ORS marks 10th anniversary, achievements Published Sept. 27, 2017 By Argen Duncan Nucleus writer KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- After 10 years, the Operationally Responsive Space Office at Kirtland Air Force Base is still launching satellites that support the warfighter from space. Col. Shahnaz M. Punjani, who has directed ORS since 2015, said the organization has made tremendous progress over the past decade. “In the past 10 years, we have made great strides in reducing the time and cost of fielding new space systems to meet urgent warfighter needs,” Punjani said. ORS doesn’t make large satellites that take years to build and then operate for decades. Instead, its members focus on small satellites that can be built and launched on lean budgets comparatively quickly to meet immediate and emerging needs on the battlefield. Peter Wegner, who led ORS from 2008-12, said the office has had an impressive impact on the national security space community with six launches, eight major missions and multiple technology and operations demonstrations. “This is a tremendous accomplishment by all involved,” he said. “ORS is paving the way for space operations to become even more tightly integrated into operations supporting freedom and democracy around the world. With the help of ORS, one day rapidly launching a rocket to deploy a small satellite constellation that directly supports operators deployed in remote locations of the world will be another ‘dull and boring day at the office’!” The ORS office has less than 40 members, consisting of military members, government civilians and contractors located at multiple sites, with most of them at Kirtland. Working on satellites with short-term missions is a unique mission in the Department of Defense. The office’s projects address areas ranging from intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to monitoring weather conditions. The ORS-1 satellite launch in June 2011 was the office’s first independent mission. It addressed an urgent U.S. Strategic Command need for enhanced battlefield intelligence. Another milestone came in November 2013 with the launch of ORS-3, which deployed a record-setting 29 cubesats, or miniature satellites, along with one large satellite. Cubesats allow multiple organizations to get satellites for specific missions into space with the same launch for less money. ORS is working on multiple new projects, including four new “small” satellites. ORS-5, scheduled to launch this year, is being built to enhance the nation’s space situational awareness. ORS-6 and ORS-7 will launch together next spring. ORS-6 will track ocean winds while ORS-7 will address a Department of Homeland Security need. The office’s latest program, ORS-8, is expected to launch in 2020 to address Strategic Command needs for weather data.