By Marina Malenic
The first satellite in the Air Force’s next-generation early missile warning constellation is set to launch this afternoon, officials said yesterday.
The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous (GEO-1) spacecraft is expected to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket at 2:14pm EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, according to program officials.
“GEO-1 represents the dawn of a new era in overhead persistent infrared surveillance that will greatly improve our national security space architecture for years to come,” said Air Force Col. Roger Teague, director of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Infrared Space Systems Directorate and the SBIRS program manager. “We look forward to getting this satellite on-orbit.”
SBIRS GEO-1 will enhance the nation’s missile warning capabilities, according to Teague, as well as other critical mission like technical intelligence and battlespace awareness. He has said the satellite will undergo months of “rigorous testing” before being certified for the missile warning mission but is anticipated to have reached “enough fidelity for offline uses and technical intelligence purposes” within months of launch (Defense Daily, April 27).
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 has said the Air Force plans to begin providing theater commanders with IR data even sooner.
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.
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.