Ors Satellite

Specifications

Weight: 450kg

Altitude: 450km

Cost: $226 million

Features:

ORS-1's bus will include a propulsion module. The requirement is to last one year in orbit; but Cox says there will be sufficient fuel for 2-4 years of operation, depending on how much station-keeping and manoeuvring is needed.

using the same camera as the U-2 spy plane or Global Hawk drone

Mission profile

Anticipated initial mission types include:

LEO (Low earth orbit):

•Tactical Surveillance

◦Electro-Optical Visible/Near Infrared Imager

◦EO/Shortwave-Infrared Imager

◦Hyper-spectral Imager

◦Deep Space Object Search and Track

◦Synthetic aperture radar

•Space Situational Awareness

•Space Protection

HEO (Highly elliptical orbit):

•Tactical communications

◦SATCOM

◦Blue Force Tracking

•Tactical Surveillance

◦Kinetic event detection battle-space awareness

•Space Situational Awareness

•Space Protection

The Operationally Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1) is a one-of-a-kind reconnaissance satellite that will be launched to support urgent needs from military leaders overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was initiated as a result of requirements from the Commander of US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) to the ORS Office to support US Central Command (USCENTCOM).

ORS-1 is being designed to specifically serve tactical commanders rather than U.S.-based Intel analysts, which is different from regular satellites projects.

The design of the ORS-1 includes the “translator”, which enables the Pentagon's intelligence ground stations to handle ORS-1 imagery. The image that is downlinked and translated into a format that looks just like U-2 data. All of the downstream data processing and dissemination channels that are used routinely to support the war-fighter for the U-2 imagery can be used for ORS-1.

The ORS-1 satellite is boosted into orbit by the U.S. Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket. It was successfully launched at 11:09 p.m. EDT, on 29 June 2011, from NASA’s Launch...