Operationally Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1) - Minotaur I - MARS LP-0B - 30.06.11 03:09 UTC

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Goodrich and ATK are beginning to manufacture a one-of-a-kind reconnaissance satellite that will be launched by the end of next year to support urgent needs from military leaders overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Called Operationally Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1), the spacecraft is needed to provide a new layer of electro-optical and infrared reconnaissance to airborne collectors, such as unmanned aerial systems and high-altitude aircraft, as well as to the sophisticated national intelligence satellites overhead.
The key advantages of ORS-1 will be its quick launch—the goal is to loft it within 24 months of authorization to build (which came late last year)—and its ability to peer into places such as Iran, where allied aircraft cannot spy.
Additionally, unlike national systems, ORS-1's EO/IR sensor will be tasked directly by military leaders in U.S. Central Command (Centcom).
The payload is derived from Goodrich's work on the U-2's highly sophisticated EO/IR camera, the most recent generation of which is the Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (Syers) 2A.
The satellite, which will top out at about 450 kg. (990 lb.), will be boosted by a Minotaur-1 into an orbit chosen for its suitability to overfly Centcom multiple times a day.
ORS-1 will be housed on the same ATK bus that was used for Tacsat-3, also a quick-reaction satellite. However, unlike Tacsat-3, ORS-1's bus will include a propulsion module. The requirement is to last one year in orbit; but Cox says there will be sufficient fuel for 2-4 years of operation, depending on how much station-keeping and maneuvering is needed.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/ORS1-120809.xml&headline=ORS-1%20On%20Track%20For%202010%20Launch&channel=defense

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MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) celebrated a major milestone today as it prepares to conduct final testing and ship the Operational Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1) satellite bus, after building it in just 16 months. The bus will be shipped to Goodrich Corporation for integration of the payload in preparation for launch later this year.
ORS-1 is part of the United States Department of Defense's (DoD) ORS program that focuses on using small satellites and launch vehicles to provide innovative sensor technologies to the commanders in the battlefield, and doing so in shortened timeframes and in more affordable ways.  The ORS-1 program supports Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) needs, by providing innovative sensor systems that range across multiple spectrums.  
ATK is under contract to Goodrich, the overall spacecraft integrator of the ORS-1 satellite system. ORS-1 will provide color pictures of regions selected by ground force commanders, and use existing ground systems to process and distribute the images and other information out to the battlefield. The system is designed to support urgent military needs, while establishing a foundation that will advance the multi-mission modular approach required for future ORS satellites.

http://atk.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=118&item=1002

[Sharicoff]

ORS-1 Sensor Damaged, But Satellite is on Schedule

    Work on a secondary instrument for a Pentagon reconnaissance satellite was interrupted when two of the sensor's focal planes were broken by a subcontractor, but the spacecraft remains on schedule for launch in November, according to the U.S. Air Force.

    Fairchild Imaging of Milpitas, Calif., is under contract to provide the sensor for a secondary imaging payload that will fly on the ORS-1 satellite. The company irreparably damaged one of the focal planes Feb. 24, and then another on March 13, Air Force spokeswoman Valerie Skarupa said in an e-mailed response to questions. Spare parts will be used to assemble a replacement unit, and the satellite remains on track for its planned launch date, she said.

    The ORS-1 is being built to provide reconnaissance data to U.S. Central Command. It is being managed by the Air Force's Space Development and Test Wing on behalf of the Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space Office. Goodrich ISR Systems of Danbury, Conn., is the ORS-1 prime contractor and is building the satellite's primary sensor, a modified U-2 spy plane camera.

http://www.spacenews.com/military/031910ors-1-sensor-damaged.html

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http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewpr.rss.html?pid=31920

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Friday, October 22, 2010
Source: Goodrich Corporation
Goodrich Achieves Major Integration Milestone on ORS-1 Satellite
Goodrich Corporation (NYSE:GR) has successfully integrated its electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor payload with the spacecraft bus for ORS-1, the first satellite in the Operationally Responsive Space program designed to support Combatant Command operations. The successful integration effort paves the way for environmental and acceptance testing, the next steps of the program which lead to satellite delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010. The integration activity took place at Goodrich's ISR Systems facility in Danbury, Conn.

"The integration of the payload and spacecraft bus is a major milestone that moves this important program another step closer to delivering critical ISR capabilities to the warfighter," said Andreas Nonnenmacher, Goodrich ISR Systems' vice president.

