SBIRS-GEO 1 - Atlas V 401 - Canaveral SLC-41 - 07.05.2011 18:10 UTC

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Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Аля

написала как раз по этому проекту
http://spacejur.livejournal.com/76758.html

если в общих чертах:
1. открытость - зачетная!
2. у российских СМИ еще есть иллюзия, что у нас все равно лучше.
3. у нас все куда хуже (

Sharicoff

Вроде бы прибыл на геостационар.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2011/0524_ss_sbirsorbits.html

ЦитироватьNext Generation Missile Warning Satellite Successfully Reaches Orbit
SBIRS GEO-1 Spacecraft to Deliver Unprecedented Infrared Surveillance for the Nation

DENVER, May 24th, 2011 -- The first Lockheed Martin-built Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous (GEO-1) spacecraft has successfully reached its intended orbit and is performing as required following its successful May 7 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Photo: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/ssc/PressRelease/sbirs_launch_OrbitRaisejpg.jpg

After launch, the U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin SBIRS ground team executed a series of six Liquid Apogee Engine (LAE) burns to propel the spacecraft to its geosynchronous orbital slot. The team then deployed the satellite's solar arrays, light shade and antenna wing assemblies in preparation for activating its sophisticated infrared sensors and the start of early orbit testing.

SBIRS GEO-1 is the most technologically advanced military infrared satellite ever developed and will enhance early warning of missile launches around the globe, support the nation's ballistic missile defense system, greatly expand technical intelligence gathering capability, and bolster situational awareness for warfighters on the battlefield.

"Successfully reaching orbit and conducting deployments is a tremendous milestone for the SBIRS GEO-1 spacecraft. Thanks to a very talented and dedicated team, this first-of-its-kind spacecraft has performed flawlessly," said Brig Gen (select) Roger W. Teague, the director of the U.S. Air Force's Infrared Space Systems Directorate. "We anticipate continued success as we progress towards payload activation in the near future."

SBIRS GEO-1 includes highly sophisticated scanning and staring sensors that will deliver improved infrared sensitivity and a reduction in area revisit times over the current constellation. The scanning sensor will provide a wide area surveillance of missile launches and natural phenomena across the earth, while the staring sensor will be used to observe smaller areas of interest with superior sensitivity.

"We are very pleased with the performance of SBIRS GEO-1 and we are looking forward to delivering unprecedented infrared surveillance capabilities for the nation," said Jeff Smith, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) mission area.

The SBIRS team is led by the Infrared Space Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Lockheed Martin is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman as the payload integrator. Air Force Space Command operates the SBIRS system.

Lockheed Martin's original SBIRS contract includes HEO payloads, two geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites, as well as ground-based assets to receive and process the infrared data. The team is also under a follow-on production contract to deliver additional HEO payloads and the third and fourth GEO satellites, and associated ground modifications.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/ssc/PressRelease/sbirs_launch_OrbitRaisejpg.jpg
Не пей метанол!

Dopler

Цитироватьнаписала как раз по этому проекту
http://spacejur.livejournal.com/76758.html

если в общих чертах:
1. открытость - зачетная!
2. у российских СМИ еще есть иллюзия, что у нас все равно лучше.
3. у нас все куда хуже (
Крутые данные ничего не скажеш :lol:
полная открытость. Девочка, а ты знаешь, что в США есть более 50 организаций с годовым буджетом в 75 млрд. баксов для проверки инфы на предмет раскрытия гостайн, и эту инфу надо заранее представлять за месяц. Кстати аппаратура сбирс давно стоит у них на КА Trumpet Follow On, посмотри данные европейских каталогов, ну есть здесь рекламный ход локхида и пентагона, а то запуск КА СПРАУ был у них неудачный, да и бабки урезают, закрывая программы, вот и расстарались.
Да, а скока спутников США запустило под прикрытием других запусков, при этом не дав информации даже в каталоги европейских союзников. А скока спутников летает с одними заявлеными целями, а выполняет другие. Ну и т.д. В общем не надо дурить народ.

