applications.

Learn more about the TracPhone V series here...

http://www.kvh.com/minivsat


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101st Airborne Adds Realism To Army Network Test While thousands of soldiers maneuver across the New Mexico desert to assess the Army’s future tactical communications network, a smaller group more than a thousand miles away is playing a quieter but essential role in the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 12.2.

For the first time, Army planners have incorporated the role of higher headquarters into the Network Integration Evaluation, with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) acting as the higher headquarters for the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Just as it would in combat operations, the division is commanding and coordinating across subordinate elements, which includes 2/1 AD at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the 1st Sustainment Brigade at Fort Riley, Kansas, and a “simulation brigade” that is notionally fighting alongside 2/1 AD to provide added realism and network traffic.

Under the rigorous operational scenario designed for NIE 12.2, the 101st has been assigned to help support and stabilize the Army and government of the fictional country of Attica, which is fighting off an incursion by the army of a neighboring country and an insurgency. The 101st has sent 2/1 AD and the simulation brigade into the thick of battle, where they are using new network technologies to communicate across echelons and while on the move.

“It puts the brigade combat team in a more realistic environment where they’re talking directly to a division headquarters, they’re sharing information with that division headquarters, and they get different insights that only a division headquarters can provide,” said Brig. Gen. Randal Dragon, commander of the Brigade Modernization Command, part of the Triad of organizations that execute the NIEs. “Any time you

can train and evaluate in a multi-echelon approach, you start to see things that you simply didn’t see before.”

NIE 12.2 is the third in a series of semi-annual field exercises designed to further integrate and rapidly mature the tactical network, the Army’s top modernization priority. It is the first NIE to involve a higher headquarters and extend its test footprint beyond White Sands and Fort Bliss, Texas.

The involvement of the 101st Airborne allows the Army to evaluate network capability the way it would be used in theater—across distances and echelons. It will also help the Army establish the techniques and procedures for how these new capabilities will enhance battlefield communications at echelons from division down to the tactical edge.

“We want to properly test this system before we deliver it to our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. James McConville, commanding general of the 101st Airborne. “Our

responsibility is to make sure we properly equip and train our soldiers, and in order to do that we need to make sure this system can support our information requirements.”

NIE 12.2 also includes the formal operational test for the Army’s on-the-move communications backbone, known as Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 2, which enhances network connectivity by introducing on-the-move satellite communications down to the company level. Data and soldier feedback from the 101st Airborne will factor into the test results for WIN-T Increment 2.

“The 101st is here to give a fair test to this system to make sure that it works moving forward for the Division and the rest of the Army,” said Maj. Erik Koenig, deputy communications officer for the 101st Airborne. “We know where we need to be and what threads need to be done—it’s just actually now executing that, showing

Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, participate in the Army’s Network Integration

Evaluation, or NIE 12.2 exercise, May 9. This exercise is the largest network exercise the Army has ever attempted and will

run from May 1 to June 8 at Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (Photo by Sgt. Scott Davis, 101st Airborne Division

Public Affairs)

Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Ford, Intelligence and Sustainment Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division conducts a battle drill during the Army’s

Network Integration, or NIE 12.2 exercise, May 9. Ford, a native of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, is an All Source Intelligence Technician and uses multiple platforms of communication making him an

ideal participant in the Army’s largest network exercise to date. (Photo by Sgt. Scott Davis, 101st Airborne Division Public Affairs)


Dispatches

the data pushing and pulling and making sure we do an operational stress test.”

In practical terms, that means division personnel will be able to constantly follow the activities and movements of 2/1 AD via several mission command systems connected to the network. They will also communicate directly via voice and data with 2/1 AD commander Col. Dan Pinnell both from his tactical operations center and as he navigates across the battlefield in a vehicle equipped with WIN-T Increment 2.

“Static and moving, I should be able to talk to them out of my command post and [from] my vehicle,” Pinnell said. “At a minimum they’ll be tracking what we’re doing, at maximum there will be coordination with them like we would have to do in a real fight.”

At Fort Campbell, there are three locations where the IOT&E will be conducted: the Tactical Command

Post, the Joint Operations Center and the Network Operations Service Center. “Staffing those locations and training personnel on WIN-T equipment has provided useful experience for the division as it prepares for other exercises and eventual deployment,”

said Lt. Col. Jason M. Jones, chief of exercises for the 101st Airborne.

“This really does give us a good chance to prepare, and technically it gives us a chance to see what’s coming up in the future,” Jones said.

“It gives our leaders and our soldiers a chance to see what the Army is planning to do, what capabilities are out there and what’s the next generation of this system.”

The physical distance between the NIE location at White Sands and Fort Campbell also contributes “friction” that adds to the realism of the test scenario, Jones said.

“It’s always been a challenge for the testing community—how do you put the system to work in a true field type test and conditions?” he said. “I wouldn’t promise that what we’ve got here is 100 percent, but it’s pretty close. We can verify that the equipment does what it’s supposed to do, and validate that OK, does it meet the users’ intent?”

Story by Claire Schwerin, U.S. Army

Staff Sgt. Nathan Wilkinson, Operations Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, conducts a battle drill during the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation, or NIE 12.2 exercise, May 9. As a fire support sergeant, Wilkinson uses multiple platforms of communication and plays a vital role

in the Army’s largest network training exercise to date. (Photo by Sgt. Scott Davis, 101st Airborne Division Public Affairs)

Demo’ing A New PrototypeBoeing’s Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system (UAS) completed its first autonomous flight June 1 at NASA’s Dryden Flight

Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The 28-minute flight began at 6:22 a.m. Pacific time as the liquid-hydrogen powered

aircraft lifted off its launch cart. Phantom Eye climbed to an altitude of 4,080 feet and reached a cruising speed of 62 knots. After touching down, the vehicle sustained some damage when the landing gear dug into the lakebed and broke.

Phantom Eye is the latest in a series of Boeing-funded rapid prototyping programs, which include Phantom Ray, Echo Ranger, ScanEagle Compressed Carriage, and an associated Common Open Mission Management Command and Control (COMC2) system capable of managing all of the company’s unmanned assets. The flight occurred following a series of taxi tests in April that validated ground guidance, navigation and control, mission planning, pilot interface and operational procedures.

Phantom Eye’s innovative and environmentally responsible liquid-hydrogen propulsion system will allow the aircraft to stay on station for up to four days while providing persistent monitoring over large areas at a ceiling of up to 65,000 feet, creating only water as a by-product. The demonstrator, with its 150-foot wingspan, is capable of carrying a 450-pound payload.

The company’s portfolio of UAS solutions includes the A160T Hummingbird, H-6U Unmanned Little Bird, S-100 Camcopter, Integrator, ScanEagle (which is currently in service in Canada, Australia, Poland, the Netherlands and Malaysia), Dominator, Phantom Eye and Phantom Ray.Boeing’s Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system (UAS), photo

courtesy of Boeing.

11MilsatMagazine — June 2012

‘Heavy Metal’ Brigade’s SecArmy VisitationThe 21st secretary of the Army, John McHugh, spoke to soldiers of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, during a walkthrough of the 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment’s, tactical assembly area at Fort Bliss, Texas, May 9, 2012.

The 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, under the guidance of the brigade modernization command is currently undergoing the third in a series of soldier-led, capabilities assessments and integration called the network integration evaluation,

during which they will provide feedback on network and non-network capabilities in order to determine their implications across the Army.

“It’s pretty cool when someone from much higher up in the chain comes out to see the soldiers,” said Sgt. William Wilson, one of the soldiers with 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, who spoke with Secretary McHugh. “It shows that they care about the soldiers.”

Wilson, a native of Pasadena, Maryland, and the gunner of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicle, gave McHugh a brief description of the new network systems on the vehicle and their purposes during the evaluation.

“When somebody important makes time from their busy schedule to come visit us like this, it means we have an opinion,” said Staff Sgt.

Darryl Eid, a section sergeant in Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, who viewed the secretary of the Army’s visit as a very positive thing. “It means they care what we think.”

What the soldiers think about the network and equipment is one of the largest driving-forces behind the NIE, and is a large factor that determines whether or not equipment is purchased and fielded.

“We’ve helped the Army make some very hard decisions on cancellation of programs, radio systems and others, by providing the kind of feedback they needed from soldiers about what really happened when we evaluated it,” said Col. Daniel Pinnell, commander, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.

The NIE 12.2, which began in late April, focuses

Secretary John McHugh, the 21st secretary of the Army, greets Lt. Col. Matthew Fath, commander for 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, as he arrives to a Network Integration

Evaluation 12.2 site, Fort Bliss, Texas, May 9. Secretary McHugh toured the NIE, a soldier-led evaluation process that tests

network and non-network equipment in a robust operational environment. “This is one of the most important things,

strategically, that this Army has taken up in recent years,” he said about NIE. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Edward A. Garibay,

16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

Secretary John McHugh, the 21st secretary of the Army, sits in an up-armored vehicle, while listening to a 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat

Team, 1st Armored Division, soldier about new equipment being tested during Network Integration Evaluation 12.2 on Fort Bliss, Texas, May 9. Secretary McHugh toured the NIE, a soldier-led

evaluation process that tests network and non-network equipment in a robust operational environment. At the end of the day, NIE makes sure the Army is fielding equipment that doesn’t just look good, but works on the battlefield, he said. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Edward

A. Garibay, 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


Dispatches

on solidifying the current network baseline while adding the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical—Increment 2, the Army’s “on- the-move” satellite-based network connectivity set in a realistic, operational environment as opposed to a controlled test in a laboratory.

“This is one of the most important things, strategically, that this Army has taken up in recent years,” said McHugh. “At the end of the day, what they do here that makes it particularly unique is that they put the equipment in the hands of soldiers, lets them work with it, then takes their feedback and tries to make sure we’re not just fielding something that looks good, but also operationally works well.

Story by Sgt. Sean Harriman

Secretary John McHugh, the 21st secretary of the Army,

climbs onto an Abrams Tank, while visiting 2nd Heavy

Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, during

Network Integration Evaluation 12.2 on Fort Bliss, Texas, May 9. Secretary McHugh

toured the NIE, a soldier-led evaluation process that tests

network and non-network equipment in a robust

operational environment. The NIE effort also allows our

acquisition processes to be as agile and efficient as possible, he said. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Edward A. Garibay, 16th Mobile

Public Affairs Detachment)

A First Ever...Naval Research Laboratory scientists have obtained a first-ever measured altitude profile of a dim extreme-ultraviolet terrestrial airglow emission that provides vital information needed to test and improve the accuracy of advanced techniques for remote sensing of the daytime ionosphere.

They have obtained this altitude profile using scans from the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) experiment. The results of the research are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, 117, A01316, (2012).

RAIDS temperature measurements have already directly contributed to the Calibration/Validation of the operational (NRL-led) Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager

(SSULI) sensors aboard the DoD Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites. This new result from RAIDS will lead to improved operational algorithms for characterizing the vertical structure and global morphology of the ionosphere, the weakly ionized plasma surrounding Earth that affects Navy applications such as high-frequency communication and over-the-horizon radar.

The RAIDS experiment, jointly built by NRL and The Aerospace Corporation, is a suite of eight optical sensors spanning ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths. Under the direction of the DoD Space Test Program, RAIDS and the companion NRL Hyperspectral Imager for Coastal Oceans (HICO) experiment were integrated and flown as the HICO-RAIDS

Experiment Payload (HREP) on the International Space Station Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF). RAIDS exceeded its mission goals by collecting more than 1 million scans of the terrestrial airglow between September 2009 and December 2010, and has continued to collect downward-looking spectra since early 2011. RAIDS is the latest in a significant line of NRL Space Science Division (SSD) sensors designed to advance methods and algorithms for remote sensing of the near-Earth space environment.

