Two Harris Corporation unfurlable mesh antenna reflectors successfully deployed October 30 on orbit onboard the U.S. Navy’s fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-5) satellite. MUOS-5, an advanced, new secure communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin, launched on June 24 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
MUOS-5 is the latest satellite to join the MUOS satellite constellation, which operates like a global military cellular network in the sky, vastly improving current secure communications for mobile forces. Unlike previous systems, MUOS provides users an on-demand capability to transmit and receive high-quality, prioritized voice and mission data on a high-speed IP-based system beyond-line-of-sight, nearly anywhere around the world. This includes connecting into the Global Information Grid, as well as the Defense Switched Network. Once fully operational, MUOS will be compatible with and provide 16-times the capacity of the legacy UHF satellite system.
The antennas are the ninth and tenth Harris-built reflectors for the MUOS constellation. Harris provides two antennas onboard each satellite – a 14-meter diameter antenna to support new MUOS capabilities and a 5.4-meter diameter antenna to support legacy operations.
