Lockheed Martin Completes GeoEye-2 Propulsion System Installation
By Jeffrey Hill | October 27, 2011
[Satellite TODAY 10-27-11] Lockheed Martin will begin integrating GeoEye’s next-generation, high-resolution Earth-imaging satellite GeoEye-2 with the planned delivery of its integrated propulsion system to Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, Calif. facilities later this month, the satellite manufacturer announced Oct. 26.
Lockheed said the start of the vehicle integration puts the progress of the program on schedule and that installation and testing of satellite components and subsystems will occur during the next several months in preparation for the delivery of ITT’s high-resolution imaging payload early next year. The integrated satellite structure and propulsion system is essential in maneuvering GeoEye-2 to its final sun-synchronous orbit location, as well as to conduct on-orbit repositioning maneuvers throughout its mission life.
“The completion of the propulsion system installation and the start of vehicle integration is a critical step forward in maintaining GeoEye-2’s schedule of on-orbit operations in 2013," Lockheed Martin GeoEye-2 Program Director Allen Anderson said in a statement.
Lockheed Martin is developing GeoEye-2 under a fixed-price contract with GeoEye. Once operational in 2013, GeoEye-2 aims to provide significant improvements to its predecessors, including enhanced tasking and the ability to collect more imagery at a faster rate with a new ITT camera. Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services will launch GeoEye-2 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.