Optics:
Lockheed Martin confirms that scan-and-stare sensors payload is communicating with US Air Force following Florida launch. The fourth payload making up the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), primarily for missile surveillance, has launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US.
Lead contractor Lockheed Martin, which built the “GEO Flight-4” satellite, announced shortly after the launch that the payload was in communication with the US Air Force division overseeing SBIRS operations. Considered to be one of the US military’s highest-priority space programs, SBIRS is designed to provide global, persistent, infrared surveillance capabilities.
That includes quickly identifying ballistic missile launches by detecting the signature infrared radiation generated by the hot exhaust that they produce. Through a network of both geosynchronous and orbiting satellites, the intention is to have complete global coverage. Equipped with powerful scanning and staring infrared surveillance sensors, the satellite network also supports ballistic missile defense, while expanding technical intelligence gathering and situational awareness in conflict zones.