One high-priority science focus of RAIDS was the development of new ionospheric remote sensing techniques that use extreme-ultraviolet airglow features of O+ at 61.7 and 83.4 nm wavelengths. These naturally-occurring airglow

This image shows a schematic representation of the dayside ionosphere remote sensing concept, using measurement of the scattered 83.4 nm emission to infer ionospheric densities.

Measuring the 61.7 nm emission provides direct information on the intensity of the source region in the lower thermosphere that is currently only modeled for operational algorithms.

(Image: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)


emissions are particularly useful for this purpose in that strong absorption of these wavelengths in the lower atmosphere means that all the observed light comes from the upper atmosphere. The emissions are created initially when the Sun ionizes atomic oxygen in the region of 150-200 km, but the resulting 83.4 nm photons are scattered by O+ in the ionospheric region between 200-500 km. Ionospheric densities are inferred by modeling how this scattering process changes the measured 83.4 nm intensity. In effect, the ionosphere is like a thin fog whose characteristics are revealed via illumination by the 83.4 nm airglow from below. The 61.7 nm feature, which is

not affected by scattering, provides the missing link to directly connect the intensity of the illuminating source in the lower atmosphere to the measured 83.4 nm profile, allowing the O+ density to be pinpointed.

NRL Space Science Division (SSD) researchers Dr. Andrew Stephan and Dr. Scott Budzien, along with retired SSD researcher Dr. J. Michael Picone (now at George Mason University) and colleagues at The Aerospace Corporation, analyzed RAIDS data for 29 Oct 2009 to provide the first independent test of the model that is currently used as part of this daytime ionospheric remote sensing method. The data show good agreement with the model, although subtle

differences suggest changes on the order of 15 percent to the densities of specific

neutral species are needed on this day to bring the two into agreement. These small

This graph, a 61.7 nm profile measured by RAIDS, is compared to the current model. Allowing for variations in absorption (√è∆í) by O2 indicates that neutral composition used in the model may be in error by ~15%. Thus, the accuracy of algorithms used to infer ionospheric density can be improved by using the 61.7 nm

emission directly. (Image: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)


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differences confirm the notion that uncertainty in the density of the neutral atmosphere remains an important

limitation to high-accuracy ionospheric specification.

Results from this study will be used to refine this

ionospheric remote sensing technique and remove these limitations to meet the growing

need for understanding this important region of space.

Link Sim Makes It To Market Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS) has announced that its RT Logic subsidiary has launched its newest, most powerful and widest bandwidth RF Channel Simulator.

Now shipping, the 250 MHz T400CS Wideband Channel Simulator precisely replicates the real-time RF conditions that can be expected in wideband SATCOM, aircraft, missile, and UAV missions. Its use in testing and training applications can prevent expensive and dangerous mission communication failures.

The T400CS is a hardware-in-the-loop instrument that can be quickly inserted between modems, receivers and transmitters, or other communications devices. It recreates the exact, real world, complex RF signal conditions that will exist between these communications devices when they will be in motion or separated by distance.

The T400CS can simulate unintentional interference or deliberate jamming that can be expected on live mission flights. Because it can simulate a wide range of nominal and worst-case RF signal scenarios, the T400CS can dramatically cut costs and reduce risk

by enabling ground-based hardware-in-the-loop testing prior to operational missions and live fire testing.

The T400CS enables thorough test coverage for demanding wideband commercial, government, and military uses that require high-capacity throughputs, such as broadband IP and broadcast quality video.

This offering is the latest addition to RT Logic’s established family of Channel Simulators and is already being used in the field by customers including O3b Networks, whose fleet of commercial satellites is designed to provide voice and Internet coverage to the three billion people throughout emerging markets in Africa, South America, and Asia.

Given the complex architecture of its next generation network with a large number of satellites, their rate of movement, the required handoff between satellites and ground stations, and high

data rates, O3b Networks was able to test and ensure the continuous operation of ground stations under all conditions, prior to live flight.

“O3b has validated throughput and seamless handover for its MEO satellite services using an advanced Channel Simulation capability from RT Logic,” said Gary Mattie, Chief Ground System Engineer for O3b Networks. The RT Logic 250MHz Wideband Channel Simulator, including phase coherent Doppler Shift, variable propagation delay, and dynamic amplitude profiles, has been invaluable to O3b’s performance verification test campaign. RT Logic makes the widest bandwidth, most realistic channel simulation products available, and their engineering team has been very responsive to our needs.”

The T400CS is a general purpose RF/IF test and measurement instrument for communications systems and

component-level testing and verification, both in the laboratory and in the field. Image courtesy of agi

Showing Off SOTMITT Exelis is introducing GNOMAD, a mobile, on-the-move satellite communications (SATCOM) system that provides over the horizon, satellite communications for data and voice while on the move using a low profile broadband antenna and baseband solution which is modem and radio agnostic.

The system was recently evaluated by the U.S. Army at the Network Integration Exercise (NIE) 12.1 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The NIE is a series of semiannual evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army’s tactical network so that it can provide soldiers, civilians and mission partners with the information they need in any environment.

The system provides Global Ku-band SATCOM on-the-move (SOTM), supplying a mobile network for an array of military and government agency vehicles. The system employs encryption devices currently in use by military and commercial users, supporting secure networks (SIPRNET, NIPRNET) as well as commercial internet, and client/server applications such as C2PC/Blue-Force Tracker, medical records and biometrics. The GNOMAD enables modern soldier radios to connect to IP networks, providing beyond-line-of-sight communications to radios such as AN/VRC-92, -104, and -110 as well as transferring Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services where supported.


Iron Thunder RoarsNetwork Integration Exercise 12.2 is currently being conducted on White Sands Missile Range and 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

The 1st Armored Division is one of the units assigned with evaluating the next level of the Army’s tactical network.

NIE assesses the tactical network’s potential in an environment designed to determine whether it will perform as needed and is interoperable with the Army’s existing systems. For field artillery soldiers, this bring the ability to communicate on the move beyond line-of-sight.

According to Capt. Shawn Williams, battle captain for 4-27 FA, the WIN-T network will allow better coordination between the tactical operations center and the line batteries when the call for fire missions comes in to his station.

The older system would require one of the line units to stay back to help relay information from the TOC to the batteries that would be firing, thus limiting the distance that the line batteries could move forward. The WIN-T network gives the field artillery soldier a greater, almost unlimited range.

“What this means is that we will be able to decentralize our guns away from our fire assistance centers at an unlimited distance and across a greater spectrum of mission capabilities,” said Williams, “The WIN-T network will extend our digital capabilities far past line of sight.”

Once in the field, the new systems’ capabilities come under more intense evaluation and assessment. Integrated into vehicles, the system works through a series of small satellite dishes and radios to communicate. This gives the field artillery unit’s

the other half of the networks proposed advantages, on-the-move fires capability.

Maj. Victor Scharstein, operations officer for 4-27 FA, stated that the system allows him to talk over an Internet connection, in a way similar to a voice-over-internet-protocol phone would operate.

“I have this whether I am stationary or on the move, which helps keep our fires synchronized across the brigade,” said Scharstein.

This capability allowed Scharstein to conduct a fire mission rehearsal at a distance of over a 35-kilometer radius, linking 2nd Brigade


Dispatches

Combat Team, 1st Armored division’s fire control team with his battalion’s fire team and himself.

Movement and control continues downward to the line units, eventually ending up in the hands of the line battery leaders and soldiers. Battery commanders receive fire mission, movement orders

and other tactical information through the network, giving them the ability to support other mission elements from a far greater distance.

“The WIN-T allows us to get firing data from units that don’t have line of sight to us, somewhere they wouldn’t normally be able to get support from us

before, now they can get that support, that indirect fire they need,” said Capt. Joshua Grubbs, commanding officer of Alpha Battery, 4-27 FA.

Grubbs battery provided fire support for other units in the brigade using information passed through the new digital network, giving smoke cover for the continuation of the brigade’s attack.

Select soldiers in the brigade were given a two-week training block to get them up to speed with the new system. System operations, limited troubleshooting techniques and system capabilities were some of the areas covered.

“The system gives us different, additional methods beyond our traditional radios to call for fires,” said Spc. Matthew Snyder, a fire control specialist with Alpha Battery, “Anybody can call us through the phone and request fire support.”

Snyder said that the system does have value down-range by giving additional ways for units to communicate on the battlefield beyond those already in place.

“It gives us a back-up to the more traditional communication systems,” said Snyder.

An integrated tactical network is beneficial to the Army as a whole. Being able to shoot, move and communicate is essential to our modern fighting force. With the WIN-T network’s newest increment in place, improvements in tactical communication can be heard all over the battlefield. This includes those seen and heard by 4-27’s ‘Iron Thunder’ soldiers.

Story by Sgt. Robert Larson,

24th Press Camp Headquarters

A Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle assigned to Headquarters, the Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment uses the limited foliage of McGregor

Range, Fort Bliss Texas during the Network Integration Evaluation 12.2, May 10, 2012. NIE 12.2 is the third in a series

of evaluations focused on solidifying the network with the addition of on-the-move satellite-based network connectivity.

(Army photo by Sgt. Robert Larson)

An M109A6 Paladin Self Propelled Howitzer of Alpha Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment uses the terrain

of McGregor Range to hide from “enemy forces” during Network Integration Evaluation 12.2 at Fort Bliss, Texas, May

12, 2012. NIE 12.2 is a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army’s tactical network.

(Photo by Sgt. Robert Larson)

Trend BUC’ing Through ST Electronics’ renowned Agilis brand, the company has launched a new line of compact 80W, 100W, 150W, 200W and 250W Ku- Band Block Up Converters (BUC) .

Raising the innovation bar, ST Electronics (SATCOM & Sensor Systems) has designed and developed the Agilis ALB 229 Series of Compact Ku-Band High Power BUC to offer reliability, choice and innovation.

The dimensions of the 80W/100W models (360L x 200W x 140H mm) make it the smallest of their kind in the market today. The new generation of Ku-BUCs offers the widest flexibility of Monitoring and Control (M&C) software interfaces as RS232/RS485/RS422, Ethernet (SNMP & HTTP) and WiFi connectivity are built-in.

All high power Ku-BUCs are incorporated with highly intuitive M&C software with a data logging feature which enables performance reports to be generated for analysis.

The M&C software runs on PCs, iPhone and tablets, offering greater mobility and accessibility to organizations with installations anywhere in the world.


A Seamless Switch It’s a good thing... new redundancy technology seamless switching of virtually any active radio frequency component on the company’s fixed and transportable Earth station antennas.

ASC Signal has released new redundancy technology and product options designed to provide simplified, seamless switching of virtually any active radio frequency component on the company’s fixed and transportable Earth station antennas. Additionally, these new capabilities support virtually any antenna system, regardless of manufacturer, when used in conjunction with ASC’s antenna controller products.

As user requirements for increasingly complex Earth station transmission systems expand, ASC Signal has focused on designing less-complicated and more robust and beneficial features for its Next Generation Controller (NGC). ASC’s new technology incorporates complex redundancy switching with 1:1 and 1:2 capabilities within the active RF chain in a simplified, integrated and easy-to-deploy architecture. This provides a smoothly interfaced, highly integrated and cost-effective package that gives users expanded access, control and monitoring

of their RF equipment operation, along with enhanced remote accessibility.

