Air Force Begins Independent Review of Lockheed Martin-Built SBIRS Ground Station.Business Editors/Military Writers SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2001 The Air Force has begun comprehensive testing of the Space-Based Infrared System  This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details. (SBIRS SBIRS Space-Based Infrared System SBIRS Space Based Infra-Red Surveillance ) ground station that will replace three legacy Defense Support Program (DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive ) control centers. The Air Force Operation Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC AFOTEC Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center ), an independent evaluation arm of the Air Force, will review the ground station's performance at Buckley Air Force Base Buckley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, that was established in 1943. The host wing is the 460th Space Wing, a unit of the Air Force Space Command. in Aurora, Colo. for 90 days. The goal of the AFOTEC test is to estimate the prospective system's operational effectiveness and suitability in as realistic an operational environment as possible. The SBIRS Mission Control Station (MCS), recently accepted by the Air Force to begin the round of testing, is the first of three elements that Lockheed Martin is designing and developing for the SBIRS program. The new ground station is expected to begin assuming DSP's daily duties in the fall once AFOTEC reports its findings from the test -- referred to as Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (testing) Initial Operational Test and Evaluation - (IOT&E) The first phase of operational test and evaluation conducted on pre-protectional items, prototypes, or pilot production items and normally completed prior to the first major production decision. (IOT&E). The DSP stations will be phased out after the SBIRS ground station achieves Initial Operational Capability The first attainment of the capability to employ effectively a weapon, item of equipment, or system of approved specific characteristics that is manned or operated by an adequately trained, equipped, and supported military unit or force. Also called IOC. . The phase-out is expected to be complete in early 2002. Military personnel who will run the operational system are testing the MCS to verify it can accurately and timely detect and report missile launches and that its design complies with Air Force maintenance standards. Lockheed Martin officials are confident the system will perform well in the AFOTEC review because the company modeled its in-house tests after military procedures. "We have a bright team of industry and government professionals working on SBIRS, and we're certain the Mission Control Station will perform its missions in this test period and proceed smoothly to Initial Operational Capability in the fall," said Tom Dougherty, Lockheed Martin vice president of SBIRS and defensive systems. The company is responsible for the SBIRS "high" component, which includes four Geostationary Earth Orbit satellites, two Highly Elliptical Orbit Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) is an elliptic orbit characterized by a relatively low-altitude perigee and an extremely high-altitude apogee. These extremely elongated orbits can have the advantage of long dwell times at a point in the sky during the approach to and descent from satellites and ground assets including a MCS, a backup MCS, a mobile MCS, and overall element integration between SBIRS "high" and "low." Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of the 4 major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. From a rich history of major companies Lockheed Martin has brought them together to offer design, integration, and production of: Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's core businesses are systems integration, space, aeronautics, and technology services. Employing more than 140,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 2000 sales surpassing $25 billion. For more information about Lockheed Martin Space Systems, see our website at http://lmms.external.lmco.com. A photo to accompany this news is available at the following URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. : http://lmms.external.lmco.com/photos/ Lockheed Martin Space Systems -- P.O. Box 3504 -- Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3504 -- Telephone 408-742-6688 -- Facsimile 408-743-2239 |
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