Orbital ATK Concludes Eight Years of Comprehensive NFIRE Satellite Mission Support
September 28 2015 - 8:45AM
Business Wire
Defense Satellite Led to Advanced Missile
Detection and Laser Communication Capabilities
Mission and Data Boosted International
Collaboration Between U.S. and Germany
Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE:OA), a global leader in aerospace and
defense technologies, today announced it concluded eight years of
mission support for the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE)
satellite with the decommissioning of the spacecraft on August 5,
2015.
Sponsored by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and built at
Orbital ATK’s satellite manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona,
NFIRE was originally designed as a one-year mission to collect data
from exhaust “plume” observations of boosting rockets with the
intent to advance launch detection and tracking systems. The
addition of the Laser Communications Terminal (LCT) expanded
NFIRE’s mission to assess viability of satellite-to-satellite high
speed communication links. During its eight years on orbit, NFIRE
helped advance the state-of-the-art ballistic missile detection
system, accomplished bi-directional satellite laser communications
at will and boosted international collaboration with Germany.
“NFIRE is an example of a defense satellite that far exceeded
its original intent and became a ‘shining star’ program of the
Missile Defense Agency,” said Rick Kettner, Gilbert Site Manager
for Orbital ATK. “The value of the NFIRE team’s hard work and data
not only resulted in annual mission extensions from one year to
eight, but also served as a pathfinder for sustaining systems like
the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) and Germany’s
ongoing Laser Communications Terminal applications.”
NFIRE launched in April 2007 aboard an Orbital ATK Minotaur I
from Wallops Island, Virginia. Orbital ATK was the system
integrator for the NFIRE mission, with responsibility for the
design and manufacture of the defense satellite, based on the
company’s flight-proven LEOStar™ spacecraft architecture. Other
contributions included payload integration, full satellite system
testing, configuration of two ground mission operation centers and
on-orbit operations support. Orbital ATK also led the mission
assurance and systems engineering integrated product teams. After
in-orbit testing was completed, the company turned the satellite
over to the MDA for primary management.
NFIRE’s primary instrument has been the Track Sensor Payload,
which has been able to collect data on targets of opportunity
through precision detection and tracking despite environmental
background clutter (i.e., atmospheric variables, clouds, land-sea
visibility and more).
The secondary payload, the Laser Communications Terminal (LCT),
supported successful laser communications demonstrations as part of
a cooperative agreement between the U.S. and Germany. The German
government provided the LCT for NFIRE and flew a sister spacecraft,
the TerraSAR-X (TSX-1), with an identical LCT on board to conduct
space-to-space links and space-to-ground experiments. Together,
NFIRE and TSX-1 accomplished the first data transfer between two
spacecraft at a rate of 5.6 gigabits per second.
“From November 2008 to April 2015, NFIRE successfully executed
more than 950 inter-satellite and satellite-to-ground laser
communications links with its Laser Communications Terminal,” said
Tawnie Harrison, Orbital ATK’s NFIRE Program Manager. “I’m proud of
the team and the many technical accomplishments we achieved for our
customer and partners over the mission lifetime.”
The NFIRE decommissioning process encompassed three burns that
progressively lowered the satellite’s orbit, dumped its fuel and
left the spacecraft in a low-altitude orbit that will lead to
atmospheric re-entry. Currently, the MDA is not planning a
successor to NFIRE, but the mission’s legacy will continue within
next-generation missile detection systems.
About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space,
defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both
as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products
include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile
products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons,
armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space
components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs more than
12,000 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in several
international locations. For more information, visit
www.orbitalatk.com.
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