Content deleted Content added
→SBIRS High: SBIRS GEO-5 |
|||
Line 36:
The prime contractor for SBIRS is [[Lockheed Martin]], with [[Northrop Grumman]] as the major subcontractor. [[Lockheed Martin]] also provides the satellite for SBIRS GEO. The system's expected deployment was delayed from December 2009 to 2011 because of problems with Lockheed's workmanship on system components, including unresolved software malfunctions and several broken solder joints in a subcontract procured [[gyroscope]] assembly on the first spacecraft being built.<ref>Capaccio, Tony, "Delivery Delayed For Lockheed Martin's Early Warning Satellite", [[Bloomberg.com]], 30 September 2009</ref>
It was feared that a further launch postponement into late 2011 would lead to conflict with the planned launches of [[NASA]]'s [[Juno (spacecraft)|Juno]] spacecraft and [[Mars Science Laboratory]], which
According to a Reuters report, the first two SBIRS GEO satellites started operations in 2013.<ref name=LM56>{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lockheed-wins-1-9-billion-deal-u-missile-025735789--finance.html|title=Lockheed wins US$1.9 billion deal for U.S. missile-warning satellites|agency=Reuters|date=Jun 25, 2014}}</ref> SBIRS GEO-3 launched on 20 January 2017,<ref>{{cite press release|title=United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches SBIRS GEO Flight 3 Satellite to Orbit for U.S. Air Force|url=http://www.ulalaunch.com/ula-successfully-launches-sbirs-geo-flight-3.aspx|publisher=United Launch Alliance |access-date=14 November 2017|date=20 Jan 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Richardson|first1=Derek|title=Various issues prompt 24-hour scrub of Atlas V with SBIRS GEO-3 |url=http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/ula/various-issues-prompt-24-hour-scrub-of-atlas-v-with-sbirs-geo-3/|access-date=14 November 2017|publisher=Spaceflight Insider|date=19 January 2017}}</ref> and SBIRS GEO-4 was successfully deployed on 20 January 2018.<ref name="SBIRS GEO-4">{{cite web|last1=Clark|first1=Stephen|title=U.S. military satellite launched to fortify against missile attacks |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/20/u-s-military-satellite-launched-to-fortify-against-missile-attacks/|publisher=Spaceflight Now|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> In 2017, the United States Air Force requested US$1.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2018 for SBIRS, and funds for advance procurement of SBIRS 7 and 8.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Erwin|first1=Sandra|title=Production of new missile warning satellites likely delayed by budget impasse|publisher=SpaceNews|url=http://spacenews.com/production-of-new-missile-warning-satellites-likely-delayed-by-budget-impasse/|access-date=14 November 2017|date=20 October 2017}}</ref> While US$643 million in funding was provided for SBIRS in Fiscal Year 2019, funding for SBIRS 7 and 8 was eliminated in favor of a new program called "Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared" (Next Gen OPIR). Plans remained to launch SBIRS GEO-5 in 2021 and SBIRS GEO-6 in 2022.<ref>{{cite news|title=The end of SBIRS: Air Force says it's time to move on|first=Sandra|last=Erwin|publisher=SpaceNews|date=19 February 2018|url=http://spacenews.com/the-end-of-sbirs-air-force-says-its-time-to-move-on/|access-date=21 February 2018}}</ref> SBIRS GEO-5 was successfully launched on 18 May 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Atlas V rocket launches SBIRS Geo-5 missile warning satellite for US Space Force |publisher= Space |url=https://www.space.com/atlas-v-rocket-launches-sbirs-geo-5-satellite |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref>
Line 43:
[[File:SBIRS-Low.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|<center>SBIRS Low</center>]]
The SBIRS Low contract is now managed by the [[Missile Defense Agency]] (MDA) and has been
=== Original SBIRS Low ===
The '''SBIRS Low''' program was originally expected to consist of about 24 satellites in low Earth orbit. The primary purpose of SBIRS Low was the tracking of ballistic missiles;
* a scanning infrared sensor, designed to acquire ballistic missiles in the early stages of flight
* a tracking infrared sensor, designed to follow missiles, warheads, and other objects such as debris and decoys during the middle and later stages of flight. The tracking sensor would be cooled to very low temperatures.
Line 55:
{{Main|Space Tracking and Surveillance System}}
In 2001, the Missile Defense Agency assessed the programs needed for a national ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) and found that they were lacking in the relatively new arena of space. The MDA decided to absorb the SBIRS Low constellation in its very early stages of development and renamed the program the [[Space Tracking and Surveillance System]] (STSS). This transition changed the direction of the program somewhat, but the overall mission remained the same — detection and tracking of ballistic missiles through all
== References ==
| |||