ASC’s design philosophy ensures that the NGC provides a growing number of features within a unified control architecture. This gives NGC users the unique capability of adding features and options—such as this new redundancy technology—that simplify design requirements, provide enhanced control and functional capabilities, and reduce system complexity, all while lowering hardware and implementation outlays.

“The advanced technology of our latest NGC option quickly and easily provides redundancy packages for LNAs, LNBs, BUCs, BDCs and other active electronics, and builds upon our already feature-rich Next Generation Controller,” said Keith Buckley, President and CEO of ASC Signal. “The ASC team understands that customers need cutting-edge antenna technology that is cost-effective, flexible and adaptable to their changing requirements.

“Today’s government and commercial users are keenly focused on budgetary and cost issues; they will benefit the most from these expanded and simplified technological capabilities that support reliable, critical communications around the world.”


Dispatches

NexGen Of Birds Are Backbone For Multi-MissionsHarris Corporation

has introduced the next generation of the combat-proven Falcon III® RF-7800W High-Capacity Line-of-Sight radio. The new RF-7800W-OU500 provides the backbone for delivering command and control and situational awareness information between headquarters and the lowest echelons of the battlefield—allowing warfighters to use mission-critical applications such as real-time video, biometrics, IP telephony and teleconferencing.

The new RF-7800W serves as the backbone of the Harris tactical Internet by creating wide-area battlefield networks that connect brigade and battalion headquarters to forward-deployed units at company level and below. The radio offers several significant technical advances, such as dual-band capability that extends the operational frequency range to 5.8 GHz and increased data throughput to more than 400 Megabits per second.

“The Falcon III RF-7800W radio provides commanders and front-line personnel

alike with a robust common operational picture based on improved intelligence and communications connectivity,’’ said Brendan O’Connell, president, International Business, Harris RF Communications. “This radio, acting as the IP backbone, expands networking services on the battlefield that broaden the use of applications such as video and situational awareness through tactical edge devices.”

The Harris RF-7800W system has been deployed by more than 20 countries worldwide, including the U.S. Department of Defense. It is in use by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps and has been an integral part of the U.S. Army Network Integration Evaluation exercises.

Built on the success of the existing system, the new RF-7800W dramatically extends ranges for wireless IP connectivity and leverages multiple input/multiple output antenna technology to establish and maintain robust data links. Operating over the 4.4–5.875 GHz frequency band, the RF-7800W is extremely versatile for use in all deployments. The

dual-band operation, in addition to a market leading size, weight and power profile, is unmatched in the high capacity line-of-sight market, resulting in a radio system that is multi-mission capable in a single platform.The Company has also debuted their Falcon III® RF-7800H wideband manpack.

The RF-7800H dramatically improves HF tactical communications by transmitting video clips, images, maps and other large data files from beyond-line-of-sight environments for the first time. The new RF-7800H from Harris offers data rates that are 10 times greater than current HF manpacks.

This is significant because HF radios play a unique role in the success of military missions by providing assured long-distance tactical communications to warfighters operating in mountainous or urban terrain.

Current HF radios only provide enough bandwidth for voice and limited data communication such as text messaging. The new RF-7800H is also 20 percent smaller and lighter than previous HF manpacks and operates on a single battery and features a Software Communications Architecture-based operating environment that allows for easy upgrades to deliver new features and address emerging requirements.

The RF-7800H offers the first highly reliable alternative to satellite communications for beyond line-of-sight data communications.

The wider bandwidth waveform in the RF-7800H provides more robust communications than traditional narrowband tactical communications environments.

Weighing just under 4kg, the RF-7800H provides continuous coverage in the 1.5 to 60MHz frequency band. It is fully backwards compatible with the Harris Falcon II HF product line and accessories. The RF-7800H has an internal GPS and offers both Citadel and AES encryption.Harris has also introduced a powerful new handheld radio that connects dismounted warfighters to emerging wideband tactical networks.

Lightweight and portable, the Falcon III® RF-7800M-HH provides unprecedented access to information by allowing warfighters to communicate by voice, video and data anywhere on the battlefield. The 7800M wideband handheld supports network-enabled missions through applications such as video, collaborative chat and situational awareness. It uses the field-proven Harris Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2), which is used in more than 20,000 radios.

“The newest Falcon III® radio delivers the power of a wideband tactical internet down to the dismounted soldier,’’ said Brendan O’Connell, president, international business, Harris RF Communications.

“Leveraging the success of the Falcon III® family, this radio extends end-to-end tactical connectivity and delivers instantaneous access to command-and-control capabilities to the edge of the network. Our complete


family of wideband networking tactical communication products and systems address the networking needs of the entire force, from operations center to the squad level.’’

The RF-7800M-HH handheld is fully interoperable with the RF-7800M-MP wideband manpack radio, which has been providing a vehicular-based wideband solution to international militaries in more than 30 countries since 2007.

The RF-7800M manpack provides a wideband backbone architecture that can now be seamlessly extended to the soldier level with the RF-7800M-HH to deliver secure voice and high-speed networked data services, including the use of common applications, across all levels of the battlefield. The new Falcon III handheld operates at up to 5 watts of output power over an extended frequency range of 30 MHz to 512 MHz and runs both narrowband and wideband waveforms.

Harris has delivered more than 100,000 Falcon II high-frequency manpack radios, providing significant leadership in development of state-of-the-art in HF.

Harris innovations include introducing the first and only Type-1 HF manpack, MELP digital voice, embedded Internet Protocol and third-generation Automatic Link Establishment.

The Company played a lead role in designing and developing wideband HF technology for the U.S. government, which is now standardized in US MIL-STD-188-110C. The RF-7800H embedded wideband modem is designed in accordance with this standard.

Makin’ It WorkThe Marines of the Communications Electronic Maintenance platoon from Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 open and maintain the lines of communication for fellow Marines both aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, and overseas.

Each Marine is tasked with ensuring all communications gear is fully operational, from the installation of new gear to the diagnosis and repair of older.

The Marines complete a 13 month-long school located aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. All Marines attend training to become a basic electrician attend the Marine Corps Electronics School and then continue to follow-on schools for training in a specific military occupational specialty.

Aboard MCAS Miramar, California, there are three primary sub-shops and one administrative section within the CEM platoon. These sections are the ground radio repair section, the AN/TRC-170 radio and lightweight multi-band satellite terminal repair and the telephone and computer repair section.

This group of technicians consists of nearly 100 Marines and is a one-stop maintenance shop dedicated to supporting the Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 mission of providing expeditionary communications for the aviation combat element of I Marine Expeditionary Force.

“We support the commanding officer by ensuring the gear remains in a serviceable status, or returning it to a serviceable status if it’s not,” said Staff Sgt. Kyle Schimer, an electronics maintenance technician and a Fairoaks, California, native.

The unit must ensure readiness remains high on all pieces of equipment and the Marines of CEM spend each day ensuring that this is accomplished through preventative and corrective maintenance.

Marines do not leave work stations until every piece of gear is repaired and accounted for. These Marines are always on the go; whether or not a training event is going on, combat readiness is the goal at all times, explained Schimer.

“We train everyday as if it’s for combat,” said Schirmer. “Back here [aboard the air station], we train to be more proficient, so that in combat we are more efficient.”

Communication is a vital asset in the Marine Corps, and the Marines of CEM ensure the equipment needed is ready and able. There are multiple moving parts to CEM and all play a critical role in ensuring the overall mission is accomplished.

Story by Sgt. Lauren Henson

Lance Cpl. Christopher Gustafson, left a Minneapolis native, and Lance Cpl. Ruben Daughtry, a Modesto, California, native, both AN/TRC-170 radio technicians, tighten bolts on a lightweight mulit-band satellite terminal aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, May 9. The Marines continuously train on communication skills in order to increase overall proficiency in

the ground electronic maintenance field.


INTEL

By Jose Del Rosario, Senior Analyst—Manila, NSR

Carving A Niche Within the NGO/Aid Markets

The shifting global military agenda and challenging fiscal picture have signaled decreased procurement from many countries for peacekeeping purposes. However, agencies in the humanitarian assistance sector (the NGO community as well as vendors serving these customers) are seeing increased demand for commercial SATCOM services. Additionally, in recent years, the impetus to support operational requirements as well as fund poverty alleviation programs, over the long term, could lead to increased spending.

Humanitarian aid and NGO work is largely tied to disaster assistance where thousands of links are installed within days or weeks by agencies such as Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) to restore critical communications capabilities. Once terrestrial networks are restored, SATCOMS are usually removed and replaced by terrestrial wireless and wireline solutions.

What is little known in the industry is the growing number of permanent, or long-term, SATCOM networks used by the AID community for operational requirements as well as poverty alleviation projects. Humanitarian aid is by no means a large component of SATCOM demand

and will likely remain a niche within the government/military market, but opportunities do exist.

NSR estimates there are currently close to 14,000 global in-service units supporting long-term use by the AID/NGO community with a mix of platforms that include VSATs, COTP, COTM and handheld satellite terminals.

In the overall gov/mil sector, humanitarian aid SATCOM units represent about 2.3 percent of the entire market. Based on historical and current trends, by 2020, the number could increase to about 25,000 units for a lackluster CAGR level of about 7 percent.

The market is certainly small and growing at single-digit levels, and many large players have bypassed this market in favor of larger, more lucrative civil opportunities such as digital divide initiatives. However, there is tremendous pent-up demand as many (if not most) AID agencies and NGOs operate in far-flung and remote locations.

Why are there such low take-up rates? Cost is the single-most important consideration for the AID/NGO community. Take World Vision, which has about 600 VSAT sites installed.

Image courtesy of Hughes


A large part (or approximately 500 sites) are on its “internal network,” meaning the NGO procured ground equipment and bandwidth, then manages the network itself instead of outsourcing to a third party. The remaining 100 sites are outsourced, but this is from the original sites installed that were contracted to a service provider. Once contracts for the 100 expire, these will likely move to terrestrial service providers or move to the “internal network.” Other NGOs have followed similar implementations for cost considerations.

How would a service provider address the pent-up demand and cost elements of the AID/NGO community? Requirements are tied to budgets such that application requirements are largely for basic corporate communications services, including voice, email and Internet access. This means that ARPU levels have to be maintained to retain long term telecom costs. However, the business case for maintaining steady ARPU levels in a small market niche may not be too enticing for

vendors that will likely push higher-end or premium services in order to raise ARPU levels, which lead to revenue growth.

Herein lies the basic dilemma of the AID/NGO market where tight budgets mean lower ARPU levels while vendors push for premium services such as videoconferencing and video streaming to raise ARPU rates. In a way, vendors and clients are not in sync, which has largely led to an under-tapped market potential.

Bottom LineThe realization of opportunities in the AID/NGO sector can only be accomplished with a game-changing solution that both addresses the tight budget aspect of AID agencies and NGOs, while pushing premium services to these clients. Lower cost per bit via an HTS platform, for instance, can address the cost requirement while at the same time provisioning premium services that do raise ARPU levels, but only at incremental levels. Equipment costs have to be part

of the equation as well where CAPEX and OPEX fit within the client’s budget.

Current solutions are likely to lead to steady growth, while a game-changing solution can lead to higher penetration. Sustained cost structures with minimal increases in ARPU via the addition of premium services should lead to volume sales and enlargement of networks. This, in NSR’s view, is the only way increases in spending and outsourcing to third parties can be justified by the AID/NGO community, and thus increase the revenue and market potential.

About the authorMr. Del Rosario is a senior member of the consulting team where he focuses his research on quantitative modeling, data verification, and market forecasting for the commercial and government satellite communications sectors. He conducts ongoing research with specialization in policy analysis, economic indicators, regulatory initiatives and end-user demand trends.


