The Tactical Satellite-3 will transition from an experimental demonstration to an operational asset on Saturday, the Air Force Research Lab has announced. On that day, Air Force Space Command will assume control of the satellite from AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate. TacSat-3 was launched in May 2009 and put through nearly 13 months of drills. One of the main goals was to see how well its primary payload, an imaging spectrometer called ARTEMIS, could be responsive to combatant commander taskings for overhead imagery. Thomas Cooley, AFRL’s TacSat-3 program manager, said all key objectives were met and the satellite provided “high-quality, information-rich data.” AFRL and its partners were able to transmit processed data to a ground station within 10 minutes of call up. TacSat-3 even supported earthquake relief efforts in Chile and Haiti earlier this year. (Kirtland release) (See also ARTEMIS maker Raytheon’s release.)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.