The U.S. Army has completed initial tests on a nanosatellite developed by the Space and Missile Defense Command – Tech Center to provide voice and data communications coverage for soldiers deployed to remote areas.David Vergun wrote in a story the Army published Thursday that Travis Taylor, senior scientist for SMDC’s space division, said the SMDC Orbital Nanosatellite Effect nanosatellite will operate similar to a cellphone tower in supporting communications.
Taylor told attendees of a Lab Day at the Pentagon that the first SMDC-ONE is already operational in space and will be followed by three more within the year.
He noted the Army plans to eventually launch a constellation of the SMDC-ONE nanosatellites as well as demonstrate imaging nanosatellite technology, the report said.
Taylor also described how the service is working to develop a way to launch the nanosatellites to space and place them into low Earth orbit.
“We’ve had many would-be users tell us that if they had this, they’d use it tomorrow, so I think the odds are good this will be something we see in the future,” he said.
