Comments on: SBIRS survives

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 21:51:30 +0000

gapfiller might use infrared sensors developed for NASA programs In the spirit of “a bird in hand. . . ,” maybe whatever NASA sensor they’re talking about should be the primary sensor, and evolved toward something better. It seems to me that the clear lesson from recent events is that the military is trying too many leaps in technology, each of which is too high a jump.

— Donald

By: Phil Smith

Phil Smith — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 18:43:26 +0000

Yes, SIBRS Low is still around. Current plan is for four SIBRS Low satellites in LEO and two SIBRS High satellites in GEO. This is a substantially reduced architecture from previous versions.

By: Jeff Foust

Jeff Foust — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 18:05:11 +0000

When it says, "contingent on the performance of the first two SBIRS satellites to be built," can you tell if this means the two HEO satellites for which sensor packages have already been delivered, or two yet-to-be-built GEO sats? The article doesn't specify. In fact, the article doesn't draw a distinction between the GEO satellites and the HEO sensor packages, calling them all just "satellites". BTW, is SBIRS-Low still alive? SBIRS-Low was renamed the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) a while back, and seems to be moving along, albeit slowly. Here's a fact sheet dated September 2005 from MDA: http://www.mda.mil/mdalink/pdf/sbx1.pdf

By: Allen Thomson

Allen Thomson — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 15:16:48 +0000

(I don’t have a WSJ subscription.)

When it says, “contingent on the performance of the first two SBIRS satellites to be built,” can you tell if this means the two HEO satellites for which sensor packages have already been delivered, or two yet-to-be-built GEO sats? Any indication of when the two satellites are expected to be launched?

BTW, is SBIRS-Low still alive?