ARINC… It’s Ionospheric (Comms)

[SatNews] Under a task order just received, ARINC Engineering Services, LLC will complete the installation of new digital solid-state sensor technology at 29 locations of the U.S. Air Force Ionospheric Data Network.

The December 14, 2010, contract announcement ensures ARINC’s Space Weather Group in Colorado Springs, CO, will continue its 17-year record of support for global weather data networks of the Air Force Weather Agency. ARINC also supports the SOON Solar Optical Observatory Network and RIMS Radio Interference Measuring System. ARINC is installing new ionospheric sensor technology known as NEXION (Next Generation Ionosonde). Five of 29 installations were completed last year. The new task order, under the Air Force F2AST program, will allow ARINC to complete installation of the remaining 24 locations and provide sustainment of all 29 unmanned sites worldwide.

Ionospheric activity determines how far and where High Frequency (HF) radio signals travel, a critical factor in military and aviation communications. The Ionospheric Data Network continuously measures radio propagation characteristics of the ionosphere and provides real-time data for the Air Force command and other armed services. The NEXION sensor upgrade replaces 1980s-era equipment with modern digital solid state technology, and adds new HF antennas. NEXION is remotely managed and controlled and doesn’t require individual staffing at each of the 29 locations significantly reducing the operation and maintenance costs for the system. The NEXION systems will be deployed at 10 of the existing ionospheric network sites and 19 new sites. The real-time ionosonde technology employed in NEXION was developed at the University of Massachusetts Center for Atmospheric Research in Lowell, Massachusetts. ARINC will continue to be responsible for ongoing network sustainment, 24-hour support, and remote diagnostics from 2011 through 2019.