Commercial X-band satellite operator Xtar has landed $8 million in bandwidth contracts in the last 12 months for U.S. government applications including airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the company said in a press release Dec. 12.
A “significant portion” of the 100 megahertz of bandwidth, provided by the Xtar-Eur satellite and Xtar-Lant hosted payload, is being delivered to the government through value added resellers, Herndon, Va.-based Xtar said in a written response to questions. Xtar spokeswoman Lisa Koppel declined to say whether any of the capacity is being provided under a government contracting vehicle known as Future Comsatcom Services Acquisition.
The contracts run from 12 to 60 months in duration, Xtar said. “These involve fewer than a dozen contracts that vary from small to large in value,” Xtar said, adding that the bandwidth will be used for a mix of activities that include “system certification, training and full operations.”
In a prepared statement, Xtar President and Chief Operating Officer Phillip Harlow said commercially provided X-band capacity is especially important for “users requiring satellite solutions that are not supported by government satellite resources.”
