Raytheon Ships ARTEMIS Sensor for On-Demand Surveillance from Space
June 28, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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A hyper-spectral imaging sensor developed by Raytheon Co. to demonstrate and assess military applications from satellites launched on demand was delivered to Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
The delivery marks the sensor's first leg of a journey into space scheduled in December aboard a vehicle known as TacSat-3.
The Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) program called for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems to design and build the sensor within 15 months as part of a rapid development experiment funded by a $15 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), said Raytheon.
The typical development cycle of such a program would be four to five years, according to Brian Arnold, vice president for Raytheon's Space Systems business.
"The intent of the program is to help demonstrate the feasibility of the 'responsive-space' concept," said Arnold. "Small, relatively inexpensive satellites would be launched on demand to meet real-time battlefield needs."
In the responsive space approach, satellites and their cargo, such as an ARTEMIS payload, would be kept in a holding facility where systems could be assembled and transported rapidly to a convenient launch site.
Employing commercial-off-the-shelf components and industry standard interfaces, ARTEMIS serves as a prototype for systems that can support rapid launch requirements in an easy-to-manufacture, low-cost design, said Raytheon.
"Conceivably, a system could be mounted on a satellite, launched and in orbit 200 miles above the earth within three to seven days of a request by a field commander, providing data in a user-friendly format while greatly reducing critical response times and enhancing battle assessment capabilities," said Arnold.
Raytheon is working on concept development for a follow-on hyper-spectral imaging payload with an even wider coverage area for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The ARTEMIS sensor was developed for the Department of Defense's Tactical Satellite program.
Source: Raytheon Co.