The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center chose leading commercial satellite provider Space Systems Loral (SSL) to study and examine the feasibility of accommodating next-gen military weather systems on commercial polar orbiting satellites. Under the six-months contract that was given under a broad agency announcement in June 2012, SSL will study the options for the U.S Air Force to reduce its cost to replace the legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program by using alternative architectures, like equipping commercial satellites with advanced meteorological sensors.
SSL is assigned to examine the technical feasibility of hosting a third-gen meteorological instrument on board with the use of the company’s own commercial bus platform. The company will also identify commercial business opportunities that the U.S Air Force can leverage to achieve weather sensing from a Highly Inclined Elliptical Orbit (HIEO); and lastly, quantify the value proposition for performing the mission in a non-traditional fashion.
“SSL can bring the benefits of a shared platform to both its commercial and government customers,” SSL U.S Government Solutions VP David Anhalt said. “We commend the Air Force and SMC for its leadership in looking to alternative architectures in order to reduce costs and speed the delivery of next generation systems.”
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