RTX engine issue will ground 350 planes per year through 2026 | Reuters

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  December 3, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Fifth missile warning satellite ready for launch, Lockheed Martin announces

  By Ed Adamczyk Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The fifth missile warning satellite of the U.S. Space Force has been constructed and is ready for launch, manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced on Wednesday. The Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit, or SBIRS GEO-5, is scheduled to be launched in 2021 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. ULA is a Boeing and Lockheed Martin consortium. The first satellite in the series was launched in 2011, but the newest version features the LM 2100 military combat bus. The bus, the space vehicle that carries the satellite's sensors and electronics, is designed to "provide greater resiliency and cyber-hardening," Lockheed said in a statement. The new satellite also includes "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 the company. The next satellite in the series, GEO-6, and future Next Gen OPIR [Overhead Persistent Infrared missile warning] satellites, will also include the upgrade. GEO-6 is expected to launch by 2022, with the OPIR satellites expected to launch beginning in 2025. The constellation of U.S. Space Force missile warning satellites are equipped with powerful scanning and staring infrared surveillance sensors. The sensors collect data useable in discovering missile launches It also supports ballistic missile defense, expands technical intelligence gathering and improves battlefield situational awareness. "SBIRS' role as an ever-present, on-orbit guardian against global ballistic missile threats has never been more critical," Tom McCormick, Lockheed Martin's vice in a statement on Wednesday. "In 2019 alone, SBIRS detected nearly 1,000 missile launches, which is about a two-fold increase in two years." https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/12/02/Fifth-missile-warning-satellite-ready-for-launch-Lockheed-Martin-announces/8311606933697

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  September 11, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Poland to buy 486 HIMARS launchers from Lockheed Martin

  The announcement indicates that, in the long term, Poland wants the state-run defense industry to locally produce HIMARS rockets.

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  November 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  National Reconnaissance Office launches new intelligence satellite

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The National Reconnaissance launched a new intelligence satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Nov. 13, marking the American agency's fourth successful launch of the year. “We're excited to be back at CCAFS with another successful launch alongside our partners at ULA [United Launch Alliance], the 45th Space Wing, and the U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center. The successful launch of NROL-101 is another example of the NRO's commitment to constantly evolving our crucial national security systems to support our defense and intelligence partners,” said Col. Chad Davis, director of NRO's Office of Space Launch. NROL-101 was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with help from the Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center's Launch Enterprise. The Atlas family of rockets have been used for 668 successful launches since it was first introduced in 1957. For this mission, ULA incorporated new Northrop Grumman Graphite Epoxy Motors 63 solid-fuel rocket boosters, which helped the first stage lift more weight by burning solid propellant. Each of the 66-foot rocket boosters contributed a maximum 371,550 pounds of thrust to help lift the rocket and its payload off the ground. Those boosters will be an important component for ULA's future generation of Vulcan Centaur launch vehicles. This was the fourth successful NRO launch of the year. Previously, the agency had conducted two launches from New Zealand and one from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. NRO does not usually reveal details of its satellites or their specific functions. In a statement, the agency simply noted that the classified national security payload was built by NRO in support of its overhead reconnaissance mission. NRO's next scheduled launch is NROL-108, which is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in December 2020. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/11/16/national-reconnaissance-office-launches-new-intelligence-satellite/