The Navy’s fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-5) communications satellite, launched in late June, experienced an “anomaly” while being moved in space, the Navy announced July 8.
MUOS-5 lifted off aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket on June 24 and was projected to enter its test location 22,000 miles above Hawaii by July 3, according to Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). But the anomaly, whose nature was not disclosed, forced the transfer maneuver to be halted temporarily, SPAWAR wrote in a statement.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
The satellite has been placed in a “stabilized, safe intermediate orbit” so the MUOS team can evaluate the situation, SPAWAR said. Lockheed Martin [LMT], which built the MUOS satellites, is “working closely with our Navy customer to determine the cause of the anomaly,” said Chip Eschenfelder, a company spokesman.
MUOS-5 was launched as a spare for the new MUOS constellation, whose first four satellites provide ultra-high-frequency satellite communications for military operations. MUOS is designed to provide near-global, smartphone-like communications for mobile military forces, including aircraft, ships and ground troops. It is intended to eventually replace the aging Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) satellite system. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA].