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Before you launch a rocket, you need to count the moose. Maritime Launch Services, the company that hopes to build a spaceport on a parcel of Nova Scotia land that juts into the ocean near Canso in Guysborough County, must first complete an environmental review — including counting seasonal numbers of local flora and fauna — before the province agrees to the project. “We’ve hired a contractor to help us do the study,” MLS president Steve Matier said Monday. “We could conceivably complete that effort at the end of this year.” “It’s part of the process, and it’s understood. We...

WASHINGTON — A mysterious Russian military satellite parked itself between two Intelsat satellites in geosynchronous orbit for five months this year, alarming company executives and leading to classified meetings among U.S. government officials. The Russian satellite, alternatively known as Luch or Olymp, launched in September 2014 and seven months later moved to a position directly between the Intelsat 7 and Intelsat 901 satellites, which are located within half a degree of one another 36,000 kilometers above the equator. At times, the Russian satellite maneuvered to about 10 kilometers of the Intelsat space vehicles, sources said, a distance so close that...

Tomorrow the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first launch of the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite. It was the beginnings of a satellite constellation that has been providing space-based infrared missile warning to our nation's leaders for four decades. On, Nov. 6, 1970 the launch of the maiden DSP spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Fla. was accomplished. During the last several decades, a dedicated team of scientists, engineers, acquisition specialists, civilian contractors and space professionals has ensured that the DSP system performed better than advertised and lasted much longer than designed....

In the years since the Cold War ended, the U.S. military has become heavily dependent upon satellite communications to maintain its global connectivity. Without such links, it would be difficult for the military to operate in a coordinated fashion or exchange information critical to situational awareness. Defense experts have repeatedly warned that the availability of space-based communications could be compromised in future conflicts by the fact that 80-90% of all military traffic is transmitted on vulnerable commercial satcom channels. However, there is a related problem that far fewer military observers have noticed: only about 1% of defense communications today are...

This capability allows F-16 pilots to communicate using four geosynchronous satellites 22,300 miles above the equator. F-16 pilots can now converse beyond the line of sight to command and control agencies in Iraq. Previously, pilots were relied on line of sight radio capability to communicate. With that, a straight line between the transmitting and receiving end was needed for successful communication, and it was limited by range, mountains and other obstructions. Now with the satellite communication system high above the earth, the line of sight is no longer an issue. "The new capability allows us to communicate with joint-terminal air...