Post by glactus on Aug 24, 2011 4:22:38 GMT
The TacSat spacecraft
The Naval research Laboratory's Tactical Satellite IV (TacSat-4) is scheduled to launch from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation's Kodiak Launch Complex, Tuesday, September 27, 2011, aboard an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur-IV+ launch vehicle. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored the development of the payload and the first year of operations.
The Minotaur launcher
Shortly after launch, the TacSat-4 spacecraft will be deployed into a unique, highly elliptical orbit with an apogee of 12,050 kilometers. This orbit helps augment current geosynchronous satellite communication by including high latitudes.
Looking at the TacSat spacecraft
TacSat-4 is a Navy-led joint mission which provides 10 Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels and allows troops using existing radios to communicate on-the-move (COTM) from obscured regions without the need for dangerous antenna positioning and pointing.
The Virtual Mission Operations Center (VMOC) mission planning system allows dynamic reallocation to different theaters worldwide that enables rapid SATCOM augmentation when unexpected operations or natural events occur.
Credits: These are non copywrite images
Text by Wikipedia
Space art by Glactus