The Evolution Continues... Executive Summary Of The Space Report

By Space Foundation’s editors and writers

Out of more than 12,000 regions of the sky, this part of the Milky Way was voted the Favorite Nebula for 2011. The nebula, from the constellation of Scutum, was picked by the pool of 35,000 citizen scientist volunteers that study images from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The nebula can only be seen by an infrared telescope like Spitzer because it is hidden behind dust clouds.Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Wisconsin

Each passing year brings advances in space systems and technologies, as well as new applications and services that rely on them. There is a natural evolution of capabilities as governments and companies push the boundaries of what is possible, seeking ways to improve the lives of their citizens or customers. A number of events in 2011 marked a period of transition during this long-term process of capacity-building, as some major programs ended while others started or expanded, often leveraging the knowledge and physical assets left behind by their predecessors.

In the United States, the Space Shuttle Program drew to a close, resulting in the loss of national human space launch capabilities. Parts of the program will live on as some shuttle technology is adapted for NASA’s next-generation Space Launch System, as existing infrastructure is modified to support future commercial and government launch vehicles. New ideas continue to flourish, ensuring that the utilization and exploration of space will continue to lead to scientific discoveries and improvements in life on Earth. Rising stars in the field of human spaceflight include nations such as China, which launched its first orbital laboratory module in 2011 and conducted an automated rendezvous with the laboratory using an uncrewed spacecraft.

Out of more than 12,000 regions of the sky, this part of the Milky Way was voted the Favorite Nebula for 2011. The nebula, from the constellation of Scutum, was picked by the pool of 35,000 citizen scientist volunteers that study images from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The nebula can only be seen by an infrared telescope like Spitzer because it is hidden behind dust clouds.Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Wisconsin

Focus


Government spending, of which human spaceflight budgets constitute a minority, is just one element of space activity. Taking the commercial space industry into account along with government programs, the global space economy increased by more than $31 billion in 2011. Despite this very healthy growth, governments and companies anticipate pressure on spending in the near term due to conditions in the broader economy. To counteract this effect, spacefaring nations and the private sector increased efforts to cooperate and pool resources. Long a feature of scientific efforts to study and understand the space environment, collaboration among organizations active in space appears to be on the rise in non-scientific space endeavors as well. Although there will always be limits on the extent to which governments can share information and companies can discuss business practices, partnerships in space situational awareness and hosted payloads demonstrate the commitment of many space participants to maximize the returns on their investments by working together.

In several major spacefaring countries, a significant portion of the space workforce is approaching retirement. This has caused concern that valuable skills, acquired over the course of decades of experience, may be lost as older employees leave the workforce. Recruitment and training will be essential to ensuring continuity of skills and operational capabilities. Each year, more than 1.5 million people worldwide receive bachelor’s-equivalent degrees in space-relevant disciplines. This base of newly minted science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates provides the labor pool to support future space activities that will generate benefits we can only imagine at present.

1.0 Space Products and ServicesWe rely on space products and services in countless ways every day. They quite literally help us find our way in the world, connect with each other, and learn about our environment. Space technology also generates spinoff products that have a space heritage but no longer require space systems in order to be useful. Although they may not be the primary motivator for engaging in space activity, these spinoffs have had a profound impact on society. In 2011, NASA reported the results of an effort to quantify some of the benefits of space spinoffs. Approximately 100 companies using spinoff technologies responded to NASA’s


survey, collectively reporting that more than 12,000 lives have been saved, more than 9,200 jobs have been created, and more than $6.2 billion in cost savings have been achieved. Taking into

account the vast number of spinoffs that have emerged from space programs around the world, the ultimate impact of spinoffs is considerably higher than that reported by survey participants.

Focus

Space Shuttle Atlantis, now retired along with the rest of the shuttle fleet, is towed to a temporary storage area in the Vehicle As-sembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once it is prepared for public display, Atlantis will be relocated to the nearby Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.Photo credit: NASA


Each year, the Space Foundation recognizes the role of space products and services through its Space Technology Hall of Fame and its Space Certification Program. In the case of the Space Technology Hall of Fame, the Space Foundation works with NASA to recognize and honor the organizations and individuals that have developed products based on space technology that improve the quality of life on Earth. With the Space Certification Program, the Space Foundation provides a way for companies that produce and market these products to tie their business to space and to help inform the public of how space activities have benefits on Earth.

The most rapid expansion of space products and services is occurring in the field of location-based services, which rely on positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites such as the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). Parents can use applications on their smartphones to monitor their children’s safety, while other applications can help with planning a family trip to a theme park or finding roadside entertainment during a long journey. Businesses are using location information provided by customers to offer timely coupons, special deals, or more convenient methods of payment. Governments rely on PNT systems to aid law enforcement, monitor wildlife, and better understand and improve traffic flow in urban areas. Scientific studies have already resulted in better traffic conditions in parts of Beijing, and researchers are engaged in a variety of programs around the world to learn more about the way people travel from one place to another as they go about their daily lives.

Scientific research often relies on additional space systems besides PNT satellites. In 2011, infrared satellite images were used to find more than 3,000 ancient settlements in Egypt, and they may also be used to help protect archeological sites from looters. Biotechnology company, Amgen, launched 30 mice on NASA’s final shuttle mission in July 2011 to test an antibody that could help prevent bone loss, which occurs at an accelerated pace in living creatures in space. Lessons learned from this research could lead to more effective treatments of bone loss among people on Earth. In the field of physics, an orbiting experiment helped


to reaffirm Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity by measuring the distortion in space caused by the Earth’s gravitational field.

Sharing the joy of scientific discovery with the public is a key part of many space endeavors. NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System computer program allows users to see space as it is observed by NASA satellites and probes. Some efforts rely on public participation, such as the Planet Hunters game, which allows anyone on the Internet to help search for planets around other stars by analyzing data collected by the Kepler Space Telescope. In September 2011, NASA announced that gamers had identified two previously undiscovered planets.

From their location high above the Earth’s surface, satellites can provide a global perspective on changes in the world around us. In 2011, the Aqua satellite monitored the record-breaking heat wave in the United States, CryoSat created a detailed map of ice near the poles, and the SAC-D/Aquarius satellite provided comprehensive data on the salinity of the world’s oceans. When Japan was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, more than 63 satellite observations were made in the first 48 hours following the event, facilitating more timely and effective disaster relief efforts. The value of such capabilities is immense and is one of the major reasons that countries around the world invest in space systems.

2.0 The Space EconomyThe space economy increased in size for the sixth year in a row, growing at a faster rate than in previous years, likely due to improving conditions in some sectors of the broader global economy. The space economy grew by 12 percent in 2011, reaching an estimated total of $289.77 billion. As in past years, the majority of this growth resulted from commercial success rather than increases in government spending.

The space economy’s strength was evident as commercial infrastructure and support industries grew at an impressive rate of 22 percent in 2011, reaching a total of $106.46 billion. The vast majority of the nearly $19 billion increase is attributable to growth in ground stations and equipment, including personal navigation devices and chipsets, which added more than $18 billion in value during the year.

Commercial space products and services remain the largest part of the space economy, growing to $110.53 billion in 2011, 9 percent more than 2010. Most of the nearly $9 billion increase occurred in the direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting sector, which added more than $7 billion in value.

The commercial space transportation services sector, consisting of companies such as Space Adventures and Virgin Galactic, remained relatively static in terms of revenue because no commercial human spaceflights occurred in 2011, although companies continued to collect deposits for future flights. A number of flight tests are scheduled to occur in 2012, indicating the possibility of growth in the near future as new services begin to carry passengers into space.

Focus


Globally, government spending on space increased even though its percentage of the overall space economy declined to 25 percent in 2011 from 27 percent in 2010. The aggregate growth rate for government space budgets was 6 percent, bringing spending to $72.77 billion in 2011. The governments of Brazil, India, and Russia all increased their space budgets by more than 20 percent. Some space agencies experienced more modest growth, as was the case for the European Space Agency (ESA), whose budget increased by 7 percent in spite of the ongoing fiscal problems in some of its member states. Space agencies in other nations, such as the United States and Japan, operated under flat or diminished budgets. Spending in the United States on government space projects was $47.25 billion in 2011, a decline of less than 1 percent from the amount spent in 2010.

The Space Foundation Indexes, which measure the performance of space-related companies on U.S. stock exchanges, demonstrated investor confidence in the health of the industry. In a year notable for its market swings, the Space Foundation Indexes grew at rates of 4 percent to 7 percent in 2011, outperforming both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The number of mergers and acquisitions in the space sector grew by 14 percent in 2011 and the median value of deals increased by 60 percent. Most of these transactions were funded by cash reserves and other assets, as companies and investors decided to use their strong financial position to add to their business portfolios, positioning themselves for future growth.

3.0 Space InfrastructureOrbital launch activity increased by 14 percent in 2011, rising to 84 launches from a total of 74 in 2010. Russia conducted the most launches, with a total of 31. China followed with a total of 19 launches, outpacing the United States for the first time in history. While the U.S. total of 18 successful launches was not the highest, it contained the greatest launch vehicle diversity, with eight different types of orbital

rockets. One of these vehicles, the Space Shuttle, landed for the final time on July 21, 2011, ending the Space Shuttle Program after three decades of flights. With the shuttle’s retirement, astronauts traveling to the space station will rely solely upon the Russian Soyuz until a new launch vehicle becomes available, whether it is NASA’s Space Launch System or an alternative provided by a commercial company.

Two major developments were underway in 2011 at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in addition to the usual launches of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket. Efforts to enable the launch of Russia’s Soyuz rocket from the facility were completed


in 2011, with two successful launches taking place during the year. ESA also prepared for the first flight of its new Vega rocket, which took place in February 2012.

Spaceport infrastructure in the United States is in transition as NASA makes changes at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to accommodate new launch systems in the post-shuttle era. Construction continued on new and upgraded facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, and Spaceport America in New Mexico. China and Russia also continued development of new spaceports during 2011.

At the end of 2011, there were an estimated 994 active satellites in orbit around the Earth. The broadcasting industry is a huge driver of demand for communications satellites, largely due to global growth in the number of high-definition television channels, which require more bandwidth than their standard-definition counterparts. Consumer broadband Internet service is also seen as an area with potential for growth, particularly in regions where the installation of terrestrial infrastructure is impractical.

Development of observatories and robotic exploration systems continued in 2011, with plans for several observatories with capabilities that will exceed those of existing telescopes. In July 2011, Russia launched a radio telescope called Spektr-R, marking the return of the Russian space program to scientific missions after a hiatus of several years. As with many scientific missions, other countries will participate in the research, in this instance by providing ground-based observations that can be combined with those from Spektr-R to produce images with even greater detail and clarity.

4.0 Workforce and EducationFor the fourth straight year, the U.S. civil and commercial space workforce continued to shrink. Nearly 8,000 jobs were lost in 2010, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, resulting in a workforce of approximately 252,000 people. This was the second-lowest employment level recorded during the previous 10 years. The trend of job losses is likely to continue once data is available for 2011, due to layoffs associated with the end of the Space Shuttle Program. As of July 2011, when the last shuttle flight took place, the number of employees associated with the program had dropped to 6,000 from a high of 32,000 during the 1990s. Even as U.S. space employment decreased, average annual salaries for these workers reached a new high as they earned 15 percent more than the average salary for the 10 STEM careers that employ the largest number of people in the United States. In contrast to the declining employment in civil and private space sectors, the U.S. military space workforce increased by 6 percent over a two-year period, rising from 15,791 in 2009 to 16,739 in 2011.

