2008
Text a Target and Identify in 10 Minutes
New satellite technology is also being developed to allow warfighters to detect and identify targets within a 10-minute time frame. The technology, to be tested on TacSat-3, uses a hyperspectral imager, dubbed the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS), in combination with onboard processing to obtain and transmit images to soldiers on the ground.
Bomber Gets EHF Satellite Communications System
Advanced spacecraft and ground equipment will allow military users faster access to information via satellite. Three satellites in development and testing will provide tactical military communications, including real-time video, targeting data, and battlefield maps for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Space Shuttle Technology Reduces Drag
NASA conducted aerodynamic research during the 1980s and 1990s that created products that reduce drag on cars and trucks. Aeroserve Technologies and its subsidiary, Airtab, used the results of aerodynamic research on high performance aircraft and the Space Shuttle to develop the Airtab vortex generator.
DARPA Makes FREND(s)
To improve the robotics necessary to rendezvous with satellites in orbit on missions involving transport, refueling, and repair, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) completed the Front-end Robotics Enabling Near-term Demonstration (FREND) program in 2008.
Leveling Up: Armadillo Wins Level One
In October 2008, Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace won the $350,000 prize for Level One of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. This program is intended to spur development of new lunar landers capable of ferrying payloads and people between lunar orbit and the lunar surface.
The Voyage of the Jules Verne
ESA’s Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was guided to the International Space Station through a system that uses the GPS signal to determine position and velocity, allowing the ATV to navigate to the ISS. With the help of GPS, the Jules Verne successfully delivered cargo, water, and oxygen during its service mission to the ISS in April 2008.
Responsive Bus Routing
A technology developed by ESA is helping rural areas to provide on-demand public bus service. In many rural areas, public transportation connections are infrequent. Governments are reluctant to increase public transportation services where revenue does not justify the expense.
Tracking “SnailMail”
A letter-sized GPS device is being used by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to locate mail and determine how long it spends in one place. The GPS Letter Logger, developed by TrackingTheWorld, uses a Texas Instruments microprocessor and a GPS module to track lettersized mail packages.
RFID, Cellular, and Satellite Provide Effective Shipping Container Tracking
An innovative system under development in 2008 can track shipping containers at sea using radio-frequency identification (RFID) and satellite communications. A Siemens IT Solutions product under testing uses active RFID transponders and sensors that collect data on the contents of the containers.
Automated Beam Steering for Uninterrupted Maritime Communications
There is a new Ku-band satellite communications service available to the maritime shipping industry that reduces crew workload and offers cellular, multimedia, and Internet access. The new Eutelsat Communications and SpeedCast maritime broadband communications service, announced in March 2008, offers satellite capacity to key shipping routes.