Rover's Current Location Makes Communications a Challenge
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 28, 2015 -
Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater conducting a walk-about survey for clay minerals.
The rover's current location within Marathon Valley with its high walls to the north and west presents a challenge for low-elevation Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) relay passes to the west. On Sol 4141 (Sept. 17, 2015), no data were received as the orbiter's flight path ...
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China possibly building its own aircraft carrier
Washington (UPI) Sep 28, 2015 -
Satellite images obtained by Airbus Defence and Space imagery show an unidentified hull in an advanced state of construction of what may be China's first home-made carrier.
While the images, captured on September 22, are inconclusive, the slow pace of assembly shown is consistent with a military hull under construction. The dock in question is associated with refit and repair of a Sovie ...
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At UN, Obama marches on with coalition against Islamic State
United Nations, United States (AFP) Sept 29, 2015 -
President Barack Obama sits down with more than 100 leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday to push ahead with the US-led campaign against the Islamic State group despite Russia's rival plan.
Russia has been invited to the counter-terrorism summit held a day before Moscow hosts a special UN Security Council meeting on the same issue, two events bound to highlight sharp differences in approa ...
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Obama says Assad must go, pushes campaign against IS
United Nations, United States (AFP) Sept 29, 2015 -
US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad must go if the Islamic State group is to be defeated, as he rallied world leaders to revitalize the coalition campaign against the jihadists.
A day after clashing with Russian President Vladimir Putin over how to handle the crisis in Syria, Obama hosted a counter-terrorism summit at the United Nations to take stoc ...
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Obama draws pledges of 30,000 troops for UN peacekeeping
United Nations, United States (AFP) Sept 28, 2015 -
More than 50 countries pledged 30,000 troops for United Nations peacekeeping on Monday at a US summit called to shore up missions under strain from the rise in global crises.
China scaled up its contribution, taking the lead in setting up an 8,000-strong standby police force while Colombia made a first-time offer of up to 5,000 troops.
The pledges represent a major boost to UN peacekeep ...
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131 dead in alleged strike on Yemen wedding
Sanaa (AFP) Sept 29, 2015 -
The death toll from an alleged air strike on a Yemeni wedding soared Tuesday to 131, including women and children, as the Saudi-led coalition denied it was behind the incident.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned Monday's reported bombardment, saying intentional attacks on civilians were considered a "serious violation of international humanitarian law".
Residents said the Arab coalition, whi ...
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USS Cowpens holds cruiser modernization induction
San Diego (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
The guided-missile cruiser US Cowpens (CG 63) was inducted as the first naval ship to undergo a significant modernization effort, the U.S. Navy announced on Monday.
The ship went through the Phased Modernization Program. This is designed to balance the Navy's long-term requirement for a carrier strike group air defense commander platform. The ship's capabilities have been refitted for m ...
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Textron supplies armored vehicles to Afghanistan
New Orleans (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
Textron Systems Marine & Land Systems is to supply additional four-wheeled armored vehicles to the Afghan National Army.
The contract for 55 Commando Select vehicles was issued through by the U.S. Army for a Foreign Military Sales deal and is worth $56.2 million.
"Since being put into service by Afghan National Army Kandaks (battalions) several years ago, ANA soldiers have experi ...
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Finland eyes building new combat vessels
Helsinki, Finland (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
The Finnish Navy has been given the go-ahead to begin a program to replace six combat ships.
The program is called Flotilla 2020 and will lead to the procurement of four vessels. The ships will replace four Rauma-class fast attack missile craft and two Hameenmaa-class mine-layers.
Both classes of ships date from the 1990s and their life-cycles "cannot be extended in a cost-effici ...
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Lithuania buys self-propelled howitzers from German Army
Vilnius, Lithuania (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
Lithuania on Tuesday signed an agreement to procure 21 PzH2000 self-propelled howitzers from the German Armed Forces.
The deal for the 155mm guns, as well as vehicles and other equipment, is worth nearly $65 million.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said 16 of the guns will be usable for combat purposes, two will be used for training firing and driving skills, and three for spa ...
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AgustaWestland partners for Czech military contract
Rome (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland is teaming with Czech firm LOM Praha s.p. in its bid for a Czech military helicopter contact.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed Monday, LOM Praha would provide maintenance, training and servicing for AgustaWestlands AW139 aircraft, as well as the manufacturing of the helicopter kits.
"The partnership would be firmly established in the event ...
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Gilat to supply dual Ku/Ka-band terminals to major ISP
Petah Tikva, Israel (SPX) Sep 25, 2015 -
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has announced that it has signed a long-term agreement to develop and supply high-performance dual Ku/Ka-band terminals for in-flight connectivity (IFC) on commercial aircraft.
Benefitting from Gilat's longstanding expertise in high-performance and low-profile antenna design, the new Ku/Ka-band in-flight connectivity solution will enable IFC service providers ...
