U.S. Air Force Wants To Learn More About All-electric Satellites

摘要

The cost savings potential of replacing the U.S. Air Force's current fleet of satellites with all-electric versions apparently has piqued the service's interest, at least enough to invite industry in to discuss the idea. According to Jay Penn, an engineer with the Aerospace Corp., David Madden, executive director of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, has invited industry experts to come to the El Segundo, California, facility Aug. 21. The invitation was prompted, Penn said, by an Aerospace report saying replacing the Air Force's navigation, communications and missile-warning satellites with all-electric versions would cut the life-cycle costs of the combined fleet by 15 percent.