Next Generation Optical System Tops 2012 Milspace Procurements

摘要

A multibillion-dollar contract award to Lockheed Martin for a new generation of optical spy satellites tops the list of U.S. military space and missile defense procurements on tap for 2012. Loretta DeSio, a spokeswoman for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which builds and operates the nation's classified spy satellites, said the contract award for the Next Generation Optical system is still on track for this year. She declined to provide additional details about the program. The NRO has previously said it intended to make a sole-source award to Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the Next Generation Optical system, the government-owned component of a broader imagery-gathering architecture that also features less capable commercial satellites. The Next Generation Optical satellites will be based on the NRO's current optical imaging satellites but with some component upgrades and would serve what national security officials refer to as exquisite imagery requirements.