Posted on 01/17/2017 5:52:02 PM PST by BenLurkin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) will launch the next Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite on Jan. 19 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The launch window is between 7:46 and 8:26 p.m. EST.
SBIRS GEO Flight 3 was designed and built at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California, as the next in a series of Air Force satellites that provide multi-mission surveillance in the areas of missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness. The data provided by SBIRS can also be applied to a number of qualified government and civilian applications, including first response for natural disasters and firefighting. Continue Reading The SBIRS GEO Flight 3 satellite will provide key capabilities in the areas of missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness once launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, between 7:46 and 8:26 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 19. The SBIRS GEO Flight 3 satellite will provide key capabilities in the areas of missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness once launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, between 7:46 and 8:26 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Watch Live: A live launch broadcast will begin at 7:26 p.m. EST and will be viewable at www.ulalaunch.com. Downloadable images and video b-roll of the satellite are available at www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs.
"At Lockheed Martin, we understand the Air Force's important mission to protect our nation and allies around the world, as well as the critical role that SBIRS plays in their continued ability to respond to evolving threats," said David Sheridan, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared systems mission area. "With the launch of GEO Flight 3, we are proud to further enhance SBIRS infrared surveillance capabilities, and we look forward to working with our customer and industry teammates toward 100 percent mission success."
Once it reaches Geosynchronous Earth Orbit—around 22,000 miles above the Earth—GEO Flight 3 will use powerful sensors and cameras to detect and track infrared events, such as missile launches or other heat-causing events. While some satellites can only "see" what is directly below them, the SBIRS constellation has a view of the whole world, scanning for wide-area surveillance and staring at spots of interest.
With each satellite build, Lockheed Martin has continued to streamline its manufacturing process and increase efficiencies, while also introducing innovations that will keep SBIRS relevant long into the future. The next satellite, GEO Flight 4, will undergo final assembly, integration and test prior to its planned 2017 launch. SBIRS GEO-5 and GEO-6, which are currently in production, incorporate a new common spacecraft bus, Lockheed Martin's modernized A2100, which dramatically reduces costs and cycle times while increasing the potential to incorporate future advanced sensor suites.
The SBIRS development team is led by the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Azusa, California, as the payload integrator. The 460th Space Wing, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, operates the SBIRS system.
Bookmark.
Jan 19.
The targeting jokes write themselves.
It’s amazing that they can get so many hitech things to work but can’t design a new attack plane that can drop more than two bombs.
Best wishes for a successful launch and flight.
My first assignment in 1976...2nd Comm Sq.
Thanks. SBIRS 1 is positioned on the equator just west of Australia over the Indian Ocean. SBIRS 2 is positioned on the equator just west of Africa over the Atlantic Ocean. For missile tracking, stereo viewing using two satellites is required for position determination. The first two were put in position to cover the hot spots of the world, N. Korea, China, Russia and Middle East region.
The SBIRS 3 will initially be placed in GEO orbit on the equator over South America, south of Colorado where it will undergo on-orbit sell-off testing. It will then undergo a transfer orbit maneuver to it’s final orbital position. If everything goes well, that is.
Back then it was the DSP satellites providing imaging. Today the combined DSP and SBIRS Mission Control is run from Buckly AFB in Aurora, CO.
or even turn it radar on ...
“It’s amazing that they can get so many hitech things to work but can’t design a new attack plane that can drop more than two bombs.”
Both the F-22 and the F-35 can carry more than two bombs internally... Once air dominance is achieved, the F-35 can carry even more bombs externally as well.
Possibly Fri or Sat.
I remember walking though massive Satellite bays with my smock on. Those were the days.
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