Mobile User Objective System

MUOS

Mobile User Objective System ( MUOS ) is a satellite communications system of the US Navy . The constellation is a successor to the UFO system and should offer ten times more data transmission capacity.

construction

MUOS consists of five geostationary satellites , one of which serves as a reserve. The program had been delayed from an initial start originally planned for 2008. The costs for the first two satellites and the ground control facilities amounted to around 2.1 billion US dollars , the order volume totaling 3.3 billion US dollars.

Structure of the satellites

The satellites are based on the commercial satellite bus A2100 by Lockheed Martin Space Systems . They have a six-foot (18.7 m) deployable main antenna and a smaller, also deployable antenna, both built by Harris Corporation . Other subcontractors are Boeing , who are supplying a UHF payload to ensure compatibility with the older UFO system, and General Dynamics and Ericsson for the ground components.

The frequency range in which the satellites operate is between 300 MHz and 3 GHz and enable the troop units to communicate with one another using mobile devices.

Starts

All launches were made with the Atlas V (551) missile from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station :

• MUOS 1 on February 24, 2012
• MUOS 2 on July 19, 2013
• MUOS 3 on January 21, 2015
• MUOS 4 on September 2nd, 2015
• MUOS 5 on June 24, 2016

Ground stations

MUOS requires four ground stations, one for each of the four operational satellites. The system will only be considered fully functional when all four planned ground stations have been handed over to the US Navy:

• Wahiawa , Hawaii , USA (since December 2012)
• Chesapeake , Virginia , USA (since March 2013)
• Kojarena , Western Australia , Australia (since July 2013)
• Niscemi , Sicily , Italy

In April 2013, the construction of the ground station in Niscemi was temporarily stopped due to demonstrations against its possible military use as well as potential health risks and environmental damage from radio waves. A scientific study pointed to "serious risks for people and the environment that prohibit implementation in densely populated areas such as that at Niscemi". This was dismissed by the court on July 26, 2013, so that work could be resumed in October 2013. The station went into operation in September 2016.

Web links

Commons : Mobile User Objective System  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Globalsecurity.org: User Objective System (MUOS) (English)
• Gunter's Space Page: MUOS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (English)
• Todd Neff, Ben Iannotta: Comm crisis - Delay in US Navy satellite program sparks reviews and contingency planning. Defense News, August 1, 2009; archived from the original on September 30, 2011 ; accessed on April 9, 2010 (English). 
• MacMullan et al: Geosynchronous Satellites for MUOS ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English, PDF; 0.2 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ MUOS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on Gunter's Space Page, accessed on September 3, 2019.
2. ↑ Mike Gruss: Station Following Six-month Standoff with Sicily. Space News, November 15, 2013, accessed August 5, 2014 . 
3. ↑ Massimo Zucchetti, Massimo Coraddu: Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) presso il Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) di Niscemi: Analisi dei rischi. (PDF) November 4, 2011, accessed on August 5, 2014 (Italian): "... gravi rischi per la popolazione e per l'ambiente tali da impedirne la realizzazione in aree densamente popolate, come quella adiacente la cittadina di Niscemi" 
4. ↑ Sam LaGrone: Final MUOS Satellite in Place, Italian Ground Station Operations Conducting Limited. US Naval Institute News, November 3, 2016, accessed May 22, 2017 .