Smooth sailing so far for ORS-1 satellite

  • Published
  • By Michael P. Kleiman
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base --  If the past two months set the tone for the inaugural Operationally Responsive Space-1 satellite's mission, the remaining 10 months of its planned year-long flight can already be deemed a success.

Since its launch on June 29, the ORS-1 spacecraft has undergone early-orbit checkout procedures involving component initialization, sensor calibration and ground systems validation.

Sometime this month, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Directorate will transition operational control of ORS-1 to the 50th Space Wing's 1st Space Operations Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., and 14th Air Force.

They, in turn, will lead the spacecraft from their Multi-Mission Operations Center on behalf of U.S. Strategic Command and in support of U.S. Central Command.

"We still have a little way to go on completing the early-orbit checkout. To date, ORS-1 has been extremely successful," said Thom Davis, ORS-1 mission manager, Operationally Responsive Space office. "It is the result of a team effort, both government and contractor teams. The team placed the satellite in orbit within 32 months of program approval and ORS-1 has provided quality data to USCENTCOM."

Although Air Force Space Command will administer the day-to-day operations of the satellite, the ORS office will remain actively engaged in the ORS-1 mission through its conducting of a six-month Joint Military Utility Assessment, which will evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the system, as well as identify possible technical changes that need to be made for future ORS spaceflights.

"I am more than pleased. The first 60 days of ORS-1's mission has gone better than I expected," said Dr. Peter Wegner, ORS office director. "Checkout has gone very well. We are still working toward transferring the capability to our program partner Air Force Space Command soon."

Featuring a modified version of the SYERS-2 sensor, currently flown on U-2 aircraft, the ORS-1 spacecraft's beginnings can be traced back to October 2008 after USCENTCOM had addressed a need for enhanced battlespace awareness with USSTRATCOM. The latter organization requested the ORS office's assistance to analyze potential solutions, and ORS-1 became the approved response.

Originated in May 2007 at Kirtland AFB by the Defense Authorization Act, the ORS office, a DOD agency that serves the Secretary of the Air Force in his role as the department's executive agent for space, was tasked to develop low-cost, rapid-reaction payloads, buses, spacelift and launch-control capabilities to accomplish joint military operational needs for on-call space support and regeneration.

In addition to USSTRATCOM, USCENTCOM, AFSPC and SMC/SDTD, other ORS-1 program team members include Goodrich Corporation and ISR Systems, Danbury, Ct., ATK Spacecraft Systems & Services, Beltsville, Md., and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

"So far, the products generated by ORS-1 have surpassed all expectations. The customer (USCENTCOM) is really pleased. It has been dedicated teamwork that has taken a satellite from the drawing board to operations in less than three years. For example, every time a problem would come up, the team would assess how they were going to fix it and then would do so," Dr. Wegner said. "Ultimately, both the ORS-1 satellite and the ORS concept are focused on supporting the warfighter in the deployed theater. It is an honor and privilege for this office to in some way help protect and defend our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who serve in harm's way. It is a responsibility we accept with both pride and humility."