Dude

Аля, это называется OPSEC, в частности они не тратят усилия чтобы скрыть информацию, что не имеет ценности и не вредит их операциям, и концентрируются на скрытии важных для безопасности и хода операций вещей. В Союзе секретность размазывалась тонким и часто неэффективным слоем, доходя до абсурдности, вы правильно обратили внимание что в РФ и СНГ вообще с гос. политикой относительно правил распространения инфы туго, теперь всё в основном зависит от политики конкретной организации, и вот и получается, что одни что-то секретят, а другие же публикуют на эту тему отчеты.

Брабонт

SBIRS GEO-1 Satellite to Provide a Quantum Leap in Infrared Surveillance Capabilities
ЦитироватьDENVER, July 7th, 2011 -- The first Lockheed Martin [NYSE]-built Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous (GEO-1) spacecraft beamed down its first infrared image on June 21 to the SBIRS ground station. Following its May 7 launch, the satellite is performing as expected, and is now undergoing early orbit testing.
Пропитый день обмену и возврату не подлежит

Имxотеп

на днях сабж снялся с точки стояния над США и поехал на запад, видимо будет работать где-то в Азии (Китай, Ближний Восток?).

Salo

http://www.militaryparitet.com/perevodnie/data/ic_perevodnie/2196/
ЦитироватьСША развертывают самую совершенную в мире группировку спутников инфракрасной разведки и наблюдения[/size]
14 февраля 2012 г.

«Военный Паритет». Как сообщает сегодня газета The Sacramento Bee, ВВС США начинают полноценное использование геостационарного спутника GEO-1 инфракрасной системы космического базирования SBIRS (Space Based Infrared System). В настоящее время аппарат, запущенный 7 мая 2011 года и передавшего первые данные 21 июня того же года, проходит через строгий сертификационный процесс и переводится на окончательную целевую орбиту.

Этот спутник, построенный компанией Lockheed Martin, позволит повысить способность вооруженных сил США обнаруживать пуски ракет с любого района земного шара, будет интегрирован в систему ПРО, значительно увеличит возможности космической разведки и ситуационную осведомленность боевых подразделений на поле боя.  

GEO-1 является технологически наиболее продвинутым аппаратом в своем классе, когда-либо разработанным в мире. Спутник обладает сложной системой сканирования с повышенной инфракрасной чувствительностью датчиков. Аппарат может обнаруживать как пуски ракет, так и наблюдать за ходом стихийных бедствий. Испытания показали, что инфракрасная система показывает характеристики, никогда ранее не достигнутые.

 

«Мы с нетерпением ждем полноценной оперативной работы этого спутника, который предоставит для нашей страны новые возможности инфракрасного наблюдения», говорит директор управления Инфракрасных систем наблюдения ВВС США (Infrared Space Systems Directorate) полковник Джим Планокс (Jim Planeaux).  

С учетом опыта эксплуатации GEO-1 команда разработчиков создает еще более совершенный спутник GEO-2. Недавно сотрудники компании завершили этап экологический испытаний нового аппарата, предстоит работа по проведению окончательных заводских настроек спутника и проведение завершающих предстартовых испытаний.

На первом этапе система SBIRS будет представлять собой два высокоэллиптических спутника, наземные средства приема и обработки данных. В дальнейшем планируется запуск третьего и четвертого спутников. Производство этих аппаратов идет полным ходом, ставится цель снижения стоимости новых спутников. В частности, ведется сокращение численности производственного персонала для достижения более быстрого и эффективного перехода от этапа разработки до производства. Головным оператором системы SBIRS является Космическое командование ВВС США.
 
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/13/4261080/us-air-forces-new-missile-warning.html
 

рисунок GEO-1
aerospace-technology.com[/size]
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

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Certification work continues on new missile warning craft
ЦитироватьThe lead spacecraft in the U.S. military's new generation of missile early-warning satellites is delivering better-than-expected results as exhaustive testing continues 22,300 miles above the planet.

The Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous-1 satellite, SBIRS GEO 1 for short, was launched into space atop a ULA Atlas 5 rocket on May 7, 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Within weeks, the craft maneuvered itself into the proper orbital position, deployed various appendages and commenced a rigorous checkout period that remains in work today to prove its capabilities before the satellite is entrusted for missile-launch detection.

"We've been extremely pleased with the performance of this first-of-its-kind spacecraft," said Col. James Planeaux, director of the Air Force's Infrared Space Systems Directorate. "We fully expect GEO-1 to enter services as an invaluable military asset that will help protect our nation and its allies for many years to come."

The Air Force reports that testing has found SBIRS GEO 1, valued at more than $1.2 billion, can spot targets 25 percent dimmer than required with an intensity measurement that is 60 percent more accurate than specifications. What's more, the accuracy for payload pointing is nine times more precise than required.

"This satellite is delivering outstanding data to the user community and is performing exceptionally well as it proceeds through its rigorous certification process," said Jeff Smith, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared mission area. "The government and industry team is focused on executing a smooth certification process and delivering the full value of SBIRS to the warfighter."

Lockheed Martin is building a fleet of SBIRS GEO satellites to replace the legacy Defense Support Program warning satellites. DSP craft rotate in orbit, enabling their infrared telescopes to scan the planet in a windshield wiper-motion looking for heat signatures of missile plumes.

SBIRS GEO does that scanning, plus includes an addition instrument to stare at a particular part of the globe for signs of threat.

Testing between the new satellite and fine-tuning its ground support network should be completed in May, officials said, and the craft will work through a trial period for final evaluation this fall.

"This first GEO satellite is expected to be certified for operations by U.S. Strategic Command by the end of 2012," the Air Force says.

Originally conceived in the Cold War to focus on intercontinental ballistic missiles, the warning system has evolved to today's short-range missile threats. SBIRS brings new technologies to make quicker detections of fainter objects.

The constellation of satellites continuously monitor the globe to alert the national leadership and battlefield commanders of missile launches, and SBIRS is designed to spot events quicker and decimate the warnings faster than ever before.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av022/testing.html
Go MSL!

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Key SBIRS Capability is Delayed
ЦитироватьWASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force will not be able to fully utilize a key capability aboard its new generation of missile warning satellites until at least 2016 because the associated ground-system software will not be completed until then, according to a top service official.

The issue affects the speed with which the Air Force can assess and provide appropriate warnings of missile launches around the world.

Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, told reporters here March 22 that some of the ground software for the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) missile warning satellites has proved more complex than anticipated. In addition, the Air Force ran into "money issues" on the SBIRS program that led it to focus on getting the first satellite into orbit while deferring work on the ground segment, he said.

The first dedicated SBIRS satellite, dubbed GEO-1, was placed into geosynchronous orbit in May 2011 and is expected to begin operations before the end of the year. Each geosynchronous SBIRS satellite has two main infrared sensors: a scanning sensor that sweeps over large swaths of territory watching for missile launches and a staring sensor that stays focused on a smaller area to provide immediate notification of launches.

The software to exploit the staring sensor data in real time — military parlance for immediately — will not be ready until 2016 or 2017, Shelton said at a Defense Writers Group breakfast. In the meantime, he said, the service is taking down data from the staring sensor and sending it to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for analysis, he said.

"We are going to continue to investigate the possibilities of taking advantage of all of the SBIRS capabilities in a much more tactical way over the next few years here," Shelton said.

NASIC officials are analyzing the data from the first SBIRS satellite every day, he said.

The SBIRS constellation will consist of four dedicated satellites in geosynchronous orbit as well as infrared sensors hosted aboard two classified satellites in highly elliptical orbit. The hosted sensors are in orbit and the second of the dedicated satellites is scheduled to launch this spring.

Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., is prime contractor on the SBIRS program, with responsibility for both the space and ground segments.

In a written response to questions, Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Friedman said the GEO-1 satellite is undergoing certification that will culminate in real-time availability of its scanning-sensor data by the end of the year. "As part of the program's baseline, Lockheed Martin is currently on schedule to provide a ground system upgrade to enable starer data utilization for the real-time mission. Lockheed Martin is aware that the outstanding performance of the GEO-1 starer has sparked increased demand for the data throughout the user community, and we are committed to delivering for the warfighter."
http://www.spacenews.com/military/120322-key-sbirs-capability-delayed.html
Go MSL!

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Advanced SBIRS Sensor Capability Will Not be Available Before 2016
ЦитироватьWASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force deferred a key capability on its new generation of missile warning satellites in order to focus its resources on getting the first dedicated spacecraft in the long-delayed and overbudget system built and into orbit, a senior service official said.

Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, said the service will not be able to fully exploit data from the staring sensors aboard the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellites until 2016 or 2017. The issue will affect the speed with which the Air Force can assess and provide appropriate warnings of missile launches around the world.

Speaking March 22 at a Defense Writers Group breakfast here, Shelton said the Air Force ran into "money issues" on the SBIRS program that led it to focus on getting the first satellite into orbit while deferring work on the ground segment. Moreover, he said, some of the ground software for the SBIRS satellites has proved more complex than anticipated.

The first dedicated SBIRS satellite, dubbed GEO-1, was placed into geosynchronous orbit in May 2011 — nearly a decade behind its original schedule — and is expected to begin operations before the end of 2012. Each geosynchronous SBIRS satellite has two main infrared sensors: a scanning sensor that sweeps over large swaths of territory watching for missile launches, and a staring sensor that can be trained constantly on a smaller area of interest to provide immediate notification of launches.

Until the new software is ready, Shelton said, the Air Force will not be able to exploit the staring sensor data in real time, meaning upon collection. In the meantime, he said, the service is downlinking the staring sensor data and sending it to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for analysis, he said.

"We are going to continue to investigate the possibilities of taking advantage of all of the SBIRS capabilities in a much more tactical way over the next few years here," Shelton said.

NASIC officials are analyzing the data from the first SBIRS satellite every day, he said.

The SBIRS constellation will consist of four dedicated satellites in geosynchronous orbit as well as infrared sensors hosted aboard two classified satellites in highly elliptical orbit. The hosted sensors are in orbit and the second of the dedicated satellites is scheduled to launch this spring.

Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., is prime contractor on the SBIRS program, with responsibility for both the space and ground segments.

In a written response to questions, Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Friedman said the GEO-1 satellite is undergoing certification that will culminate in real-time availability of its scanning-sensor data by the end of the year. "As part of the program's baseline, Lockheed Martin is currently on schedule to provide a ground system upgrade to enable starer data utilization for the real-time mission,"Friedman said. "Lockheed Martin is aware that the outstanding performance of the GEO-1 starer has sparked increased demand for the data throughout the user community, and we are committed to delivering for the warfighter."

Operational details about the SBIRS program are sensitive, but Air Force officials have spoken glowingly about the performance to date of the GEO-1 satellite as well as the two sensors in elliptical orbit, both of which are operational. But the development program was infamous for its lengthy development and skyrocketing costs, which went from some $3 billion when the prime contract was awarded to more than $10 billion as of a few years ago.

The Air Force considered dropping the staring sensor from the satellites as a cost saving move but ultimately scrapped the idea.

The staring sensor represents a brand new capability; the legacy Defense Support Program satellites, which date back to the 1970s and remain the backbone of the U.S. early warning system, have only the scanning sensor.

The SBIRS scanning sensor has shorter revisit times in its field of view than the Defense Support Program sensor, according to an Air Force fact sheet.

