Transformational Satellite Communications System
The Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) program was a United States Department of Defense (DOD) program sponsored by the U.S. Air Force for a secure, high-capacity global communications network serving the Department of Defense, NASA and the United States Intelligence Community (IC). It was intended as an enabler of net-centric warfare that would facilitate defense and intelligence professionals making rapid decisions based on integrated, comprehensive information. In 2003, the estimated project costs for the period up to 2015 were estimated to US$ 12 billion (inflation adjusted US$ billion in ). In October 2008, the DoD announced that it was postponing making a decision on choosing a contractor to build the system until 2010. In April 2009 Secretary of Defence Robert M. Gates asked that the project be canceled in its entirety. Scope The Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) aimed to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with high data rate Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) and Internet-like services as defined in the Transformational Communications Architecture (TCA). TSAT would have supported global net-centric operations. As the spaceborne element of the Global Information Grid (GIG), TSAT would extend the GIG to users without terrestrial connections providing improved connectivity and data transfer capability, vastly