GEO-1, the Air Force’s first Space Based Infrared Systems early warning satellite passed final exams and is cleared for launch aboard an Atlas V rocket this spring, prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday. Confidence testing at Lockheed’s plant in Sunnydale, Calif., was the last milestone following installation of the satellite’s final sub-assemblies. Lockheed is now preparing to ship the satellite to Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., for its placement in orbit. “GEO-1 will usher in a new era of critical missile warning capabilities vital to our national security. As we progress toward launch, the entire government/industry team is laser focused on delivering mission success,” said Col. Roger Teague, USAF’s infrared space systems director. GEO-1 will join two SBIRS payloads already in orbit aboard classified intelligence satellites.
WATCH: The 2021 vAWS Day 3 Highlight Report
Feb. 26, 2021
Acting Secretary of the Air Force Roth, NORAD’s Gen. VanHerck, U.S. Space Command’s Gen. Dickinson, Spark Tank, and more from Day 3 of the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.