While the overall number of space employees decreased in the United States, employment increased in other parts of the world, especially Europe. European space employment surged 9 percent in 2010, the last year for which data is available. The European space workforce has expanded by 20 percent over five years, reaching a total of more than 34,000 in 2010. France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain accounted for 85 percent of these jobs, reflecting their status as the European nations with the largest populations and economies.

As of 2010, the Japanese space industry workforce consisted of nearly 6,900 employees, an 8 percent increase from 2009. The 2010 employment level was the second-highest recorded for Japan during the previous 10 years. The South Korean space workforce consisted of approximately 2,900 people employed by industry, research institutions, and universities in 2009, according to the most recent data gathered by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). While this represents a 4 percent drop from 2008, the workforce has experienced a net increase of 22 percent from 2006 to 2009. The vast majority of these new employees were added by the private sector, as the number of South Korean space-related companies tripled from 19 in 2000 to 57 in 2009.

Using NASA satellite imagery, archaeologists discovered 17 buried pyramids in Egypt, as well as more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements. Infrared images, taken by satellites orbiting 700 kilometers (430 miles) above the Earth, showed the below-ground structures.Credit: Sarah Parcak/Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham


STEM achievement in primary and secondary schools is an indicator of how well the United States is ensuring that students are prepared to pursue STEM degrees, enabling them to enter the space workforce. It is likely that there will be demand for these skills, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted growth in the number of professionals in several U.S. space-related occupations, including aerospace engineers, astronomers, and atmospheric scientists. The U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that 34 percent of U.S. fourth-grade students and 30 percent of eighth-grade students performed at or above the proficient level on the science test in 2009. In the field of mathematics, 40 percent of fourth-grade students and 35 percent of eighth-grade students scored at proficient or higher levels, an improvement over past years. The Programme for International Student Assessment evaluation, which tests proficiency among 15-year old students, shows that many nations active in space, including South Korea, Canada, Germany, and the United States, achieved above-average scores in mathematics or science.

As veteran space workers begin to retire around the world, the training of new employees in critical STEM fields has become a focus for governments and industry leaders. China is the leading producer of STEM bachelor’s-equivalent university graduates, doubling the number of graduating students between 2002 and 2006. The number of STEM graduates in other spacefaring nations also grew, but not as quickly. Similar trends are visible in space-related academic publications, which are still dominated by established spacefaring countries but are witnessing rapid growth by emerging nations and regions.

5.0 OutlookFor centuries, humans have looked to space and dreamed of its possibilities. Some of those dreams have become realities, and others provide the motivation for ambitious efforts to push the boundaries of what is achievable. One of those dreams is to expand the human sphere of influence and derive benefits from a greater presence in space. Partner nations in the International Space Station are eager to reap rewards from the station’s completion and the corresponding transition from construction to research. Governments in most major spacefaring nations devoted time and energy in 2011 to planning the future of human spaceflight, determining the best way to direct their efforts while recognizing that there are insufficient funds for everything they may wish to undertake. This has led to decisions such as the cancellation of Russia’s Rus-M rocket program, which had been intended to carry a next-generation human spaceflight capsule. While development of the capsule will continue, it will likely be launched by an existing rocket.

Budgetary concerns also extend beyond the realm of human spaceflight. In the midst of a sluggish economic climate and uncertain prospects for future growth, some governments are cutting future spending to control their total budgets. These cuts can have serious consequences if they affect critical capabilities such as weather forecasting, as may happen due to programmatic delays and reduced funding for U.S. weather satellite development.

Uncertainty regarding the prospects for funding requires a rethinking of processes and programs, often leading to increased multinational collaboration. Outside of government, budget cuts affect industry plans and profits but may also stimulate innovative new approaches in government-industry relations. One outcome is the increasing interest in hosted payload arrangements, in which a sensor, instrument, or other payload owned by one organization is placed aboard a satellite operated by a different entity.

Governments increasingly see a need for formal space policies to provide a framework for coordination and integration of activities. In the absence of clear and effective space policy, government space activities are likely to develop in a manner that may prove challenging to sustain over the long term. Some policy documents, such as one published by the European Commission in April 2011, are intended to define why space activity is worthwhile, what the main space priorities are, and how space activity will benefit the public. Other government planning documents, such as ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015–2025, provide a framework for decisions about future science missions. Among the space agencies planning missions for launch in 2013 or 2014, NASA expects to send probes to orbit the Moon and Mars; ESA anticipates launching a mission to make a three-dimensional map of the galaxy; and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to send a probe to study an asteroid. Further missions are planned for launch throughout the coming decade to study the Sun, other planets and their moons, and a host of deep-space and astronomical phenomena. With countless options for exploration and discovery, and with new technology developments that spur growth in the global space economy, the space sector is expected to remain vibrant and productive.

Additional details: http://www.TheSpaceReport.org

http://www.TheSpaceReport.org

PRIME

Disaster Preparedness: Hurricanes...

By Tony Bardo, Assistant Vice President for Government Solutions, Hughes

Already, 2012 has distinguished itself as a year of severe storms, with record-breaking tornado outbreaks this past winter in the United States. With the hurricane season’s official start in June, first responders are preparing for the worst... last year’s biggest event, Hurricane Irene, caused more than $15 billion in damage and killed 49 people. Meteorologists predict fewer named storms, but those that do form will have a greater proximity to the U.S. coastline, making forecasting more

difficult and reducing warning lead-times. This makes emergency alerts to the public all the more important.



Today, as satellite technology displaces the older analog method of relaying emergency information, states and localities are employing digital satellite services to help enable a far more sophisticated form for their Emergency Alert Systems (EAS). In the past, alerts were disseminated with fax machines and then dispatched at the radio or television station. Today, federal government mandates require a multi-media process that can enable the transmission of images, audio and video files. Satellite serves as an ideal medium.

In 2011, the state of Alabama rolled out a state-of-the-art digital emergency communications system called GSSNet/Alert Studio, powered by the Hughes nationwide satellite service and terrestrial technologies. Developed and operated by Global Security Systems (GSS), Alabama’s emergency communications can disseminate alerts through a host of multimedia applications—road signs, cell phones, smart phones, reverse 911, TV and radio. As the message is based on the government’s digital Common Alert Protocol (CAP), audio quality is vastly improved.

The greatest advance that the system provides is immediacy. In the past, emergency alerts weren’t pushed to the public at the same time. Back then, a dispatcher needed to read the message and then pass it along, resulting in a sometimes catastrophic delay. Eliminating that delay can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. By using satellite technologies and the new digital messaging system, Alabama was able to completely remove the possibility of communication disruption.

A key to the effort was arraying EAS decoders across the system. This avoids the complication of the Internet, firewalls or configuration issue—and replaces the system’s old dependence on phone lines. Now, even if phones go down, or if the Internet becomes congested, warning alerts will make it out.

With the use of satellite technology, messages can be generated from anywhere in the field and transmitted across the system, instead of first having to pass through the emergency Operations Center.

With its proactive adoption of new satellite technology and coordinated information dissemination, Alabama is providing a model for other states of how to get the word out to the public as quickly and effectively as possible—helping citizens to reach safe haven as they ride out the storm.

Alerting citizens, however, is only half of the story. In a hurricane, traditional communications technologies can fail. Such leaves first responders stranded without the connections they need to coordinate emergency operations. Satellites can provide that critical link to them.

Hughes has been hard at work developing the Inter-Government Crisis Network (IGCN), which uses satellite technology to connect emergency response institutions and local governments in a crisis. A private network, it acts like the Internet, but without being vulnerable to network outages from the actual Internet—allowing agencies to collaborate in a crisis, sharing data, voice, and video-teleconferencing nationwide.

With this capability, any number of site-to-site connections can be readily configured to connect. IGCN also allows for predefined user-groups, so a state agency could set up a video-conference link-up with all fire departments, or all police departments, or all responders in a certain geographic area.

Many U.S. state and local governments have emergency operational plans in place to facilitate rapid response, addressing such critical activities as evacuation, sheltering, and distribution of supplies. By leveraging the power of satellite, government

leaders can ensure that these critical plans can be carried out without disruption no matter what storms turn their way.

About the authorAnthony “Tony” Bardo has 29 years of experience with strategic communication technologies that serve the complex needs of government. Since joining Hughes Network Systems in January 2006, Bardo has served as assistant vice president of Government Solutions, where he is focused on providing Hughes satellite broadband applications solutions to Federal, State, and Local governments. Bardo also recently served as Chair of the Networks and Telecommunications Shared Interest Group (SIG) for the Industry Advisory Council, an advisory body to the American Council for Technology (ACT).

Prior to joining Hughes, Bardo was with Qwest Government Services for nearly five years where he served as senior director of civilian agencies sales and marketing, senior director of marketing, and senior director of business development. Prior to Qwest, Bardo spent 14 years with the government markets group at MCI where he held the position of executive director for civilian agencies. During his tenure, his teams managed programs with the Federal Aviation Administration’s national air traffic control network, the Social Security Administration’s toll-free network, the U.S. Postal Service Managed Service Network, and the U.S. General Services Administration’s FTS2001.

Mr. Bardo is a 1974 graduate of Virginia Tech where he majored in economics with a minor in public communications.

PRIME

MilsatMagazine — June 201232

INTEL

COTM Benefits The Mobile Battlefield

By Karl Fuchs, Vice President of Technology, iDirect Government Technology

Communications On The Move (COTM) allows for warfighters to receive timely communications anywhere, and at any time. COTM is critical to winning battles, protecting forces and supporting overall military operations. It helps warfighters achieve instant access to information in a mobile environment on the ground, at sea or in the air.


Traditionally, COTM systems were deployed in larger vehicles; however, significant advancements in satellite communications, such as those by iDirect Government Technologies (iGT), have brought the technology into the hands of the warfighter. New satellite routers that are half the size of current products, enable smaller, lighter weight and lower power portable terminals, providing COTM connectivity to warfighters on-foot, as well as in vehicles, marine vessels and aircraft.

This new development in portable technology delivers several critical advantages. Soldiers can now receive battlefield imagery that identifies potential threats, transmit situational video to analysts, receive command and control information and even transmit X-ray imagery of a wounded soldier to doctors who can interpret the injury and provide guidance on proper treatment in a matter of seconds from anywhere in the world.

With COTM, soldiers can deploy and leverage a wireless broadband network while in a moving ground vehicle, in a deep water fleet, on a military aircraft and even on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Portable and powerful systems fit inside a soldier’s rucksack, are engineered to withstand harsher environments and can be activated at a moment’s notice.

COTM helps the military assess the situation at hand by providing voice, video and data communication between those in transit and others on the ground. This provides military agencies and individual soldiers with situational analysis of current events and status updates, giving them real-time information about potential hazards, the impact of an event and any additional response needed. This on-the-scene perspective helps the military send in extra resources as needed, and most importantly, where needed. With access to timely and pertinent information, COTM also helps them to determine the best course of action in their endeavors.


A unified COTM system meets the most demanding mobility and security requirements for our troops, enabling real-time secure and reliable voice, video and data transmission while on the move. By having constant connectivity in transit, the military has a more comprehensive picture of the current situation including who is performing what task and who is available to help with needed support.

The ability to coordinate multiple military operations simultaneously, deploying voice, video and data communications, can improve military effectiveness and can even mean the difference between life and death. COTM systems are easy for troops to deploy and use while providing many benefits.

Benefits Of COTMThere are several advantages to COTM.

