US Navy to Launch Fourth MUOS Satellite

US Navy’s fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite is awaiting countdown for launch Aug. 31. The launching is planed between 6:07 and 6:51 a.m. ET.

MUOS is already providing legacy communications to combatant commanders via active satellites on-orbit. MUOS’ new Wideband Code Division Multiple Access capability has been demonstrated in various environments, platforms and applications such as integration testing with the newest submarine antennas, Navy special operations scenario exercises and Air Force C-17 in-flight tests.

Two MUOS satellites, launched in 2012 and 2013, are already providing legacy communications capability from their geosynchronous orbits over the Pacific Ocean and the United States.

MUOS-3, launched in January, was accepted by the Navy in June after on-orbit testing. The third satellite is awaiting final testing before being accepted for operational use.

Ultimately, the constellation and associated network will extend narrowband communications availability well past 2025.

The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Space Systems, located at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, is responsible for the MUOS program.

MUOS provides satellite communications in the narrowband spectrum. Although narrowband communication is less than 2 percent of total Department of Defense bandwidth, it represents more than 50 percent of all DoD satellite communication users. In addition to ad-hoc situations such as disaster response, narrowband represents the majority of communications for SEAL teams.

MUOS works like a smartphone network in space, vastly improving secure satellite communications for mobile U.S. forces. MUOS provides users a global, on-demand, beyond-line-of-sight capability to transmit and receive high-quality voice and mission data on a high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.

Navy Capt. Joe Kan, program manager for the Communications Satellite Program Office, said:

MUOS will be used by all services. For example, the Army will extend satellite communication to their individual soldiers. The special operations forces will use MUOS for all their missions. And the Navy uses MUOS in particular for submarine communications.

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Image: US Navy