Goodrich Corporation has successfully integrated its electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor payload with the Air Force's ORS-1 reconnaissance satellite, making the quick-launch satellite looking good for delivery by the end of the year for launch. Launch for ORS-1 is scheduled to be done from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility using an Orbital Science's four stage Minotaur 1 launch vehicle.  

The ORS-1 satellite -- ORS short for "Operationally Responsive Space" -- is intended to break the mold as to how the Department of Defense orders and runs its satellite services. The goal was to build and launch a satellite within 24 months of approval and to have the tasking -- where the satellite points its cameras -- operated directly by the U.S. military. Traditional "spy" satellites are owned and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in a system outside of the military, resulting in complaints by warfighters that they can't get the tactical information they need in a timely fashion.

U.S. Central Command, currently overseeing ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, will control the tasking. Tasking can take place up to several times a day, and the resulting imagery will be directly fed into the tactical information systems used by warfighters.   Commanders will get access to imagery within minutes rather than hours or days trying to get pictures out of the NRO.

Goodrich's EO/IR package is an evolution out of a multi-spectral imaging payload currently flown on the U-2 reconnaissance plane. In total, ORS-1 is expected to weigh in a shade less than 1000 pounds, including a propulsion module, and should be good for at least one year in orbit.

ORS-1 builds upon previous work by the Air Force to develop a rapid fielding and launch capability for satellites through the TacSat satellite demonstration program. The satellite bus being supplied by ATK (News - Alert) for ORS-1 was previously built and demonstrated by ATK for TacSat-3 and TacSat-2 and 3 were put into orbit on Minotaur 1 launch vehicles.

The most interesting question worth asking: Will ORS-1 be followed by ORS-2 or something completely different? Under a cloud of mystery, the Air Force's X-37B unmanned spaceplane is currently clocking time in orbit and amateur space watchers believe its current mission is to demonstrate flexible space-based recon technologies. The reusable X-37B could be the ultimate replacement for ORS-1-style satellite services because of its ability to more easily change orbits and support different payloads -- as well as being able to return to Earth for refitting and relaunch.