Phoenix Rises
At the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command the door has opened for not only tri-band terminals that can downlink and uplink signals, process them and deliver them directly to end users, but also to the Army Phoenix quad-band terminal, which will replace Army Ground Mobile Forces Tactical Satellite Communication Systems.
The Phoenix tactical terminal program is a transportable multi-band, multi-channel terminal that operates in the C-, X- and Ku-bands over commercial and military satellites with the capability to add Ka-band for operation over the future Wideband Gapfiller Satellites. The new tri-band and Phoenix terminals seem ideally timed to take advantage of Xtar-Eur, the new satellite that can provide a direct X-band link to the Middle East.
In early May, the U.S. Army's 7th Signal Brigade completed its first field trials of the Xtar-Eur satellite using a tactical ground AN/TSC-85C terminal with both a standard 16- foot Army Lightweight High-Gain X-band Antenna and an 8-foot tactical satellite antenna. Data rates of more than 100 mbps were achieved with the 16-foot dish, outperforming DSCS satellites.
The U.S. Army's High Capacity Communications Capability study is aimed at the development of a modular and scalable architecture for the next generation Joint Service Communications Capability. The capability leverages future wideband space architecture in a single platform that includes high capacity line-of-sight; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and protected communications on-the-move. The system will take advantage of next-generation digital devices, advanced materials currently being studied for monolithic microwave integrated circuits and innovative solutions for communications on-the-move antennas with an emphasis on a modular, open system design.
Issues remain for Satellite Program Stability And Reliability
A couple of unwelcome events in 2005 have sent a clear signal to the military satellite community. While we can talk about 21st Century high-performance links and future technological breakthroughs, we need to first examine the satellites, and the workflows and support systems surrounding them.
The flight test failure of the Ground-based Midcourse Missile Defense program last February was attributed to a combination of quality control and improper silo configuration. Quality control issues surfaced again when a GPS satellite launch was delayed this past spring. A relay on the spacecraft had somehow avoided destructive physical analysis.
While these recent missteps do not bear directly on the satellite communications universe, they constitute a wake-up call. Little oversights or slip-ups that could have been avoided altogether are often symptoms of a bigger problem. It is clear that systems management, quality control and oversight need to be reinforced, from the ground up.
Peter Brown is Via Satellite's Senior Multimedia & Homeland Security Editor.
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