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TacSat3 Launch May 19, 2009
Video credit: NASA
Press Release
Raytheon Hyperspectral Imaging Sensor Activated for Year-Long Mission
Flexible, affordable, and quickly launched when needed, ARTEMIS brings new tactical space surveillance capabilities to field commanders.
ARTEMIS is a sophisticated hyperspectral imaging sensor for the Operationally Responsive Space Office’s flagship Tactical Satellite program. The U.S. Air Force selected Raytheon to research and develop the primary surveillance sensor for the TacSat-3 mission. This groundbreaking space sensor was designed and built in less than 15 months as a rapid development project.
ARTEMIS makes extensive use of commercial off-the-shelf components and industry standard interfaces to create an affordable, high-performance space-based surveillance option. It also realizes the operationally responsive space vision of fast, flexible launch and use capability.
As defined by the joint Operationally Responsive Space Office at Kirtland AFB, N.M., the responsive space approach seeks to “assure space power focused on timely satisfaction of Joint Force Commanders’ needs.” Under one envisioned scenario, warehoused satellite components would be rapidly assembled, configured, and transported to nearby sites for quick launch into low Earth orbit—some 200 miles overhead. The TacSat-3 program will test the feasibility of launching a payload such as ARTEMIS within as little as seven days from receiving the request.
ARTEMIS’s quick-reaction optics enable it to see otherwise hidden targets, such as disturbed earth – a potential aid in finding IEDs buried by the side of a road in Iraq or Afghanistan.
When operated by a military commander in the field, ARTEMIS is able to provide data in a user-friendly format, greatly reducing critical response times and enhancing battle assessment capabilities.
