The Air Force set a launch date of March 2013 for its second Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous satellite (GEO-2), an Air Force Space Command spokeswoman said recently.
Michael Friedman, a spokesman for prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT], said in an email recently the company is completing final factory work on the satellite and will be ready “well in advance” to meet its GEO-2 launch date.
“Based on lessons learned from GEO-1, the SBIRS team has executed a very efficient Assembly Integration and Test of SBIRS GEO-2,” Friedman said. “For example, from GEO-1 to GEO-2, we have seen nearly a 60 percent reduction in non-conformances and a nearly 30 percent reduction in schedule time. As we continue to build SBIRS spacecraft, we expect to become increasingly more efficient and more affordable.”
The news comes one day after Lockheed Martin said its GEO-1 satellite is exceeding performance expectations just more than one year after launch and is on schedule to achieve operational certification in the fall.
GEO-4 is on schedule to be available for launch in 2015 while the payload for GEO-3 will be delivered in October 2013.
Subcontractor Northrop Grumman [NOC] is the payload integrator for SBIRS.
Lockheed Martin’s SBIRS contracts include four highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) payloads, four GEO satellites and ground assets to receive, process and disseminate the infrared mission data. The company expects to receive funding to begin long-lead parts procurement for the fifth and sixth GEO satellite by the end of 2012.
SBIRS provides missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness. SBIRS’ architecture consists of hosted sensor payloads in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), dedicated geosynchronous earth orbiting (GEO) satellites and the associated ground infrastructure to receive, process and deliver the infrared information to key decision makers.