Space Support for Terrestrial Military Operations
The Minotaur IV made its first flight on 25 September from Vandenberg Air Force Base, carrying the SBSS-1 satellite into orbit. A subsequent launch on 19 November from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska carried four microsatellites and two CubeSats into orbit as part of the Air Force Space Test Program S26 (STP-S26).95 The ORS initiative, which seeks the quick development and deployment of space capabilities in response to emerging military needs, continued to develop in 2010. TacSat3, an ORS experimental satellite launched in 2009, completed a series of objectives, including capturing images from a hyperspectral camera and transmitting processed data, and was transferred to an operational role with Air Force Space Command in June.96 TacSat 4 was scheduled for launch aboard the Minotaur IV in May 2011. As a result of persistent challenges with the imaging payload, the launch of ORS-1, the first operational satellite to be built under the ORS initiative, was postponed from 2010 until April 2011, aboard a Minotaur 1 rocket. In February, the ORS-1 bus was built and ready for primary sensor installation.97 By December 2010, Goodrich ISR Systems was implementing environmental testing of the final component to be installed on the satellite.98 Figure 6.3: U.S. dedicated military spacecraft launched by application: 1957–201099
The U.S. Army has been funding development of what could be the smallest orbital launch vehicle, the Multipurpose Nanomissile system, a liquid-fueled core booster with solid-rocket strap-on motors that can launch payloads of 20 kg.100 The Army has spent about $7-million since 2008, when it contracted with Colsa Corporation and Dynetics Corporation to develop the vehicle.101 Navigation / GPS Launch delays continued to plague the first of the Boeing-built GPS IIF navigation satellites, already more than three years late and costing more than double the original $729-million.102 The Delta IV launch of the GPS IIF-1 finally took place in May103 and, although the launch was successful and the craft was accepted into operation in September, software fixes were later deemed necessary to reduce cross-link degradation of its nuclear-blast detection payload.104 Progress continued on the next-generation GPS III space segment program. In June, prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced the completion of key requirements review for the GPS IIIB satellites. The company is working under a $3-billion development and production 123