1. Rapid and pervasive reach: Provides fast, effective and secure voice, video, data and SIPR/NIPR communications anywhere and anytime. The faster soldiers receive updated and accurate information, the more effective they are in their missions.

2. Situational awareness: Information from live video feeds, data communications and voice provide real-time information for immediate situational awareness. Video gives a bird’s eye view of the situation at hand, enabling an appropriate response such as providing more troops, supplies or other support.

3. Command and communications coordination: Provides incident command and communications coordination for major events and critical incidents.

4. Internet Protocol (IP) network extension: Satellite-based system extends global IP networks, offering a highly reliable and extremely scalable satellite network that can be deployed on multiple satellites such as in C-, X-, Ku- and Ka-bands, as enabled by iGT, and the extended frequency ranges on Wideband Global SATCOM from a central hub.

5. Reliability and quality: Satellite IP platform ensures multiple users can share the network without sacrificing quality due to traffic and heavy data transfers. COTM systems leverage the bandwidth efficiency and reliability of satellite communications. The ruggedized remote equipment can take the potential abuse required for mobile equipment.

6. Real-time data sharing: Enables Virtual Private Network (VPN) extensions for management and control of aircraft, ship and vehicle operations.

7. Seamless operation: Automatic beam switching and geographical mapping ensure a seamless global operation.

8. Quick installation: By leveraging readily available technologies and standards, setup is fast and easy and does not require extensive training.

9. Security standards: iGT COTM systems are compliant with transmission security utilizing Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS) 140-2 and IA Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) standards.

TRANSECTransmission Security (TRANSEC) is important for mobile satellite networks and allows the Department of Defense to encrypt and obfuscate any SATCOM traffic patterns or remote terminal acquisition activity. Such security technologies thwart malicious hacking and denial of service attacks potentially perpetrated by an adversary. Satellite service providers need to offer strong encryption such as FIPS 140-2 certified encryption.

TRANSEC requires a communications channel appear completely full to an adversary even if little or no actual data is flowing. In combat situations, a small spike in communications traffic can be a critical piece of intelligence. The need to mask any communications activity becomes readily apparent. Fortunately, TRANSEC compliance is relatively straightforward. The National Security Agency (NSA) has outlined the vulnerabilities inherent in an IP-based Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) transmission that must be addressed to provide true TRANSEC. These include the ability to secure TDMA transmission energy, concealing traffic volumes and protecting the traffic source and destination addresses and obfuscating acquisition activity.

Another vital requirement is for remote terminals connected to the network to be able to flawlessly validate authorized users by using X.509. The goal of the X.509 is to present the adversary from being able to gain access to a military network despite having acquired the appropriate transmission equipment.

Keeping Communications OpenOn-the-move communications are increasingly necessary for when the military needs to be mobile. Satellite technology utilizing spread-spectrum technology enables secure, cost-effective and reliable IP broadband capabilities anywhere and anytime. A COTM solution provides true mobility with spread-spectrum and high-speed COTM features, enabling military vehicles, ships and


INTEL

aircraft to have broadband connectivity via Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) antennas.

This ability to quickly deploy and manage a network that can easily be scaled without the restrictions of an existing communications infrastructure is essential to military operations. Satellite provides a flexible, reliable and high-capacity service that covers a large area.

TRANSEC and COTM satellite technologies are meeting the need for the military to communicate, share information and provide support for large, mobile groups of personnel anytime and anywhere. Such mission-critical connectivity enhances warfighter situational awareness and helps the military execute missions with a heightened degree of safety and success.

About the authorKarl Fuchs serves as Vice President of Technology for iDirect Government Technologies (iGT); [email protected]. iGT is a wholly owned subsidiary of VT iDirect, Inc. that provides IP communications technology that enables constant connectivity via satellite communications for voice, video and data applications in diverse and challenging environments.


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By Bert Sadtler, President, Boxwood Executive Search + Contributing Editor

The Road To The Future—Growing A U.S. Federal Presence

These are extremely challenging times for employers who need to acquire top level talent as well as for those seeking a career change. Today, companies’ economics compel them to re-assess their talent needs in order to remain competitive and drive growth. The satellite communications industry is ripe with new opportunities. Employers are challenged with making a “great hire.” For the candidate, finding an opportunity can sometimes be a rather difficult proposition.

To assist with career searches, we asked Bert Sadtler of Boxwood Executive Search to respond to readers’ questions regarding the processes of recruitment and hiring as well as how Companies can retain crucially-needed talent. Boxwood is located in the Washington, DC, region and has success in senior level recruitment in satellite communications, government contracting, and within the intelligence community. Boxwood also provides a consulting solution for the analysis and improvement of the employer’s current recruitment process. If you would care to submit a recruitment, hiring, or retention question for Bert to answer, please email your question to [email protected].

Re:Sources


mailto:BertSadtler%40BoxwoodSearch.com?subject=Re%3A%20Your%20column%20in%20SatMagazine...

Dear Bert,

Our European based company is focusing on expansion into the U.S. Federal Government Sector, which will include recruiting critical talent who will be responsible for driving revenue and growing our U.S. presence. What are your suggestions for a successful outcome?

SK, CEOSATCOM Hardware Manufacturer

Dear SK,

My compliments to you and your company for your expansion efforts. During these challenging economic conditions, some companies are in retreat mode from the U.S. market. Their retreat opens up oppor-tunities for organizations with agility, the creative ability to deliver solutions and expansion into the U.S.

When considering approaching the U.S. Federal Sector Marketplace, you have prob-ably included the following considerations:

• If your company is selling directly to the U.S. Federal Government, have you met the necessary foreign owned requirements?

• Through your planning efforts, have you determined that you want to be targeting Prime Contract Awards?

• Has your company secured a “license to hunt” also known as a GSA Schedule?

• If applicable, have you obtained a security clearance?

• In the event you have determined it is better to walk before you run, perhaps, your initial focus will be as a Sub-Contractor or to sell your product to companies who hold a Prime Contract.

• Sub-Contractors and re-sellers fall into a competitive and clut-tered marketplace with difficulty in directly interacting with the Federal Government Customer.

Once you have determined your internal structure, how do you attract critical talent capable of delivering results?

The most desirable talent includes people who know the target U.S. market, are known in that market and are delivering results. They will respond to recruitment initiatives that motivate them and that they can relate to.

This is the point where identifying with the U.S. culture becomes critical. Non-US based companies have a different cultural that works well in their country. It may not translate as well in the U.S. If you are committed to penetrating the U.S. Federal

Government Marketplace, thought should be given to the U.S. culture.

The recruitment campaign for critical U.S. talent should include seeking technically qualified professionals who have chem-istry with their leadership. It should also include a compensation program reflective of a U.S. performance-based model.

Critical talent in the U.S. is accustomed to compensation that includes a base salary plus a performance based bonus. Some compensation models in non-U.S. coun-tries are more heavily weighted on a fixed salary and a limit on total earnings.

To truly attract “game changers” and top tier talent, the compensation model should be adjusted to be more in-line with the U.S. marketplace. For example, develop a compensation model with a base salary of 60 percent of total target earnings and 40 percent in a performance-based bonus. There should be no “cap” or limit if the employee is so exceptional that they can exceed the desired targets.

Remember, the sales cycle in the U.S. Federal Government Marketplace can be one to two years. Since goals and results can’t be initially measured in revenue, it may be more productive to develop a “Phase 1 / Phase 2” approach.

The first phase would focus on Best Practices and the completion of defined tasks which will lead toward a revenue stream. The bonus would be awarded to the employee upon the completion of the defined tasks. The second phase would be implemented once a revenue stream has been established and the bonus would be tied to revenue goals.

I hope you have found this to be helpful.

Sincerely,Bert Sadlter


40 MilsatMagazine — June 201240 MilsatMagazine — June 2012

RECON

From Rings To Stacks: Spatial Solutions

Our nation’s and our allies’ armed forces and government agencies are highly dependent upon the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data beamed to them by various MILSATCOM satellites. Retasking flexibility, observation without detection, the delivery of near-instant communication and data, and critical reliance upon a satellite’s capabilties are just four reasons for the continuance of satellite build programs, with the end result being saved lives and operational successes.

The companies involved in such endeavors range from extremely large in size to those with just a few professionals staffing their efforts. Some are names we all are quite familiar with, as their satellite offerings are just one portion of their overall manufacturing and technology offerings. Others you may never have heard of, but they are as equally important in producing viable products to aid MILSATCOM efforts. This issue, we enter the world of MOOG.


More than 50 years ago, Moog originated as a designer and supplier of aircraft and missile components. Today, Moog motion control technology enhances performance in a variety of markets and applications.

William C. Moog, the founder of the firm, was an inventor, entrepreneur and visionary. In 1951, Bill Moog developed the electro-hydraulic servovalve, a device that translates tiny, electrical impulses into precise, powerful movement. In July of 1951, Bill, his brother Arthur, and Lou Geyer, rented a corner of the abandoned Proner Airport in East Aurora, New York, and formed the Moog Valve Company.

“A Better Way” to Run a CompanyUsing his business experience, Bill knew that the work environment itself plays an important role in developing any Company’s success. He had some unique ideas about a “better way” to run his business, and that was to treat employees with trust and respect. These simple ideas laid the foundation for what would eventually become part of Moog’s much-acclaimed work environment and culture.

The first order for four valves was sold to Bendix Aviation. Larger orders followed from Boeing and Convair. The servovalve revolutionized the aerospace industry and led to the creation of Moog Inc. By 1954, Moog valves were standard equipment on about half of all U.S. fighter planes and more than 70 percent of all guided missiles.

The introduction of the industrial valve was a success, and, by 1960, total sales had grown to more than $10 million. In the aerospace arena, in one of Moog’s proudest achievements, the Company’s engineers designed and manufactured the actuators on the Saturn C-5 rocket that carried Neil Armstrong to his historic first step on the moon in July 1969.

During the 1970s, the growing market for injection and blow molding process controls was entered. More involvement in the U.S. space program led to the award of a contract to supply hardware on the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle flew for the first time in 1981, using the first application of Moog’s groundbreaking “Fly-by-Wire” technology.

In 1988, Robert T. Brady, Aircraft Group President, was named CEO. Sales at the end of the decade reached $282 million. By the mid-1990s, operations were established in India. The first large acquisition, a purchase from Allied Signal, was the Torrance, California, Aircraft Operation. By the close of 1999, revenues grew to more than $630 million.

Recent Successes2001 brought a $50 million dollar Space Shuttle refurbishment contract and Moog stock moved from the American to the New York Stock Exchange. The Company was named the designer and supplier for the flight control systems for the Lockheed F-35 production aircraft and provider of the primary flight controls for Boeing‘s 787 Dreamliner program.

In 2004, revenues broke the $900 million revenue mark with another large acquisition, Litton Poly-Scientific, renamed Moog Components Group. For the first time, fiscal year sales were more than one billion dollars.

An Innovative EnvironmentBill Moog’s sense of innovation went far beyond product design. From the very start, Bill believed that work should be a special place, that people would be more creative, committed, and productive in a work environment where they felt trusted, respected and rewarded. This set of ideas came to be known as the Moog Philosophy. It is a set of principles that guides the Company, even today. “Work can be a more rewarding and satisfying experience for everyone in an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence.”

In the firm’s 2006 Annual Report, Bob Brady wrote, “The most important attribute of our Company, though, is the culture that unites and motivates our people. It’s a culture that’s founded on integrity, honesty, and mutual trust. It values competence, extraordinary effort, individual responsibility, collaborative relationships, and open communications. It’s what attracts the best people to our Company and it’s the reason that the best people stay. In this environment they’re able to do their best work. Customers, who know our people, know that they will make every effort to deliver on our commitments. If a man or woman from Moog makes a promise, our Company will keep that promise.”

