Boeing Completes
Hardware Installation For SBSS Satellite Operations Center
(24 April 2008) Boeing today said it
has finished installing the hardware for its Space Based Space Surveillance
(SBSS) system's Satellite Operations Center (SOC).
The SOC now
has the necessary security certification to allow the SBSS program to begin
integrated testing.
"The SBSS SOC will transform Space Situational
Awareness by providing a gateway to a responsive, taskable sensor," said U.S.
Air Force Col. James Jordan, commander of the Space Situational Awareness Group
in the Space Superiority Systems Wing at the Space and Missiles Center in Los
Angeles. "This capability is key to enabling the event-driven operations
concept of the future."
The SOC is the operational command and control
system for the SBSS mission. It will conduct mission planning, command
satellites, manage satellite health and perform mission data processing. The
system includes industry-standard commercial off-the-shelf hardware and
software that can be maintained with minimum impact on operations. The SOC's
highly redundant, open architecture also provides the flexibility to upgrade
functionality and incorporate current and next-generation systems. The full
functional build of the software has successfully demonstrated both command and
telemetry processing with the SBSS space vehicle. The software is now in
segment testing.
"We continue to meet all of our contractual milestones
as our team continues to develop the Satellite Operations Center," said Craig
Cooning, vice president and general manager for Boeing Space & Intelligence
Systems. "Its ability to respond takes us one step closer to true situational
awareness of the United States' space assets."
Boeing has overall
responsibility for the SBSS system and is developing the SBSS Ground System
with Harris Corp. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln
Laboratory.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense
Systems is one of the world's largest space and defence businesses specialising
in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St.
Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a US$ 32.1 billion business with
71,000 employees world-wide.
(source: Boeing)
