SBIRS
Congress reviewing new request to reprogram funds for next-generation OPIR satellites
To fund next-gen OPIR, the Air Force would shift $93.2 million from 2019 accounts and $67.5 million from 2018 accounts.
Air Force reports progress in missile defense satellite programs
SBIRS-4 has been declared fully operational. Next-gen OPIR has passed several design reviews.
Why the Air Force needs more money for next-gen OPIR
The commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Lt. Gen. John Thompson, last week reminded lawmakers that hundreds of millions of dollars above what's in the budget are still needed to accelerate the schedule of the early warning satellite constellation known as next-gen OPIR, or overhead persistent infrared.
Report: Updating the military’s nuclear communications systems a complex and expensive challenge
Bill LaPlante, MITRE: The NC3 system “has been studied a lot, its life has been extended as long as we could, and that’s where we are."
Op-ed | A new mission for DARPA’s RSGS robotic spacecraft: satellite bodyguard
Maxar's exit has a silver lining: DARPA can and should repurpose the RSGS program to defined U.S. military satellites against attacks from supposedly peaceful Chinese and Russian robotic spacecraft.
Satellites, command-and-control systems taking a bigger bite of nuclear modernization budget
In a new report on nuclear modernization, the Congressional Budget Office projects rising costs for airborne command centers and for early warning and communications satellites.
ExoTerra banks $1.5 million for solar electric propulsion
ExoTerra Resources LLC, a Littleton, Colorado, startup obtained a $1.5 million investment to further its campaign to develop solar electric propulsion systems for microsatellites.
Lockheed Martin selects payload providers for next-generation missile warning satellites
The Air Force made the next-gen OPIR missile warning satellites one its top acquisition priorities to keep pace with adversaries’ advances in anti-satellite weapons.
Defense inspector general finds key Air Force space programs vulnerable to cyber attacks, sabotage
An audit by the Defense Department’s inspector general office found security cracks in the supply chain of four critical military space programs.
Lockheed Martin awarded $2.9 billion Air Force contract for three missile-warning satellites
The Air Force will use “rapid procurement authorities” in this program and is targeting the first next-generation OPIR launch in 2023.
Air Force moves to acquire new missile-warning satellites: What we know so far
The decision to sole-source the development of a new constellation further solidifies Lockheed Martin’s and Northrop Grumman's dominance.
Air Force to award contracts to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman for future missile-warning satellite constellation
The Air Force on Friday announced it will award two sole-source contracts to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the next-generation overhead persistent infrared program.
Air Force confident it can build satellites faster. A bigger concern: software
Will Roper: “I’m excited to be a part of space modernization."
A test for Air Force space technology buyers: Fast prototyping
"Other transactions authorities" allow the Air Force to go faster to prototyping.
Is the cost of military space programs going up or down? Depends on how you count
For the space-based infrared SBIRS satellites 5 and 6, the Air Force says the per-unit cost went down 12 percent — from $1.9 billion to $1.6 billion.
The end of SBIRS: Air Force says it’s time to move on
What exactly will replace SBIRS remains to be seen. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson suggested the new system will be “simpler” and more survivable to enemy attacks.
