Air Force space officials announced Wednesday that they and their industry partners have achieved a major milestone in the assembly of the second Space Based Infrared Systems early warning satellite, which is known as GEO-2. Over a period of 34 days that concluded on Oct. 6, they completed the integration of the satellite’s two equipment panels onto the spacecraft core module at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s facility in Sunnyvale, Calif. The equipment panels hold the electronics components that govern functions like the satellite’s communications, attitude control, power distribution, and payload data processing. “The team has worked tirelessly, meeting each challenge head on,” said Lt. Col. Jack Allen, SBIRS Space Squadron commander at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. In fact, they finished this integration nine days ahead of schedule. GEO-2 is scheduled for launch in 2012, following GEO-1, which is slated for launch in 2011.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
