Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited says it has completed an on-time delivery of 15 S-band software-defined radios in support of a small-satellite constellation mission being developed by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary.
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Amergint acquires Tethers Unlimited
Colorado-based Amergint Technology Holdings says it has acquired Tethers Unlimited, a Bothell, Wash.-based space venture that’s working on a wide range of government-funded projects.
In a news release, Amergint said the deal will bring together the two companies’ teams to provide integrated end-to-end solutions for satellite communications and in-space services.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Tethers Unlimited weathered a wave of bad news over the winter, but now some good news has bloomed. The company, headquartered in Bothell, Wash., reports that its SWIFT-SLX S-band radio has been successfully operated in orbit.
The compact software-defined radio provided two-way communications between Harris Corp.’s first small satellite, known as HSAT-1, and the satellite’s ground operators, Tethers Unlimited said this week in a news release. HSAT was launched last November by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, with Seattle-based Spaceflight handling logistical support.
SWIFT-SLX is designed to fit on CubeSat-class spacecraft, and can be configured to meet a wide range of mission needs, including in-flight adjustment of operating frequencies for S- and L-band communications. Development of the radio was supported with Small Business Innovation Research grants from the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Army Space and Missile Defense Center.
Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited says it’s delivered the first flight unit of a K-band radio transmitter that’s designed for use on CubeSat satellites as small as a loaf of bread.
The SWIFT-KTX transmitter builds upon Tethers Unlimited’s software-defined radio platform to transmit data at rates exceeding 100 megabits per second, the company said today in a news release. That rate is roughly on par with typical cable connection speeds.
Tethers Unlimited developed the transmitter under a Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command. The company said the first flight unit was delivered to a confidential customer.
Burnaby, B.C.-based Orbital Research Inc. says it will build a space-based, 26 GHz Ka-band radio receiver for use on the SWIFT software-defined radiosproduced by Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited Inc. for small satellites.
The 1,000-foot Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, made famous by such movies as “Contact” and the James Bond thriller “Goldeneye,” will be under new management.
Today the National Science Foundation announced that the University of Central Florida has begun the transition process for taking on operation and management of the observatory. “NSF is currently negotiating the operations and management award with UCF,” the federal agency said in a statement.
The handover is aimed at reducing the federal outlay for the Arecibo Observatory, which has been struggling with squeezed budgets in recent years.
OneRadio Corp., a University of Washington spinout that focuses on sniffing out radio signals across a wide spectrum, has signed up the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s National Security Directorate as its first customer.
PNNL plans to use OneRadio’s wide-band radio receiver platform for security-related applications, the Seattle-based company said today.
OneRadio CEO Mohan Vaghul said he was thrilled to be working closely with researchers at the federally funded laboratory. “Our goal is to support them so that the agencies benefit,” Vaghul said.
Headquartered in Richland, Wash., PNNL provides its clients with practical solutions to prevent and counter acts of terrorism and stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
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OneRadio unveils wideband radio receiver
OneRadio Corp. has been working on its dragnet for radio transmissions for two years in stealth mode, but the spinout from the University of Washington’s CoMotion innovation program is finally ready to go public.
The startup plans to demonstrate its wideband radio receiver platform next week at the 2017 IEEE Radar Conference in Seattle.
“This is a great coming-out party for us,” OneRadio CEO Mohan Vaghul told GeekWire.
Get the full story on GeekWire.
Journalists got a first-of-its-kind tour of Blue Origin’s rocket factory this week, personally conducted by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos. While the memories were still fresh, Cosmic Log’s Alan Boyle recounted the tour and talked about Bezos’ vision on two podcasts:
- On GeekWire Radio, host Todd Bishop asks why Bezos decided to lift the veil on Blue Origin’s operation after 16 years of secretiveness.
- On KUOW’s “The Record,” host Bill Radke gets the details on a tour that’s reminiscent of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. “No Oompa-Loompas, but lots of rocket engines.”