US Space Force Clears Upgraded Missile Warning Satellite For 2021 Launch - Lockheed Martin

The US Space Force certified that the fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Satellite (SBIRS GEO-5) - the most advanced thus far - is complete and ready for launch in 2021, the manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a press release on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2020) The US Space Force certified that the fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Satellite (SBIRS GEO-5) - the most advanced thus far - is complete and ready for launch in 2021, the manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Both SBIRS GEO-5 and GEO-6 are slated to join the US Space Force's constellation of missile warning satellites, equipped with powerful scanning and staring infrared surveillance sensors," the release said.

Lockheed Martin explained that the sensors collect data that allow the US military to detect missile launches, support ballistic missile defense, expand technical intelligence gathering and bolster situational awareness on the battlefield.

The GEO-5 and GEO-6 satellite feature greater resiliency and cyber-hardening; 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, the release said.

The SBIRS satellites launched earlier detected more than 1,000 missile launches in 2019 alone, the release added.