GEO-5 infrared missile-warning satellite to launch in 2021
NewsDecember 04, 2020
BETHESDA, Md. Lockheed Martin announced the U.S. Space Force has determined the fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite (SBIRS GEO-5) is complete and ready for launch in 2021.
According to the company, SBIRS GEO-5 is the first military space satellite built on the company’s modernized, modular LM 2100 combat bus. SBIRS GEO-6, launching in 2022, is also being built on the new bus designed for speed and resilience.
Both SBIRS GEO-5 and GEO-6 are slated to join the U.S. Space Force’s constellation of missile warning satellites, equipped with scanning and staring infrared surveillance sensors. These sensors are designed to collect data that allow the U.S. military to detect missile launches, support ballistic missile defense, expand technical intelligence gathering, and bolster situational awareness on the battlefield.
The LM 2100 bus is the result of a Lockheed Martin internally-funded, multi-year modernization initiative. It is designed to provide greater resiliency and cyber-hardening; enhanced spacecraft power, propulsion and electronics; common components and procedures to streamline manufacturing; and a flexible design that reduces the cost to incorporate future, modernized sensor suites, according to Lockheed Martin.
