The History and Future of U.S. Military Satellite Communication Systems

Resourceful and visually rich retrospective on the developments related to the U.S. Military Satellite Communication Systems :

"Satellite communication has been a vital part of the United States military throughout the space age, beginning in 1946, when the Army achieved radar contact with the moon. In 1954, the Navy began communications experiments using the moon as a reflector, and by 1959, it had established an operational communication link between Hawaii and Washington, D.C. As the U.S. space program grew in the 1960s, the Department of Defense (DOD) began developing satellite communication systems that would address the special requirements of military operations. In addition to protection against jamming, these needs included the flexibility to rapidly extend service to new regions of the globe and to reallocate system capacity as needed."

And here's what the future -- NCW all the way -- has to offer :

"Military satellite communications (or milsatcom) systems are typically categorized as wideband, protected, or narrowband. Wideband systems emphasize high capacity. Protected systems stress antijam features, covertness, and nuclear survivability. Narrowband systems emphasize support to users who need voice or low-data-rate communications and who also may be mobile or otherwise disadvantaged (because of limited terminal capability, antenna size, environment, etc.)."

Communications and PSYOPS win wars, information overload though, doesn't.