The $1.3 billion contract that the Air Force awarded last week to Lockheed Martin for production of the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite calls for this spacecraft to be available for launch in 2017, according to Air Force space acquisition officials. They also provided an update on the first three AEHF satellites: AEHF-1 is still in the midst of a lengthy process to raise it into its operational orbit after its Aug. 14 launch into space. AEHF-2 has completed production and is in storage until its scheduled launch in 2012. AEHF-3 is undergoing thermal vacuum testing. Its production is on track to conclude next year, they said. AEHF satellites will supplant the five-satellite Milstar constellation. They will provide 10 times greater communications capability than the Milstar spacecraft. (Los Angeles release)
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.