SBIRS is one of several U.S. military space programs whose ground and satellite systems are out of sync, a longstanding issue that limits the new capabilities advertised for next-generation systems. Among the others is the U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System, a new generation of mobile communications satellites that began launching in February.

"We're seeing too many programs that the user equipment is just arriving years later than the satellites, and you really have a situation where you're wasting expensive capability in space when that happens," Christina Chaplain, director of acquisition and sourcing management at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, told lawmakers at a March 21 hearing.

Chaplain said developers and users of satellite ground systems should "understand the complexity of what they are trying to achieve when they set out to do it." Closer oversight by the Defense Department and Congress also would mitigate the program, she said.

The Government Accountability Office released a report at the hearing that noted that the production of the third and fourth dedicated SBIRS satellites is a year behind schedule due to technical challenges, parts obsolescence issues and testing failures. The report says the cost of those two satellites has risen by $438 million.
http://www.spacenews.com/military/120323-sbirs-sensor-not-available.html
Go MSL!

Pol

Как-то не вяжется с 2 предыдущими постами...

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=2076540567

March 19, 2012

USAF's SBIR Satellite Better Than Best Report

The satellite is currently undergoing rigorous certification processes, and is meeting or exceeding performance requirements...

The first Space Based Infrared Systems geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite, currently undergoing a rigorous operational certification process, is meeting or exceeding performance requirements, and on track to be delivered into operations.

Within two months after launch, SBIRS began sharing initial GEO-1 satellite data with technical intelligence mission partners in order to enable early assessments of sensor performance.

On-orbit performance of the first GEO-1 satellite has proven superb.  At the payload level, the GEO sensors are detecting targets 25 percent dimmer than requirements with an intensity measurement that is 60 percent more accurate than specifications.  The payload pointing is nine times more precise than required, which is a key confidence measure for achieving a system level line-of-sight accuracy well within specification.  

The SBIRS GEO-1 satellite includes sophisticated scanning and staring sensors that deliver improved infrared sensitivity and target area scan rates over the current constellation.  The scanning sensor provides wide area surveillance of missile launches and infrared phenomena across the earth, while the staring sensor can be used to observe smaller areas of interest with superior sensitivity and revisit time.  

While the satellite and its respective ground systems continue final system tuning through May of this year, interim mission performance results indicate that the system already demonstrates the ability to meet more than 90 percent of Air Force Space Command's performance requirements for operational use.  The remaining performance refinements are on track to be completed prior to the formal testing campaign slated to begin in June.  

"We've been extremely pleased with the performance of this first-of-its-kind spacecraft," said Col. James Planeaux, director of the Infrared Space Systems Directorate.  "We fully expect GEO-1 to enter services as an invaluable military asset that will help protect our nation and its allies for many years to come."

Live GEO-1 data will be included in the nation's missile warning and theater event networks during a trial period and operation utility evaluation this fall.  This first GEO satellite is expected to be certified for operations by U.S. Strategic Command by the end of 2012.

As one of the nation's highest priority space programs, SBIRS delivers global, persistent, taskable infrared surveillance capabilities to meet 21st-century demands for early warning of missile launches and simultaneous support to other critical missions including missile defense, technical intelligence, and battlespace awareness.  

The SBIRS architecture features a mix of GEO satellites, payloads in highly elliptical Earth orbit, and associated ground hardware and software that provides a timely, accurate and clear infrared view of any region of interest around the globe during peacetime and all levels of conflict.  The GEO satellites replace and improve upon the legacy Defense Support Program satellites, offering enhanced sensor flexibility and sensitivity to provide global, taskable, 24/7 infrared surveillance capabilities to support the warfighter.

The SBIRS development team is led by the Infrared Space Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.  Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, Azusa, California, as the payload integrator.  The 14th Air Force operates the SBIRS system.
С уважением, Павел Акулаев

instml

ЦитироватьКак-то не вяжется с 2 предыдущими постами...

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=2076540567

March 19, 2012
Посмотрите на даты новостей...

