BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Following a successful launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 18, the U.S. Space Force's Space Delta 4 operations team is now "talking" with the fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO-5) satellite.

As planned, SBIRS GEO-5-built by Lockheed Martin -is responding to the Delta's commands. Signal acquisition was confirmed approximately ~36 minutes after the satellite's 1:37 p.m. EDT launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. Now separated from the rocket, the satellite is continuing on to orbit under its own propulsion.

SBIRS GEO-5 is the latest satellite to join the Space Force's orbiting Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) missile warning constellation equipped with powerful scanning and staring surveillance sensors. These 24-7, always-on, orbital guardians detect missile launches, support ballistic missile defense, expand technical intelligence gathering and bolster situational awareness on the battlefield.

Faster, More Resilient Missile Warning

Built in about five years, SBIRS GEO-5 is the first military space satellite built on an LM 2100 Combat Bus, a version of Lockheed Martin's modernized, modular LM 2100 space vehicle with greatly enhanced resiliency.

The LM 2100 bus is the result of a Lockheed Martin internally-funded, multi-year modernization initiative. Features include:

-- Greater resiliency and cyber-hardening

-- Enhanced spacecraft power, propulsion and electronics

-- Common components and procedures to streamline manufacturing

-- Flexible design that reduces the cost to incorporate future, modernized sensor suites

SBIRS GEO-5 is a step toward achieving the resilient missile warning to be provided by SBIRS' follow on, the Next Gen OPIR Block 0 System. SBIRS GEO-6, launching in 2022, and the first three Next Gen OPIR Block 0 GEO satellites, as well as the future GPS III Follow On (GPS IIIF) satellites, are also based on the LM 2100 Combat Bus.

Lockheed Martin is proud to be part of the SBIRS team led by the Production Corps, Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Division, at the U.S. Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman, Azusa, California, as the payload integrator.

Source: Lockheed Martin
Associated URL: news.lockheedmartin.com