You Want To Talk About Hosted Payloads? Well....While attending the National Space Symposium 2012 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, earlier this year, one of the products that caught MilsatMagazine’s editorial eye was Moog’s ESPA Ring (see product photo on the next page). This is an EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) secondary payload adapter that enables as many as six satellites, weighing up to 400 pounds (180kg) in total, to share the fairing accommodations with a primary satellite for injection into orbit. The ESPA Ring is suitable for a ride via a United Launch Alliance Atlas V or Delta IV launch vehicle. The product is also compatible with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Orbital Sciences’ Taurus II launch vehicles.


Artistic rendition of NASA LCROSS satellite

42 MilsatMagazine — June 201242 MilsatMagazine — June 2012

The total weight allowance for the primary satellite in the ESPA is 15,000 pounds using the standard EELV interface plane bolt pattern, which itself is a drop-in component within the launch stack. The ESPA is a simple, secondary interface with a 15-inch diameter bolt circle possessing 24 fasteners. Additionally, the ESPA can also serve as the structural hub of a satellite or free flyer.

The capabilities of the ESPA can best be realized from its success in two recent missions. The first was the U.S. Air Force’s STP-1 mission, which delivered multiple satellites, in addition to DARPA’s Orbital Express Primary Mission via an Atlas V launch vehicle.

The second was NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)... these were launched using a single ESPA ring which supported the LRO and was the spacecraft hub for the LCROSS shepherding satellite—the ring served as a mounting platform for science instruments and spacecraft components.

Moog also offers other adapters. Their CubeStack brings a “Wafer” Configuration into play for Minotaur, Taurus, Pegasus, and Falcon vehicles. The unit was developed by LoadPath LLC and Moog CSA Engineering under contract to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate, using requirements derived from launch vehicle specifications and lessons learned from NLAS adapter fabrication and test in support of the Air Force needs for rapid integration and launch

Moog’s ESPA Ring

Artistic rendition of NASA’s LRO spacecraft

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43MilsatMagazine — June 2012 43MilsatMagazine — June 2012

capabilities. The CubeStack offers a small part count and minimal weight (105-lbs) as well as easy satellite dispenser integration.

There is also the Composite Adapter for Shared Payload Rides (CASPAR), a Multi-Payload Adapter (MPA) developed by Moog CSA with whole-spacecraft vibration isolation for the Minotaur IV Launch Vehicle. CASPAR accommodates two, 1500-lb satellites, or as many as four ESPA-class satellites when used with one or two Flat-Plate Adapters.

The Flat-Plate Adapter, or FPA, is compatible with ESPA or CASPAR and mounts two ESPA-class satellites side by side. FPA is available with Moog CSA’s SoftRide isolation and can be scaled up or down for larger, or smaller, spacecraft.

ESPA SUM, the ESPA 6U Mount, mounts a pair of 3U CubeSats or a single 6U CubeSat on an ESPA port. The CubeSats are tertiary payloads that share the port with a secondary satellite and deploy after secondary separation. One 6U or two 3Us can be deployed from each port. Up to six SUMs can be included on an ESPA Mission.

Most Accommodating Arrays...Most impressive during the editorial visit was an understanding of the versatility of the ESPA ring. Modified versions of the ring may accommodate a four-port adapter. This increases the capacity of the unit from 400 pounds (1800kg) to 660 pounds (300kg), per satellite. For smaller launches, there is a 38.8-inch ring that

offers 8- or 15-inch ports for launch vehicles such as the Minotaur IV, Delta II, Falcon 1e and Taurus vehicles.

When separated from a launch vehicle, the ESPA is highly useful as an actual satellite bus structure. Such is evident when realizing the ring formed the core structure of the LCROSS mission and resides at the heart of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) mission.

Desire even more versatility? With an ESPA 6U mount (ESPA SUM), the ring’s interior volume becomes available with additional capacity for CubeSats or other nanosats behind a 15-inch port that includes a pair of 3U packages, or a single 6U satellite. And to assist with shock and vibration mitigation, the ESPA’s standard ports accommodate ShockRing and other SoftRide solutions that are tailored for particular payloads. Such were incorporated into the STP-1 and DSX missions.

All About Actuator AccuracyThe Company has engineered a new, noise-free, potentiometer called QuieSense™, which will enhance the reliability of actuators used with satellites. The newly designed Moog potentiometers provide feedback on the position of solar array drives and antenna-pointing mechanisms. Moog hopes satellite design engineers will replace traditional potentiometers with Moog’s


QuieSense technology to extend the reliability and performance of actuators used on satellites.

If a satellite is trying to determine the position of, say, its solar array and there is drop-out noise, then technicians may think the solar array is pointing in a direction that it is actually not pointing to correctly. Moog solved this problem by engineering its new potentiometer to include non-sliding contact between the conductor and resistive element. Using membrane potentiometer technology, not unlike the kind used with iPod controls, Moog’s engineers sourced materials that could compensate for conditions such as ambient pressure and vacuum. Through rigorous testing, Moog qualified that the materials for its new potentiometer met the requirements of spaceflight.

“After an extended period of life testing, QuieSense has shown that it performs without introducing any noise. We ran the new potentiometer above and beyond anything we do normally, and there was no drop-out noise,” said Ralph Gunderson, sales manager for Moog. “This new potentiometer will have a virtually unlimited life, and make our standard line of actuators even more reliable.”

A commercial satellite manufacturer has already opted to use Moog’s new potentiometer and actuators on a communications satellite that is scheduled for launch in early 2014. Moog is also developing a range of sizes for its QuieSense potentiometer to enable satellite makers to easily replace traditional potentiometers found on an array of actuators now used for spaceflight.

“In a traditional potentiometer, a wiper element slides across tracks and converts a signal that is picked up by the satellite. Over time the wiper and contact generate debris consisting of very minute particles that raise the wiper and lose the signal contact. “This causes noise, a signal ‘drop-out,’” said Ruben Nalbandian, engineering manager for Moog. “The Moog QuieSense noise-free potentiometer uses a rolling motion and produces an analog signal output, so there isn’t any of the drop-out noise that comes from traditional potentiometer technology.”

To The Next Stepper... Moog’s Space and Defense Group is tapping Application Specific Integrated Circuit technology to design a new electronic driver module for stepper-based applications and solenoid valves used on spacecraft. The new module is part of the Company’s efforts to provide advanced motion-control components and avionics for satellites and launch vehicles. This will be at least 50 percent lighter than the current driver module and will operate in radiation environments up to 100 KRad TID and at temperatures from -55¬∞C to +100¬∞C.

Moog will make the new driver module for applications such as solar array drive assemblies and antenna pointing mechanisms. The module’s electrical characteristics include input voltage ranging from 20V to 45V with a maximum current capability of 2A. Total power dissipation for the module is less than 1W in standby mode, and less than 6W at 36V in all other operational modes.

“We believe our new driver module improves on anything currently available to the space industry,” said Dr. Ali Ghavimi, business unit engineering manager for Moog. “The benefits are radiation hardness, modularity, compactness, performance and cost. Our new driver module is capable of driving 2-, 3-, or 4-phase stepper motors operating in either cardinal stepping or micro-stepping modes.”

In cardinal stepping mode, design engineers can configure the unit to operate using either linear or pulse-width modulation (PWM) current control. All micro-stepping modes employ a PWM current control scheme.

The new driver module operates in multiple modes to support appropriate system-level operational scenarios. For example, design engineers can configure the module on-the-fly to operate in single cardinal stepping for slew mode, where there is no system tracking or induced jitter requirement, and in micro-stepping mode, where there is a tight performance requirement. The driver module also allows for real-time changes to the


Moog’s QuieSense potentiometer

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Moog’s Stepper


motor current limit when operating in PWM mode. This feature ensures appropriate torque is available when needed. Engineers can also apply the driver module to a spaceborne solenoid valve application. In the solenoid mode, the module can control up to four independent channels.

“Customers can also use our next-generation of versatile electronic control units to integrate the driver module with other higher subsystem electronics,” added Ghavimi.

The new Moog driver module meets MIL-PRF-38534 Class K requirements and NASA EEE-INST-002 Level 1 requirements.

Testing Prevents SurprisesThe process of satellite assembly, integration and test is exacting and requires considerable care. Moog CSA’s satellite support platforms provide mechanical mounting and decoupling from a client’s facility and its sources of mechanical disturbance. Platforms incorporate vibration isolation and are compatible within atmospheric and thermal-vacuum environments. They allow handling within client facilities while protecting the satellite or major subsystem from harm.

Gravity affects structures differently on orbit—however, those structures must be integrated and validated on the ground. A compliant deployable appendage may be mass-optimized for in-space performance but unable to support its own weight on Earth. Moog CSA’s gravity offload systems provide low frequency suspension with modes as low as 0.1 Hz, enabling space structures to be tested and validated. With no sag, the suspension allows testing of fixed structures and additional features support structures with moving and deploying appendages.

Flight testing of spacecraft is rarely practical or affordable. The Company offers products that extend the fidelity of hardware-in-the-loop testing, incorporating more realistic aspects of flight including high frequency structural response. With six degrees of freedom motion bases, image motion compensation algorithms can be evaluated and test articles can be positioned relative to other verification equipment. Embedded systems and a user interface provide multiple options for control and coordination with other ground test systems.

New launch vehicles, small satellites and evolving structural concepts drive the need for more sophisticated testing and qualification before flight. Moog CSA operates a facility under a cooperative research and development agreement with the Air Force that allows for the testing of a variety of payload and interstage structures, fairings and interface cones. Developed initially to qualify the ESPA ring, this facility has been adapted to test multiple composite and metal structures and allows for application of multi-axis loads to simulate launch and includes extensive data acquisition. Custom fixtures augment the basic system for specialized tests.

When a major aerospace company began to develop a new vacuum test facility for large space optics, Moog CSA provided vibration isolation. Moog CSA delivered an optical bench that is more than 25m long and supported by a soft isolation system. With suspension modes in the range of 1 to 2Hz, the 250-ton bench is mechanically decoupled from the rest of the facility including pumps and other machinery, enabling a high fidelity representation of the space environment. The bench also provides



a software monitoring system and load leveling to accommodate moving payloads on the bench.

With huge interest and deployment of Earth imaging systems and satellites, space telescopes and other large optical systems, all require validation and verification before launch. Precision positioning systems to support ground testing are provided. These systems are based on the Company’s hexapod motion platforms with resolution measured in micrometers or smaller. In vacuum chamber operation, the systems allow software-controlled alignment of test optics and flight components to prove assembly and performance of subsystems and complete assemblies. These product offerings incorporate mechanical, electromechanical, electrical, firmware and software elements to provide turnkey systems. Other ares of concentration for Moog include:

• Zero gravity simulation systems that imitate true, free-free boundary conditions in the dynamic testing of struc-tures (place zero gravity image)

• SoftRide vibration isolation systems that protect entire satellites from the rough ride into orbit, providing some shock isolation and reduction of the transmission of energy that drives acoustic loading. The standard SoftRide designs are tuned to each combination of launch vehicle and payload to ensure the best perfor-mance while remaining compatible with attitude control

systems. SoftRide components and manufactured, tested, and installed jointly with customers.