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France to hold crunch talks in India on Rafale deal: official
New Delhi (AFP) Sept 29, 2015 -
French and Indian defence officials are to hold fresh talks Tuesday on the purchase of 36 Rafale jets, with hopes drawn-out negotiations on the multi-billion-dollar deal are close to concluding, an official said.
The talks are going ahead in New Delhi after the French side agreed to an Indian government demand for future investment in the country as part of the deal, the Economic Times said. ...
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Forty years of European space tracking
Paris (ESA) Sep 25, 2015 -
ESA celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Agency's ground station network, the indispensable link to spacecraft that are helping us to learn about our planet, our Solar System and our Universe.
Over four decades, Estrack has expanded globally and today employs cutting-edge technology to link scientists and mission controllers with spacecraft orbiting Earth, watching our Sun, studying star ...
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After Astrosat success, India set to launch 23 foreign satellites
Sriharikota, India (IANS) Oct 01, 2015 -
India has signed up contracts to launch 23 foreign satellites soon, an official of Antrix Corporation said on Monday. Antrix Corporation is the commercial arm of Indian space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"Out of 23 foreign satellites, two will go in two separate rockets. The remaining 21 satellites will piggy-back on bigger Indian satellite," the official told IANS. He ...
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Leidos and Boundless Enter Strategic Relationship
New York NY (SPX) Oct 01, 2015 -
Leidos and Boundless has announced they have entered into a strategic relationship to collaborate on cybersecurity and geospatial solutions. Leidos and Boundless will collaborate on joint business development efforts to market and identify opportunities.
Boundless will provide Leidos with open-source geospatial software development and expertise in support of integration efforts addressing ...
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Report: Marine Corps may expand training in Ukraine
Washington (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
U.S. Marine Corps officials are considering beefing up their training program for local troops in Ukraine who may take on Russian-backed separatists.
The original mandate for U.S. Armed Forces in Ukraine was to train national guardsmen. This mission was expanded by the U.S. State Department on July 25 to include conventional forces. U.S. Marine Corps leaders now want this to include nav ...
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US gathers great Asian democracies to its side
New York (AFP) Sept 29, 2015 -
The United States took a moment Tuesday to gather the great Asian democracies to its side to reassure them of the strength of their ties in the face of North Korean threats and an assertive China.
New threats from Pyongyang, ominous economic signals and China's aggressive stance on its territorial claims in the South China Sea and the Pacific have sent jitters through the region.
Preside ...
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U.S. bomber fleets re-aligned under single command
Barksdale Afb, La. (UPI) Sep 29, 2015 -
All U.S. Air Force bomber fleets are being re-aligned under a single command, officially effective Oct.1, the Air Force announced.
The move moves joins B-1B Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and Ellsworth AFB, S.D., with B-52H Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirits of the Eighth Air Force, which is part of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
A ceremonial re-alignment of the Se ...
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Lockheed Martin moves forward with Space Fence program
Moorestown, N.J. (UPI) Sep 28, 2015 -
U.S. government officials approved Lockheed Martin's design for their Space Fence system, which includes a large-scale digital radar and a turn-key facility, the company announced today.
The Space Fence is a next-generation space surveillance system being built by the U.S. Air Force. Its purpose is to monitor both artificial satellites and space debris that orbit Earth. The plans were b ...
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The First Meeting of the U.S.-China Space Dialogue
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 01, 2015 -
Pursuant to their shared goal of advancing civil space cooperation as agreed upon in the Strategic Track of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in June 2015, the Government of the United States of America and the Government of China convened their inaugural Civil Space Dialogue on September 28, 2015, in Beijing, China.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Department of State for th ...
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Characterizing the forces that hold everything together
Amherst MA (SPX) Sep 24, 2015 -
As electronic, medical and molecular-level biological devices grow smaller and smaller, approaching the nanometer scale, the chemical engineers and materials scientists devising them often struggle to predict the magnitude of molecular interactions on that scale and whether new combinations of materials will assemble and function as designed.
This is because the physics of interactions at ...
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Flowing electrons help ocean microbes gulp methane
Pasadena CA (SPX) Sep 22, 2015 -
Good communication is crucial to any relationship, especially when partners are separated by distance. This also holds true for microbes in the deep sea that need to work together to consume large amounts of methane released from vents on the ocean floor. Recent work at Caltech has shown that these microbial partners can still accomplish this task, even when not in direct contact with one anothe ...
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Government Needs for Convergence, Disaggregation Will Require Commercial Support
McLean VA (SPX) Sep 25, 2015 -
Convergence on the ground. Disaggregation in space. They are more than just buzzwords in Air Force Space Command, and both concepts - considered key in the future satellite communications networks of the United States military - are going to be dependent on the commercial community to make them work as efficiently and effectively as needed.
We at Intelsat General Corp. are in a position to ...
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Japan to launch defense procurement agency
Washington (UPI) Sep 24, 2015 -
Japan's Ministry of Defense will use its new constitutional powers to set up an agency to manage international trade of weapons and military equipment.
The ministry confirmed with IHS Jane's that the new agency will be named the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, and will begin operations on October 1.
The agency's key objectives will include promoting international co ...
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