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U.S. Air Force Considering Purchasing Additional SBIRS-High Sensors
A senior U.S Air Force official has said the service is considering the purchase two of additional satellites for the Space-Based Infrared System (SBRIS) High program, DefenseNews.com reported today (see GSN, Nov. 3). The additional sensors may be needed to enable the SBIRS-High program to provide long-term coverage of far-northern latitudes, said program manager Col. Mark Borkowski. Buying both systems would cost more than $520 million, according to DefenseNews.com. Borkowski said that if a decision is made to purchase the additional sensors, a major investment would have to be made beginning with the 2006 budget. The Air Force had previously decided to use a separate satellite system, the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (formerly known as SBIRS-Low), to provide long-term coverage of far-northern latitudes, Borkowski said, adding that the future of that program is still uncertain. The Missile Defense Agency plans to launch a system demonstration in 2007 using existing satellite components (Jeremy Singer, DefenseNews.com, Nov. 18). Meanwhile, the MDA is expected to award defense contractor Northrop Grumman Space Technology a contract within the next six months to build at least one new missile-tracking satellite as part of the STSS program, according to Space News. The planned satellite would demonstrate more advanced capabilities than the satellites set to be launched in 2007, said STSS program element manager Air Force Col. Randy Weidenheimer. The contract will be worth “hundreds of millions of dollars,” Weidenheimer said (Warren Ferster, Space News, Nov. 17).
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