As Defense Department budgets continue to shrink, the importance of complementary government and commercial satellite systems will increase, according to a Boeing [BA] space executive.
“How can commercial systems support government missions and how can government missions support commercial systems,” Steve O’Neill, Boeing vice president for commercial satellite systems, space and intelligence systems, asked March 14 at the Satellite 2012 conference in Washington.
O’Neill emphasized four ways government and commercial satellite operators can help each other: using free flyers, existing ground infrastructure, hosted payloads and by the government adopting commercial practices.
O’Neill said free flyers are smaller satellite systems that meet a mission need, but are less complex and, therefore, can be launched and put into service faster.
Using existing ground infrastructure is another opportunity.
“How can I design a system that does not require the added expense of new terminals, ground stations, training and all of the other things that a new ground infrastructure requires,” O’Neill asked.
Hosted payloads are another way industry and government can mutually benefit each other. Hosted payloads are, commonly, commercial satellites launching with additional, “piggybacking” payloads, such as government sensors. Hosted payloads allow the government or industry the opportunity to expand capabilities into space without having to use their own dedicated satellite or launcher, drastically reducing costs.
Boeing launched its medium power Intelsat 22 satellite with a hosted Ultra High Frequency payload recently, according to a company statement. The Defense Department and Australian Defence Force are sharing Ultra High Frequency (UHF) payload space on the satellite, according to Intelsat Vice President Richard DalBello. Intelsat 22 is one in a series of satellites Boeing is delivering for Intelsat.
O’Neill said the government adopting commercial practices will help it save money in tight budget times. He said one way is adopting firm fixed-price contracting, “just like we do with commercial bids,” which guarantees the government pays the price it negotiated and holds the supplier accountable, both financially and contractually, for cost, schedule and a “technically-compliant” solution. O’Neill added this can also be done through smarter supply chain management.