Key SBIRS Capability is Delayed
Thu, 22 March, 2012
Advanced SBIRS Sensor Capability Will Not be Available Before 2016
Fri, 23 March, 2012
Go MSL!

Pol

Цитировать
ЦитироватьКак-то не вяжется с 2 предыдущими постами...

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=2076540567

March 19, 2012
Посмотрите на даты новостей...

Key SBIRS Capability is Delayed
Thu, 22 March, 2012
Advanced SBIRS Sensor Capability Will Not be Available Before 2016
Fri, 23 March, 2012

Увидели объем поступаемой информации и удивились... И скзали - ну не потянет наземный сегмент, не потянет...

P.S. Я не ерничаю, иронизирую так. Под MUOS провели модернизацию по-моему всех наземных станций (стационарных)
С уважением, Павел Акулаев

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U.S. Lawmakers Seek To Accelerate SBIRS Capability
ЦитироватьWASHINGTON — House appropriators recommended boosting the U.S. Air Force's proposed missile warning satellite budget next year in order to make one of the system's most advanced capabilities available sooner than currently planned.

In its markup of the 2013 Pentagon spending bill, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee allocated $516 million to the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), $68 million more than the Air Force requested. The bulk of the increase would go toward ground systems needed to process data collected by the satellites' so-called staring sensors.

Each geosynchronous-orbiting SBIRS satellite has a scanning sensor that covers large swaths of territory in a sweeping motion and a staring sensor that is trained on smaller areas of interest. The staring sensor provides more-immediate notification and analysis of missile launches, which gives U.S. forces more time to react.

The Air Force disclosed this year that work on the ground systems needed to process the staring sensor data products had been deferred so that more SBIRS program money could be funneled to the launch of the first dedicated satellite, which was several years behind schedule. The first in a planned constellation of four SBIRS spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit — the system also has sensors hosted aboard classified spacecraft in highly elliptical orbit — was successfully launched in May 2011 and is slated to begin operations this year.

The Air Force does not expect to fully exploit data from the SBIRS staring sensors until at least 2016 because the associated ground system software will not be completed until then, Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, told reporters here March 22.

The staring sensor represents a brand new capability; the legacy Defense Support Program satellites, which remain the backbone of the U.S. early warning system, have only the scanning sensor.

Currently, according to Shelton, the Air Force is downlinking the staring sensor data and sending them to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for analysis.

The appropriations panel allocated $50 million of the proposed SBIRS funding increase to speed up the "ground segment automated sensor tasking," which will allow the scanning sensor and the starting sensor to cue off each other and track missiles more accurately, according to report language posted May 16 on the full House Appropriations Committee website.

"Further, based on the current launch schedule of the various SBIRS system components, the Committee is concerned that the ground segment needs enhancement to command and control the projected constellation," the report states.

The second dedicated SBIRS satellite is slated to launch this summer.

Meanwhile, the House appropriators also want the Pentagon to examine whether it might save money by buying more satellites at a time.

SBIRS prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., currently is under contract to deliver four dedicated spacecraft. The Air Force's SBIRS budget request includes initial funding to procure an additional two spacecraft under what is sometimes referred to as a block-buy strategy, which is designed to save money in part by allowing the company to order components in bulk.

The subcommittee recommended directing the Air Force, secretary of defense and Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation Office to prepare a report comparing the cost of buying three SBIRS and three Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellites with the cost of buying two of each type as now planned. The subcommittee characterized Air Force cost estimates for the fifth and sixth satellites in both systems as "extremely conservative" and asked that the Pentagon report be delivered within 30 days of enactment of the defense spending bill.

Lockheed Martin also is prime contractor on the Advanced Extremely High Frequency system, a constellation of geostationary-orbiting satellites able to provide secure, jam-proof communications to U.S. forces under any conditions.
http://www.spacenews.com/military/120517-lawmakers-seek-accelerate-sbirs-capability.html
Go MSL!