The Navy and launch partner United Launch Alliance (ULA) have readied for Friday’s potential 8:48 a.m. EST launch of the sea service’s second Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) communications satellite, according to ULA.
Launch is scheduled to take place on one of ULA’s heavy lift Atlas V rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The 44-minute launch window will begin at 8:48 a.m. ULA said in a statement Thursday the forecast for Friday’s launch window was a 40 percent chance of favorable weather conditions.
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| The Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite. Photo: Lockheed Martin. |
MUOS is a next-generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system designed to significantly improve beyond line-of-sight communications for U.S. forces on the move. MUOS will provide military users 10 times more communications capacity over the existing system by leveraging 3G mobile communications technology and will also provide simultaneous voice and data capability.
ULA is a joint venture between Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT], which is the prime contractor for MUOS. Lockheed Martin said in April two of General Dynamics’ [GD] AN/PRC-155 Manpack radios completed secure radio-to-radio voice and data calls using an in-orbit MUOS satellite (Defense Daily, April 19).
Lockheed Martin last summer completed on-orbit testing of the first MUOS satellite (Defense Daily; July 18, 2012).