Tactical communications satellite ready for testing

The military’s Mobile User Objective System satellite moved one step closer to orbital delivery in January when its communications system module was attached to its propulsion core.

The mating of the two main sections of the satellite was completed at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif., company officials said today. The next step is environmental testing of the fully integrated satellite, they said.

The MUOS system module, developed by Lockheed Martin, includes a legacy UHF payload provided by Boeing Satellite Systems. The payload is compatible with more than 10,000 deployed UHF satellite communications terminals that will transition to the satellite system from existing High Frequency Follow-On system satellites.

The communications satellite’s wideband capabilities offer a 16-fold increase over legacy UHF satellite communications in the number and capability of satellite links, the officials said. (For more on tactical communications, see “Netted Iridium Radios Prove Indispensible in Battlefield Test.”)

The propulsion subsystem of the MUOS satellite enables operators to maneuver the satellite to its final orbital location and reposition it as needed.

The MUOS satellite will deliver voice, video and data tactical communications to military units as they move about during operations. The first satellite, together with the associated ground system provided by General Dynamics C4 Systems, is scheduled to be handed off in orbit to the Navy in 2011, the officials said.

Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., is the MOUS prime contractor and systems integrator.

The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Space Systems and its Communications Satellite Program Office oversee the MUOS program.