New satellite could revolutionize battlefield communications

The Naval Research Laboratory plans to launch an experimental, $75 million satellite that U.S. ground forces can use for on-the-move communications with standard military handheld or back radios.

The Tactical Satellite-4 (TacSat-4) will zoom around Earth in an elliptical orbit at altitudes ranging from 435 miles to 7,470 miles, keeping the spacecraft far closer than the 22,000-mile orbit of geostationary communications satellites, according to the Operationally Responsive Space Office at Kirtland Air Force Base (NM), which funded the launch and first six months of use. Michael Hurley, head of spacecraft development for the Naval Research Lab, said from the TacSat-4 launch site in Kodiak (Alaska). He said the low orbits will allow ground forces for the first time to communicate with a military satellite using omnidirectional antennas on their radios while on the move, rather than stopping to set up a satellite antenna.