The ORS-1 satellite will provide a multi-spectral imaging capability to support U.S. Central Command's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission needs.

Goodrich, the lead systems integrator for the ORS-1 program, is providing the satellite's sensor payload. The payload leverages the latest evolution of the Goodrich SYERS-2 multi-spectral sensor, the primary imaging sensor used on the U-2 reconnaissance plane. Goodrich is also providing a ground segment that formats the data from the sensor payload to be compatible with the downstream processing, exploitation, and dissemination used for the operational SYERS-2 sensor. The ORS-1 spacecraft bus is built by ATK Space Systems and is based on their TacSat-3 bus. It includes an integrated propulsion system as well as other critical subsystems for communications, attitude control, thermal control, command and data handling.

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ORS-1 Spacecraft Bus (photo courtesy ATK)

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http://www.spacenews.com/military/101012-ors1-april-launch.html

Fri, 10 December, 2010
ORS-1 Satellite Now Set for April Launch[/size]
By Space News Staff

   
        The ATK Space Systems-built ORS-1 satellite. Credit: ATK photo Enlarge Image

    Goodrich ISR Systems of Danbury, Conn., is finishing environmental testing of the final component to be installed on a new tactical surveillance satellite now planned for launch in April 2011, U.S. Defense Department officials said Dec. 9.

    Launch of the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office's ORS-1 satellite was previously planned for this fall, but it has been delayed by challenges with its imaging payload, which is a variant of the unit flown on U-2 spy planes. Prime contractor Goodrich, for example, had trouble getting the payload's camera properly aligned, said Tom Davis, the ORS-1 mission manager. The most recent complications have been with the payload's digital data storage unit, Davis said.

    Engineers hope to have the data storage unit installed this month so that environmental testing of the integrated satellite can be completed in January, he said. The satellite then will be shipped off for launch aboard a Minotaur-1 rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

    The satellite could have been ready to launch before April, but because there is only one launch crew for all the Minotaur rockets, a logjam has developed, ORS Office Director Peter Wegner said in an interview. ORS-1 is now behind a U.S. National Reconnaissance Office technology demonstration mission in the launch queue.

    "We need to look at our launch operations and try to streamline the way that we're doing things," Wegner said. "It really has become a constraint for us."

    To ensure the nation has more ready access to space, the ORS Office will study the options for either adding a second Minotaur launch crew or using commercial launch providers, Wegner said. The Pentagon would have to work through new issues such as launch insurance and indemnification if it wants to use commercial rockets to launch operational satellites in the future, he said.

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http://atk.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=118&item=1002

ATK Prepares to Ship the Operationally Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1) Bus[/size]
Small Satellite Developed to Respond to Urgent Military Needs
ATK Remains the Only Provider of Operational ORS Spacecraft Busses

Feb 17, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) celebrated a major milestone today as it prepares to conduct final testing and ship the Operational Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1) satellite bus, after building it in just 16 months. The bus will be shipped to Goodrich Corporation for integration of the payload in preparation for launch later this year.

ORS-1 is part of the United States Department of Defense's (DoD) ORS program that focuses on using small satellites and launch vehicles to provide innovative sensor technologies to the commanders in the battlefield, and doing so in shortened timeframes and in more affordable ways.  The ORS-1 program supports Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) needs, by providing innovative sensor systems that range across multiple spectrums.  

The satellite bus is based on the design ATK developed for the successful TacSat-3 satellite with the addition of a propulsion module. ATK built the bus at its Beltsville, MD facility. One of the goals of the program is to develop satellite buses with standard interfaces that allow for different sensors to be used for specific missions.

"Being able to build these satellites fast, and tailor them to the precise user needs, provides the commanders and the war fighter unprecedented capability," said Blake Larson, president of ATK Space Systems. "As we continue to build and operate satellites and develop more plug and play technologies, we will revolutionize how this nation responds to a threat."

Several key individuals were in attendance at the ATK celebration including local officials, representatives from the Pentagon and Congress including Senator Barbara Mikulski.

"I'm proud of the work being done at ATK in Beltsville to revolutionize satellites, create jobs in Maryland, and protect America. ATK Beltsville is a vital part of Maryland's space economy. The ORS-1 satellite bus is leaner, meaner, quicker to build and less costly to taxpayers than traditional satellites," said Senator Mikulski, chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Committee. "Finding quicker ways to put satellites into orbit will create jobs while leading to critical commercial, civil and national security information that will protect our nation and our troops overseas."

