Better Communications Gear For Soldiers In The Field

The Navy’s new low-cost communication satellite, TacSat-4, uses a standardized platform, or bus, with mission-specific UHF communications equipment bolted to the front. Courtesy of the Defense Department

Small Satellite Could Pay Big Dividends On Battlefield -- Stars And Stripes

WASHINGTON — It’s small, it’s cheap — for a satellite anyway — and it might keep you from getting shot.

Tactical Microsatellite IV, or TacSat-4, a 10-channel UHF communications satellite developed at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to blast off next Tuesday from in Kodiak, Alaska.

Weighing in under 1,000 pounds and with a cost of around $150 million to build, launch and operate, the spacecraft is designed to blast down a radio signal powerful enough to free troops in the field from carrying heavy radio equipment and fiddling with antennas.

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My Comment: No more carrying heavy radio equipment and fiddling with antennas .... just what soldiers want to hear.

Pentagon Tests A Global Internet Routing System Via Satellite

Atlas Launch Cisco's space Internet router launched aboard an Atlas 5 rocket on November 23, 2009. ULA/Pat Corkery

From Popular Science:

Communication satellites have traditionally acted as transfer points for data beamed up from the ground. But the first commercial satellite with its own Internet router could eliminate the usual satellite-relay transfer lag and more flexibly handle voice, video and data communications for U.S. and NATO military forces anywhere around the world. The U.S. Department of Defense plans to kick off a three-month demo of the space technology this week, according to Aviation Week's Ares Defense Blog.

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My Comment: With the growth of UAV and other robotic systems/platforms continuing at a rapid rate, having the proper (and secure) communication platforms will become even more essential in the years to come. I can only presume that this "space internet router" is just one more vital piece of technology to make all of this work.