KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- During the third annual C4ISR Big 25 Awards ceremony conducted in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 12, Tactical Satellite-3 and its primary payload, the Advanced Responsive Tactically-Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer, earned the Top 5 honor in the Sensors category.

TacSat-3, administered by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate from May 19, 2009, to June 12, 2010, shared the award with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems and ATK Spacecraft Systems and Services.

Raytheon developed ARTEMIS and ATK provided TacSat-3's modular bus, which accomplished the sensor pointing and thermal control needed for image collection.

Four months ago, TacSat-3 transitioned from an experimental demonstration to an operational asset under the control of Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.

C4ISR Journal announced the Top 5 winners during a gala banquet at its 10th annual conference. Other Top 5 categories included Innovations, Network Systems, Organizations and Platforms.