LEO

Viasat will build a small LEO communications satellite for the U.S. Air Force. The company said it won a $10 million contract for a pilot program led by the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles directorate to test the use of a Link 16 terminal on a small satellite in low Earth orbit. Link 16 is an encrypted radio frequency widely used by the U.S. military and NATO allies to share information across the battlefield. The 12U cubesat will launch as soon as next summer to test the feasibility of using Link 16 terminals on satellites. [SpaceNews]