GEO-1, the Air Force’s first Space Based Infrared Systems early warning satellite passed final exams and is cleared for launch aboard an Atlas V rocket this spring, prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday. Confidence testing at Lockheed’s plant in Sunnydale, Calif., was the last milestone following installation of the satellite’s final sub-assemblies. Lockheed is now preparing to ship the satellite to Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., for its placement in orbit. “GEO-1 will usher in a new era of critical missile warning capabilities vital to our national security. As we progress toward launch, the entire government/industry team is laser focused on delivering mission success,” said Col. Roger Teague, USAF’s infrared space systems director. GEO-1 will join two SBIRS payloads already in orbit aboard classified intelligence satellites.
On Jan. 4, a dozen U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors departed Puerto Rico, where they had landed following their participation in Operation Absolute Resolve. Those fighters appeared to have flown directly from their home base at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., to participate in the operation and returned there two days…
