[ad_1]
SBIRS-4 has been declared fully operational. The new generation OPIR has passed several design reviews.
WASHINGTON – On June 4, the fourth satellite of the space-based infrared system constellation was declared fully operational, the Air Force Space Systems and Missile Systems Center announced.
The $ 1 billion GEO-4 SBIRS, built by Lockheed Martin, was launched on January 20, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 411 rocket.
"The satellite is in good condition and is sending data to the mission control station, operated by the 460th Space Squadron located at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado," the army said. air in a press release.
At this point, the Air Force Space Command is accepting the SBIRS GEO-4 satellite in missile warning architecture for real-life operations, said Col Ricky Hunt, senior equipment officer and chief of operations. persistent infrared satellite systems.
Four SBIRS GEO infrared surveillance satellites and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) sensors provide global coverage to help detect and track missile launches. The first three SBIRS satellites were launched in 2011, 2013 and 2017.
Lockheed Martin manufactures SBIRS 5 and 6, which are expected to be delivered in 2020 and 2021.
In 2018, the Air Force decided to cancel the purchase of SBIRS 7 and 8 satellites and move to a new program, the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared. Lockheed Martin is developing the next-generation OPIR satellites faster.
The Air Force Space Systems and Missile Systems Center announced on June 6 that Lockheed Martin completed a review in March of OPIR GEO's next-generation system requirements for the three spacecraft in the constellation. In addition, two systems design reviews were completed in April for mission payloads with Raytheon, a contractor for Lockheed Martin, and a team at Northrop Grumman-Ball Aerospace.
Payload subcontractors develop competing missile warning sensors.
The next-generation OPIR is one of the largest purchases of Air Force satellites. The Air Force is requesting $ 1.4 billion for the program during fiscal year 2020 – $ 817 million for the development of three Lockheed GEO satellites, $ 107 million for two polar-orbiting satellites manufactured by Northrop Grumman, $ 264 million for ground systems and $ 205 million for studies of future parts and obsolescence of materials.
But the program still lacks $ 632 million compared to what it would take in 2019 to stay on time, Air Force leaders told Congress in April. They requested that the money be reprogrammed in the 2019 budget.
"Subject to funding decisions, the program remains on track for a GEO space vehicle delivery by fiscal year 2025," the Air Force said in a statement.
More than half of the $ 632 million reprogramming requests involve payloads. The other half is to increase the spacecraft development staff to support systems engineering, the acquisition of long lead components and the design and construction of bus components, said a spokesman for the air force.
Compared to SBIRS satellites, next generation OPIR satellites have more powerful sensors and other features that make them more resistant to operations in disputed environments, said Lt. Col. Leroy Brown Jr., deputy chief of OPIR division of the new generation of SMC, the Space Development Corps.
[ad_2]
Source link