Honeywell to upgrade antenna electronics for Air Force satellite-control station
LOS ANGELES AFB, Calif., 7 July 2014. Satellite control experts at Honeywell Aerospace will upgrade the electronics at Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., under terms of a $12.9 million contract modification announced last week.
Officials of the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Range and Network Division at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif., are asking Honeywell for the Hybrid site upgrade at Vandenberg Tracking Station B-Side, as part of the Core Hybrid program.
Engineers at the Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. in Colorado Springs, Colo., will do the job. Honeywell Technology Solutions is part of Honeywell Aerospace. The original contract, awarded early last year, was to modernize the core electronics at AFSCN remote tracking site antennas on Hawaii and Guam.
The Core Hybrid program seeks to upgrade the eight AFSCN remote tracking sites, which are located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.; Diego Garcia; Guam; Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Hawaii; New Boston Air Force Station, N.H.; RAF Oakhanger, England; Thule Air Base, Greenland; and Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Related: Reliable military and aerospace communications depend on advanced antenna technologies
The Core Hybrid will modernize the electronics at each of the remote tracking sites and integrate those electronics with each site's existing antenna, Air Force officials say.
The AFSCN provides support for the operation, control, and maintenance of U.S. civil and military satellites, including telemetry, tracking, and commanding operations.
The AFSCN also provides prelaunch checkout and simulation, launch support, and early orbit support while satellites are in initial or transfer orbits and require maneuvering to their final orbit. The AFSCN provides tracking data to help maintain the catalog of space objects and distributes various data such as satellite ephemeris, almanacs, and other information.
The AFSCN satellite operations centers are manned around the clock and are responsible for command and control of their assigned satellites. Each antenna at a remote tracking station is called a side.
On this contract Honeywell will do the work at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif., and should be finished by June 2017. For more information contact Honeywell Technology Solutions online at http://aerospace.honeywell.com/services/honeywell-technology-solutions-inc-htsi, or the Air Force Range and Network Systems Division at www.losangeles.af.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
