1st On-Orbit SBIRS Sensor Moves to Hew Test Phase

摘要

The U.S. Air Force has cleared the first sensor deployed for the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) missile warning system to move to a new phase of testing, according to an Aug. 28 press release from SBIRS prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif. The infrared sensor is aboard a classified satellite operating in a highly elliptical orbit. The launch date of the spacecraft was not disclosed, but the U.S. government acknowledged in November 2006 that the sensor was on orbit and undergoing testing. During the new phase of testing, live data from the sensor will be fed into operational military networks for missile warning and intelligence purposes. "We look forward to successfully executing the next steps necessary to making this critical national asset operational for the warfighter this year," U.S. Air Force Col. Roger Teague, the service's SBIRS wing commander, said in a prepared statement.