XTAR
XTAR, LLC is a commercial satellite operator[1] exclusively providing services in the X band frequency range, which is the communications cornerstone of today's military, diplomatic, humanitarian and emergency disaster response operations.[2] A privately owned and operated company,[3] XTAR supports the critical satellite communications needs of governments[4] around the world through its two X-band payloads. The XTAR satellites were designed and built by private financing. Loral Space & Communications, Inc. owns the majority share. It currently operates from Herndon, VA.
With its high-powered 72 MHz transponders and global, fixed and steerable beams, XTAR provides over 4 GB of secure X-band capacity with coverage from Denver east to Singapore. The system can accommodate massive wideband data requirements and provides overlapping coverage with regional redundancy for increased service and reliability.
XTAR bandwidth is not application-specific; it can support and transmit to any one of the primary architectures used by government agencies today, including fixed-to-fixed, tactical-to-tactical, reach-back, broadcast and airborne platforms.[5]
Contents
Satellite Fleet
The XTAR fleet uses the hosted payload model, an application that is becoming increasingly used by U.S. and other governments.[6][7] XTAR-EUR hosts a payload and XTAR-LANT is a hosted payload.
XTAR-EUR, at 29 degrees East longitude, began operations in February 2005.[8] Fully owned and operated by XTAR, the XTAR-EUR satellite hosts a NATO-configurable payload designed to support an anchor European customer. The coverage area includes Eastern Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia as far east as Singapore.
XTAR-LANT, at 30 degrees West longitude, was placed into orbit in 2006.[9] It is a hosted payload on the Spainsat satellite. The coverage area includes North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. Both satellites are built on the Space Systems/Loral modular platform 1300 spacecraft designed for 18-plus years of on-orbit operation. The spacecraft attitude maintained to within 0.02° in roll, pitch, and yaw.
Fleet Features
- 4 GB of circular polarity X-band capacity
- 72 MHz transponders
- Coverage from 105 degrees West Longitude east to 120 degrees East Longitude
- Global, fixed and steerable spot beams
- Right hand and Left hand circular polarity
- On-board switching enabled
- Compatible with existing X-band terminals
- Non-premptible service
- Encrypted command and control links
Applications and User Groups
From training to special operations, XTAR space segment is the optimal choice for certain applications and user groups. The characteristics of X-band make it ideally suited for mobile applications where the smallest of terminals are used. Airborne missions, small teams deployed with manpacks, and operations at sea, all demand exceptionally high levels of throughput and availability (>99.7%) in both transmit and receive mode. Other frequencies rarely achieve similar results with the same degree of efficiency.
With 100% terminal cross-compatibility, moving to and from a MILSAT system can be achieved in just a matter of hours, if not minutes.
These are some of the applications and users that rely heavily on XTAR capacity for their mission-critical needs:
- Airborne
- Maritime
- Border Security
- Special Ops
- Disaster Response
- MILSATCOM users who require replacement, growth, or more flexible bandwidth
XTAR offers non-preemptible space segment, operational independence, interoperability with MILSATCOM systems and faster certification of new technology.
Contract Vehicles
- XTAR FCSA Transponded Services Contract[10]
- Direct commercial contracting with XTAR
- FCSA Transponded Services reseller contracts
- FCSA Subscription Services and CS2 contracts through XTAR partners
- Other U.S. and non-U.S. contract vehicles
Corporate Management
- Philip Harlow – President & Chief Operating Officer
- Robert McDade – Vice President & Chief Financial Officier
- James Chambers – Vice President of Engineering
Ownership
XTAR is a privately owned company backed by majority shareholder Loral Space & Communications of New York. XTAR also enjoys investment and support from minority shareholder Hisdesat Strategic Services SA.
History
XTAR, LLC was founded in 2001. It was the first commercial satellite operator to provide services in the X-band frequency range of 7.25-8.4 GHz, a band reserved exclusively for government and military users, though it launched the fleet with no government funding.
Xtar Links
- Website: http://xtar.com
- Xtar, LLC website provides more in-depth information on the company and their offerings.
- Blog: http://xtar.com/category/blog/
- Xtar employees frequently post blog's on relevant industry news and current events, as well as service and product updates.
See also
References
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