May 27 (UPI) — Lockheed Martin Space Systems has received a $50 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the Space Based Infrared System satellites, the Department of Defense announced Thursday. The satellites are missile warning devices in geosynchronous orbit.
This will be the fifth and sixth of the satellites produced by Lockheed. The contract will include propulsion systems engineering and subsystem modifications.
Fiscal 2017 space procurement funds of $12.2 million will be allocated at the time of award and work will be conducted in Sunnyvale, Calif. The project is expected to be completed by July 31, 2022.
The Space Based Infrared System, or SBIRS, is a surveillance satellite system that can provide warning of ballistic missile launches. It is a 10,000-pound satellite powered by two solar arrays that functions in Highly Elliptical Orbit. It comes in several variants that can include ground monitoring systems and can carry up to a 1000-pound payload.
It features encrypted communication systems and a high-bandwidth data link with the corresponding ground control stations. The GEO-5 and GEO-6 will be based on Lockheed Martin’s A2100 space platform models.
