Satellite News

CapRock Government Solutions, innovative specialty telecommunications and IT solutions partner for defense, intelligence and government organizations, announced a new strategic initiative to strengthen and extend its Information Assurance (IA) portfolio with the addition of key IA resources and expertise within the company. The new strategic focus will address a wide range of growing network threats and security challenges that government and military customers have been forced to contend with in recent years.

To assist its government customers in strengthening the confidentiality, integrity, availability and over-arching security posture of their networks, CapRock has hired William Janosky as Director of Information Assurance. A highly respected IA subject matter expert, Janosky has extensive experience with advanced technologies and methodologies to help government agencies counter the growing sophistication of network threats and attacks.

Janosky has over twenty years of experience leading IA operations in support of Department of Defense (DoD) leadership including the Army and Navy Chief Information Officers. Previously, Janosky served as IA Manager at FCI, where he provided IA solutions to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for commercial satellite provisioning to U.S. Government end-users. He has extensive experience in DoD IA policy, operational strategy and risk mitigation.

In his new role, Janosky will be responsible for upgrading and implementing CapRock’s overall IA posture and driving the company toward progressively higher standards of IA compliance. Janosky will also guide the expansion of CapRock’s role in providing DoD-focused IA evaluations and assessments to commercial and government agencies looking to formalize their IA compliance programs. Janosky will report to Vice President of Operations, David Cavossa.

In addition to the multiple networks that CapRock manages for its customers across 63 satellites and 4GHz of capacity, the company also has extensive experience in integrating U.S. Defense installations onto DISA’s Global Information Grid (GIG). CapRock’s DoD customers rely on this secure information-sharing environment for access to decision-quality data.

Cisco announced that its Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) technology has achieved another major milestone with the successful completion of in-orbit testing for the United States Department of Defense. The first-ever deployment of an Internet Protocol (IP) router aboard a commercial satellite, this milestone represents another step in IRIS’ viability as a next-generation resource for the military and commercial satellite communications.

The IRIS router supports network services for voice, video and data communications, helping enable government agencies, military units and allied forces to communicate with one another using IP and existing ground equipment. This offers several enhancements over conventional satellite technology and eliminates the need to send data to and from an extra ground station, which can be expensive and time-consuming. IRIS was launched on Intelsat’s IS-14 satellite on Nov. 23, 2009.

Demonstration Facts: IRIS is a program to build a radiation-tolerant IP router for satellite and related spacecraft.

The IRIS Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) is a Department of Defense (DoD) demonstration program managed by a Cisco-led Industry Management Team that included Intelsat General. It is the first commercially-sponsored JCTD and represents a new model for closer collaboration between government and industry.

During the JCTD evaluation, IRIS services were tested by US DoD and global governmental users in real-world scenarios, both on land and at sea. In each instance, IRIS was able to provide on-demand connectivity and enhance the mission effectiveness of these users. The JCTD evaluation also featured real-time collaboration applications over satellite including virtual private networks and video and file transfers.

Proven outcomes of the IRIS JCTD included: High availability: 99.95% router availability during the IRIS JCTD provided the foundation for mission critical operations.

Seamless, high performance global IP communications: Applications including voice over IP and video and file transfers performed equally well regardless of terminal location, demonstrating communications performance equal to traditional, land-based networks.

Secure, flexible IP Virtual Private Networks: In support of mission and connectivity requirements that change in real-time, two discreet VPN networks were continuously maintained via the IRIS platform which ensured uninterrupted, highly secure communications.

Enhanced, real-time operations collaboration: IRIS provided real-time chat/voice and web portal services that were quickly and easily accessible from any terminal, ensuring fast and effective coordination and communications in response to events and conditions.

Following this JCTD completion, the IRIS payload is undergoing extended commercial and government testing for up to 12 months to demonstrate its viability for additional applications for the at-large satellite networking ecosystem.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will be offering IRIS services to its Dept. of Defense programs later in the year for additional testing in various scenarios.

About IRIS IRIS offers several enhancements over conventional satellite technology. With IRIS, users will be able to experience a true mobile network – one that helps enable them to connect and communicate how, when and where they want, and that continuously adapts to their needs without a reliance on predefined, fixed infrastructure.

The elimination of the double-hop and shorter radio frequency path with IRIS also increases transponder utilization. The software on the IRIS router and onboard modem can be upgraded in orbit, which increases flexibility and the return on investment. IRIS runs Cisco IOSTM (Internetworking Operating System) software. IRIS leverages billions of dollars in Cisco IOS R&D and integrates seamlessly with Cisco ground routers, creating a converged, multiservice space and ground network.

IRIS extends the Internet into Space as it can directly exchange routing updates with Cisco ground routers, which increases the flexibility of the satellite network.

Cisco is working with satellite manufacturers, system integrators and end users to help enable them to deliver services globally to points outside traditional ground-based networks.

Intelsat, the world’s leading provider of satellite services, operates the IS-14 satellite carrying the IRIS hosted payload.

SES WORLD SKIES, a new division of SES, which has been formed through the combination of the former SES NEW SKIES and SES AMERICOM, has announced that the company has hosted a live demonstration of the Defense Intelligence VSAT Network (DIVN) in Phoenix, Arizona, along with the DoD Intelligence Information Systems (DoDIIS) Conference 2010.

Deploying the bandwidth on board SES’s AMC-1 satellite and links through its Sunset Beach teleport in Hawaii, the company showcased the capability of the DIVN to offer live distribution of conference plenary sessions to locations worldwide. The people attending the conference being held at Phoenix also got to watch live video feeds of Defense leadership in Washington, DC and Afghanistan through the network.

The DIVN program aims at seamlessly integrating communications engineering with enhanced broadband satellite support service to offer advanced communication services to the Defense and Intelligence Community that is located at over 100 places worldwide, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea.

In the year 2009, the director of the DIA had selected the DIVN team for receiving his annual agency team award. DoDIIS is a conference hosted by the DIA, which offers a strong venue to demonstrate the capabilities of the global satellite communications network. The event is attended by around 2,000 participants.

In the words of Philip Kwong, chief defense intelligence VSAT Network, the success of the demonstration as well as the Director’s award recently presented to the DIVN team are indicative of both the importance and the quality of the service that VSAT Network provides to DIA and the nation.

According to Tip Osterthaler, president and CEO of SES WORLD SKIES, U.S. Government Solutions, DIVN has been a landmark program for SES WORLD SKIES, starting with a small contract to provide commercial bandwidth in support of a regional DIA network and evolving over several years into a significant program that provides mission critical capabilities to a large number of users across a wide geographic area. Osterthaler noted that the demonstration provided a great illustration of how the U.S. Government and industry can come together to provide an enhanced, global communications capability.