Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of the Air Force SMC, said in September the service now plans to award the LISC contract in the second quarter of 2014.

Exelis’ struggles on the payload prompted Lockheed Martin to consider switching suppliers beginning with the ninth satellite in the series.

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Mike Gruss is the chief content and strategy officer at SpaceNews. From 2013 to 2016 he was a senior reporter at SpaceNews covering military space. Previously, he was editor in chief of Sightline Media Group and worked as a reporter and columnist for...