The first geosynchronous satellite (GEO-1) in the Defense Department’s planned next-generation early missile warning constellation is being readied for launch in less than a month, Air Force officials overseeing the program said recently.
The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-1 satellite is on the Cape Canaveral, Fla., launch manifest for May 5, according to Col. Roger Teague, the SBIRS program manager.
“We’ve overcome the developmental issues, and we are preparing for a May launch,” Teague said during an April 13 press briefing at the annual National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
GEO-1 arrived at Cape Canaveral on March 3 for processing and was fueled on April 8, according to the Air Force. GEO-1 and follow-on SBIRS satellites will carry two IR payloads–one scanning and one staring. Two SBIRS scanners are already hosted on classified satellites in highly elliptical orbit (HEO).
Officials say they expect GEO-1 to be declared operational within 15 months of launch. It must first undergo sensor calibration and complex IR scene tests before certification.
Teague said the Air Force plans to begin providing theater commanders with IR data even sooner.
“The lines start blurring between technical intelligence, which is largely offline and done after the fact, and real-time tactical intelligence,” he said.
“The real difference is the time domain–being able get all of the threat information into a decision-maker’s hands who is deployed,” he added. “That is power.”
Teague plans to brief Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter in the coming months on a strategy for purchasing GEO-5 and -6. The Air Force is studying the possibility of buying them through the Evolutionary Acquisition for Space Efficiency concept, which calls for a block buy of at least two satellites at once.
SBIRS is slated to replace the legacy Defense Support Program constellation.
After experiencing years of development problems and cost overruns, the Air Force is now confident that the program is out of the woods. In 2001, the Pentagon made the first of what would be several Nunn-McCurdy notifications to Congress for cost growth, forcing the program to be restructured. Many more restructures and notifications of cost increases would follow.
Over the summer, military engineers and those working for prime contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT] completed system testing on GEO-1. Lockheed Martin is currently on contract to produce the SBIRS satellites and payloads, while Northrop Grumman [NOC] is Lockheed Martin’s payload integrator.
Because of the developmental problems, the government has on several occasions withheld contract award fees from Lockheed Martin, although Air Force officials have declined to provide specific figures. Teague said this summer that, over the years, Lockheed Martin has received fees “commensurate with the work it has performed.”
The ground segment for the system is being developed and fielded in blocks. It will consist of three major components: two fixed operational sites, several relay ground stations, and communications links. Relay ground stations around the world will receive data from the satellites and forward it to the mission control station at Buckley AFB, Colo.
If all goes according to plan, GEO-2 should launch sometime in 2012 and is projected to enter operational use roughly six months after that, according to Air Force officials.