TacSat-3 was the earlier demonstration program that led to ORS-1. It was successfully launched last year and continues to perform well as an operational resource.

"The successful rapid development and launch of TacSat-3 established ATK as the first and only provider of an operational ORS bus," said Tom Wilson, vice president and general manager, ATK Spacecraft Systems & Services. "We look forward to using our flight-proven technologies in future missions."

ATK is under contract to Goodrich, the overall spacecraft integrator of the ORS-1 satellite system. ORS-1 will provide color pictures of regions selected by ground force commanders, and use existing ground systems to process and distribute the images and other information out to the battlefield. The system is designed to support urgent military needs, while establishing a foundation that will advance the multi-mission modular approach required for future ORS satellites.

The Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS Office) is a joint initiative of several agencies within the DoD responsible for integrating joint ORS capabilities and for applying ORS resources to the development, acquisition and demonstration of capabilities to meet specific responsive space needs as established by global combatant command joint force commanders and users. The ORS-1 Program is managed by the Space Development and Test Wing located at Kirtland Air Force base with support from the ORS Office.

ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and revenues of approximately $4.8 billion.  News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: assumptions related to the challenges of developing next-generation space launch vehicles; changes in governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

NET 5/20/2011     ORS-1      Minotaur I

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

May 30     Minotaur 1  •  ORS 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Pad 0B, Wallops Island, Va.

The Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket will launch the Operationally Responsive Space 1, or ORS 1, satellite. ORS 1 will support the military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs by hosting an innovative sensor system. Delayed from Dec. 10, January, April 6 and May 30. [April 14]

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1104/15minotaur/

Minotaur launch schedule in limbo after Taurus mishap[/size]
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 15, 2011

Two small U.S. military satellites are queued up and waiting to ride into space on Minotaur rockets in May, but managers want to make sure the boosters are immune from the glitch that doomed the launch of a NASA science mission in March.
    
 NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. are investigating the cause of the March 4 failure of a Taurus XL rocket that destroyed the $424 million Glory mission, a NASA climate research satellite designed to study the atmosphere and the sun's relationship with Earth.

The clamshell-like nose cone responsible for the March 4 Taurus mishap uses similar components as the Minotaur 1 and Minotaur 4 launch vehicles being prepared for a pair of flights in May.

"They are both potentially affected because of similar components," said Lou Amorosi, the Orbital Sciences senior vice president for the Minotaur program. "We are hoping to show separation from Taurus within the next couple of weeks through testing of those components."

Amorosi declined to elaborate on the progress of the Taurus investigation.

A Minotaur 4 rocket is being prepared for liftoff as soon as May 14 from Kodiak, Alaska. Its payload will be the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat 4 experimental communications satellite.

Workers at Wallops Island, Va., have already stacked a smaller Minotaur 1 rocket on the launch pad. Liftoff from Virginia's Eastern Shore is scheduled for no earlier than May 30 with the U.S. military's ORS 1 spacecraft, a tactical Earth observation satellite for the Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space office.

TacSat 4 is already at its Alaska launch site, and ORS 1 is awaiting shipment to Virginia.

Orbital Sciences is the prime contractor for the Taurus and Minotaur rocket families.

Amorosi said Thursday there is "no decision yet" on which launch will be allowed to proceed first.

"The satellites are ready, but we are waiting for the Taurus/Glory failure review board to exonerate Minotaur 1 and 4 before we launch," said Peter Wegner, director of the ORS program.

The Taurus rocket's 63-inch-diameter nose shroud failed to separate in the March 4 launch anomaly. The payload fairing, which shields sensitive satellites on the launch pad and through flight in the lower atmosphere, was supposed to fall away a few minutes after blastoff when the Taurus rocket reached the edge of space.

But the two halves of the fairing did not jettison and clung to the rocket as it ascended into space. The extra mass of the nose cone meant the Taurus XL didn't have enough power to propel the Glory satellite into a stable orbit.

Officials say the rocket's upper stage and payload likely splashed down somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

It was the second payload fairing separation failure in a row for the Taurus rocket. Another NASA science satellite was lost under nearly identical circumstances in February 2009.