• SA series actuators produce vibration in a controlled, precise manner. Their primary uses are in active vibration cancellation, active damping and dynamic testing. These actuators deliver force at a mounting point by reacting against a mass internal to the device housing. The SA family employs a highly-efficient magnetic circuit to deliver high force output per electrical input. Typical band-width is 20-1000 Hz and input impedance is 2-20 Ohms. Force outputs range from one to 35 lb (4.5 - 155 N) with much higher output over narrow frequency ranges. Moog offers each of the SA actuators with optional mounting configurations and various electronic drive options.

• The design and building of hexapods for a variety of appli-cations that require precision motion or vibration control. These are six degree of freedom positioning systems that offer high load carrying capacity, controllable stiffness, and built-in redundancy. It is a type of parallel manipu-lator that is used increasingly in platform stabilization, motion simulation, inspection and research. Hexapods can also be used to realize vibration isolation in multiple axes. Precision positioning, vibration isolation, and motion simulation are the three primary design drivers.

EvolutionMoog has evolved from being a producer of components to a provider of subsystems and systems integration over the past 60 years they have been in business. The evolution is a result of an established strategy and fulfilled through internal growth, focused acquisitions plans, and market penetration. The firm has 27 sales and manufacturing locations across the Americas, Europe and Asia and offers complete testing facilities, such as Thermal Vacuum, HALT/HASS, Vibration, Shock, Cryogenic and EMI. In the Americas and Asia, Moog brings class 10,000 clean rooms into the mix, as well as in-house production facilities. With ground to launch to on-orbit support and testing, Moog’s systems engineering also supports full integration services.

In the fall of 1997, Bill Moog passed away. In a tribute to Bill shortly after his death, Bob Brady, Chairman and CEO, had this to say about the Company:

“Every day, an extraordinary group of people come together to devote their time and energy to build the best product of its type built anywhere in the world... and to deliver that product to the most demanding customers in the world. Those customers can be assured that the product bearing Bill’s name is the best product that mankind can make...and it will be better next month, and better next year. This is our lasting tribute to Bill.”

That, definitely, says it all.

Moog’s SoftRide


RECON

Charles de Steuben’s Bataille de Poitiers, en octobre 732, painted between 1834 and 1837

POV

Barbarians At The Gates

By Elliot Holokauahi Pulham, CEO, Space Foundation

Growing up in a ranch family, I heard plenty of cowboy wisdom about “closing the gates after the horses have all run off.” So, I naturally tend to think about U.S. “protection” of space technologies in similar terms.



Imagine a fenced-in pasture where our space technologies are grazing. The front gate is labeled “Exports”... however, the gate is slammed shut and is guarded by throngs of taunting, saber rattling guards.

However, if you look closely, another gate, labeled “Universities,” is standing wide open. Our grazing technologies meander in and out of this gate, mingling with students, researchers, scientists and others from virtually every nation on the planet.

I think the visual is very apt, and there’s a lot of instructive fun you can have with it.

One of the first things a really wise, old cowboy would say is that we never used to have to worry about the corral in the first place. Heck, we were so busy driving our space programs across the range at high speed nobody could keep up with us. By the time they figured out where the herd was, we had all moved on. The herd was moving fast, and growing all the time.

Not exactly where the U.S. space program is today.

The reason these images pop into my head is that it appears, at long last, that the U.S. is ready to replace the throngs of guards at the ITAR entrance with a more reasonable gatekeeping system—we hope. The “1248” export

control findings announced by Ambassador Greg Schulte during the 28th National Space Symposium were hardly surprising, but the fact that the Ambassador is finally in the position to talk about them is major progress.

Good people in the Congress, administration and industry are all trying to prop that gate open a bit, so that reasonable commerce can once again commence.

This is nothing more than enlightened self-interest, as export controls have seriously injured the U.S. space industrial base, while creating global market opportunities for other nations. The American government, simply, is finally recognizing the increased costs and reduced purchasing power that comes along with a constrained domestic industrial base.

As the country works through the enabling legislation and the processes by which space exports are controlled, it will be kicking the export gates open a bit. How much? As wide as possible, I hope. We need to adjust the Export gate in full consideration of just how far open the Universities’ gate stands. It does no good to constrain commerce in space technologies that are already freely flowing through the open portals of academia.

As many of the “gate guards” in this area foot-stomp and bombast their concerns about China, it is appropriate to examine our internal inconsistencies. While the exports gate remains closed to China—indeed many gatekeepers continue to pile more and more anti-China locks upon the entrance—the academic gates happily flap open, wider and wider.

According to the Council of Graduate Schools, a half million applications for the autumn 2012 term have been sent to U.S. graduate schools by foreign students.

Applications from China rose 20 percent in 2010, another 21 percent in 2011, and jumped another 18 percent this year. China is the single largest country of origin for international graduate students coming to study and perform university research in the United States, and the fastest growing.

By most counts there are 723,277 foreign students enrolled in American universities, of which some 157,558 —or 22 percent—are Chinese. While the number of Chinese students that we are educating at the graduate level is increasing at about 20 percent per year (per the above data), at the undergraduate level, Chinese enrollment in U.S. colleges increased about 43 percent last year.

It is instructive to look at some of our more technically focused schools. The University of Virginia has seen its international enrollment increase 44 percent, with China being the single largest nation of origin. The University of Southern California is a perennial favorite of non-U.S. students, with nearly 9,000 enrolled. The Ohio State University, with more than 10,000

graduate students, has opened a gateway office in Shanghai in order to keep up with applications from China, which have increased 29 percent.

These are not bad things.International students spent

about $21 billion in the U.S. on tuition, fees and living expenses last year. Given the decreases in funding for U.S. higher education, at both the federal and state levels, international students paying disproportionally higher non-resident tuition are helping to prop up a higher education system that has been the victim of benign neglect from elected and appointed officials. Until America, as a nation, is ready to make education a priority again, our colleges and universities must find ways to keep their doors open and international scholars are forming an increasingly important part of that calculus.

Foreign students also must, to succeed, learn something about American culture and society while they are here. They expose our own young people to the cultures and societies of the world. This peaceful development of friendships without borders has long been a prominent feature of secondary education, and is, perhaps, the most effective antibody our society has to inoculate us against the perils of sensational, isolationist political ranting. (Back, full circle, to those “barbarians at the gate.”) In fact, no less an iconic institution than the U.S. Air Force Academy fully understands the benefits of engaging internationally through student programs: included in this year’s graduating class are 50 cadets representing some 36 partner nations.

The problem isn’t with this robust international engagement at the university level. The problem is with export control policies that ignore it, and instead place onerous gatekeeping burdens upon industry.

The problem isn’t with colleges, universities or other organizations that are willing to engage in constructive, informal, unofficial relationships with other nations. It is

with elected or appointed government that is not willing to do this.

As another famous cowboy once said, “The enemy is within the gates. It is with our own luxury, our own folly...that we have to contend.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero*)

The View From Here is that the 1248 report (mandated by Section 1248 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010) and subsequent proposed legislation finally put us in the position to get our space technology gatekeeping right. Removing space technologies from the munitions list is a good first step.

Subsequent steps must recognize and protect only those technologies that really need protecting, while encouraging industry to trade freely wherever academia and non-U.S. industry are already free to do so.

*Although best known as one of Rome’s greatest orators, Cicero came from the Equestrian class, which provided horses and cavalrymen to the Roman army.

About the authorNamed chief executive officer of the Space Foundation in 2001, Elliot Pulham leads a premier team of space and education professionals providing services to educators and students, government officials, news media and the space industry around the world. He is widely quoted by national, international, and trade media in their coverage of space activities and space-related issues. Before joining the Space Foundation, he was senior manager of public relations, employee communication and advertising for all space programs of Boeing, serving as spokesperson at the Kennedy Space Center for the Magellan, Galileo and Ulysses interplanetary missions, among others. He is a recipient of the coveted Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America—the profession’s highest honor. In 2003, the Rotary National Awards for Space Achievement Foundation presented him with the coveted Space Communicator Award, an honor he shares with the late legendary CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite and former CNN News Anchor Miles O’Brien. Pulham is chairman of the Hawaii Aerospace Advisory Committee, a former Air Force Civic Leader and advisor to the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force and a recipient of the U.S. Air Force Distinguished Public Service Medal.

Cut that wire

POV


OPS

By the editors of the NRL’s SPECTRA Magazine

NRL Journal: Nanosatellite Experimental Platforms

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying NRL’s nanosatellites launched at 10:43 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40 on the first test flight of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program

with the Dragon capsule. (Credit: SpaceX/Chris Thompson)


NRL’s nanosatellites are part of the CubeSat Experiment (QbX) of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Cubesats are standardized, cube-shaped satellite platforms measuring only 10 cm (about four inches) on a side. NRO wants to demonstrate the feasibility of placing payloads on cubesats to accelerate technology evaluations and deploy new capabilities with markedly reduced costs over traditional satellite platforms.

Three cubesats attached end-to-end are referred to as triple-unit (3U) platforms. On this launch, NRL deployed two 3U cubesats with Colony I buses built by Pumpkin Inc. of San Francisco, California, and provided by the NRO.

NRL’s tiny 3U cubesats contained components comparable to large satellites, including command telemetry and data handling, an electrical power system with batteries and solar arrays, an attitude control system with magnetic torque coils and reaction wheels for three-axis attitude control, and a UHF radio with antenna. Each subsystem essentially fit on a 4 x 4 inch circuit board.

Engineers from the NRL Spacecraft Engineering Department tested and integrated the nanosatellites before launch, and communicated successfully with them after deployment. The tracking, telemetry, and command (TT&C) radio was fully functional, providing reliable two-way data transfers; and the flight software, ported from previous and ongoing NRL programs to the Pumpkin Colony I processor, provided an onboard scheduler for routine vehicle control and operation.

“Deployments, including arrays and antennas, were verified shortly after launch,” said Dr. Stephen Arnold, a computer engineer with the Spacecraft Engineering Department. “We were able to command the satellites and receive stored and real-time telemetry from the onboard systems—in all, the spacecraft operated as expected, and the checkout and experimentation were successful.”

Spacecraft attitude operated in a novel “space dart” mode, so called because of the shape and attitude of the deployed satellite. In this mode, atmospheric drag in the low orbit (300km) provides a stabilization torque that, used with the onboard reaction wheels and torque coils, provides stable pointing to within five degrees of nadir throughout the orbit.

“It was expected that the QbX vehicles would remain in orbit for approximately 30 days,” said Arnold. “In the end, one orbited for 29 days and the other for 39 days before each succumbed to the effects of atmospheric drag and was destroyed during re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.”

Flight software, antennas, and the TT&C radio were designed, built, and integrated by NRL, as was the developmental communications payload. Environmental testing of the completed package was performed in NRL’s extensive spacecraft testing facilities. Ground stations on the east and west coasts provided coverage for command loads and data collection, controlled via VPN from NRL’s Blossom Point Satellite Tracking and Command Station in southern Maryland.

The primary payload launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 was the Dragon capsule. Developed by SpaceX and sponsored by NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, the Dragon capsule is part of an initiative to develop private spacecraft to ferry cargo to and from the International Space Station.

Two nanosatellites designed and built by NRL’s Naval Center for Space Technology were placed in orbit to evaluate nanosatellites as platforms for experimentation and technology development. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on December 8, 2010, as secondary payloads on board a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Inc., Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

Two triple-unit QbX cubesats being prepared for thermal vacuum testing at NRL’s Spacecraft Checkout Facility. The “space dart”

configuration of the satellites can be seen.

The Colony-1 bus as offered by Pumpkin


Documents

Emergency Comms - MilsatMagazine · MilsatMagazine — June 2012 — Vol. 3, #3 RECON: Moog Page 40 By the editors Our nation’s and our allies’ armed forces and government agencies