Investigators probing the 2009 launch failure did not find a root cause, but officials identified a most probable cause in the hot-gas system that initiates the payload fairing separation.

Orbital Sciences turned to a different cold-gas system successfully demonstrated three times on the Minotaur 4 rocket.

Officials haven't released any preliminary findings on the March 4 anomaly.

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http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

NET 6/10/2011  ORS-1  Minotaur I   NASA Wallops Flight Facility    (Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Virginia)

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http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

NET 6/13/2011   ORS-1

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

June 18     Minotaur 1  •  ORS 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Pad 0B, Wallops Island, Va.

The Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket will launch the Operationally Responsive Space 1, or ORS 1, satellite. ORS 1 will support the military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs by hosting an innovative sensor system. Delayed from Dec. 10, January, April 6, May 20, May 30, June 10 and June 13. [May 4]

[Брабонт]

The key advantages of ORS-1 will be its quick launch

Delayed from Dec. 10, January, April 6, May 20, May 30, June 10 and June 13.

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06/13   MINOTAUR/ORS-1   4/2   0000Z   0000Z-0300Z

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http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

NET 6/18/2011   ORS-1

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

June 18     Minotaur 1  •  ORS 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Pad 0B, Wallops Island, Va.

The Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket will launch the Operationally Responsive Space 1, or ORS 1, satellite. ORS 1 will support the military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs by hosting an innovative sensor system. Delayed from Dec. 10, January, April 6, May 20, May 30, June 10 and June 13. [May 6]

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http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

NET 6/30/2011   ORS-1 Minotaur I

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http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1135564703

May 22, 2011

L.A.F.B. / SMC... ORS-1 Is Virginia-Bound (Satellite)

Another major milestone has been met as all get set to ship an important military satellite to its launch site...

The Space Development and Test Directorate, in concert with the Operationally Responsive Space Office, is marking a major milestone May 20, 2011, as the ORS-1 space vehicle is approved to ship to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., for integration with a Minotaur I launch vehicle. ORS-1 is the first satellite in the DoD's ORS program designed to support Combatant Command operations as an operational prototype. The payload leverages a SYERS-2 sensor, the primary imaging sensor on the U-2 reconnaissance plane. The ORS-1 payload was built by The Goodrich Corporation, who also served as prime contractor, while the spacecraft bus was built by ATK Spacecraft Systems & Services, Beltsville, Md. It includes an integrated propulsion system as well as other critical subsystems for communications, attitude control, thermal control and command and data handling. ORS-1 will provide crucial battlespace awareness supporting U.S. Central Command.

"This team has just accomplished the impossible by building an operationally relevant satellite in a mere 30 months," said Col. Carol Welsch, acting director of the Space Development and Test Directorate. "We're excited to field this important capability to meet a U.S. CENTCOM urgent need." Added ORS Office Director, Dr. Peter Wegner, "This is a significant accomplishment in driving towards the ORS mission end-state to provide "assured space power focused on timely satisfaction of Joint Force Commanders' needs," and I couldn't be prouder of how the entire ORS Team pulled together this achievement."

The ORS-1 Program is managed and executed by the Space Development & Test Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. SMC/SD is executing the program for the ORS Office, which is a joint initiative of several agencies within the DoD responsible for integrating joint ORS capabilities and applying ORS resources to the development, acquisition and demonstration of capabilities to meet specific responsive space needs as established by global combatant command joint force commanders and users. SMC/SD also led the development and acquisition of the Multi-Mission Space Operations Center round system, which will be used to support ORS-1. Operations will be performed by the 50th Space Wing's 1st Space Operations Squadron once ORS-1 is on orbit. ORS-1 will complete launch-site testing, vehicle checkout, and launch vehicle integration and closeout at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in preparation for launch early this summer from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a commercial spaceport owned by the Virginia Commercial Flight Authority located at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility.

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http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

NET 6/27/2011   ORS-1   Minotaur I

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

June 28/29     Minotaur 1  •  ORS 1
Launch time: 0028 GMT on 29th (8:28 p.m. EDT on 28th)
Launch site: Pad 0B, Wallops Island, Va.

The Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket will launch the Operationally Responsive Space 1, or ORS 1, satellite. ORS 1 will support the military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs by hosting an innovative sensor system. Delayed from Dec. 10, January, April 6, May 20, May 30, June 10, June 13 and June 18. [June 14]