Raytheon Delivers Experimental Space-Optical Payload to Air Force

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 12, 2006/Satnews Daily/ ― Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) has announced that it recently delivered the first rapid-development space-optical payload to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The satellite is designed to spot terrestrial targets and built in a matter of months.

“This hyper-spectral imaging sensor is a milestone toward demonstrating the feasibility of the United States' operational responsive space concept,” said Brian Arnold, vice president for Raytheon's Strategic Systems business.

The $14 million ARTEMIS (Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer) program required Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems to develop an experimental payload within 15 months that could help troops identify potential threats on the ground such as weapons, equipment and combatants. Sensor development typically involves years of design, manufacturing and testing.

“Completed on cost and on schedule, ARTEMIS paves the way for space assets that can be designed and built rapidly to meet an immediate need by a field commander,” Arnold said. “The life expectancy of such payloads is months as opposed to years, allowing Raytheon to place lower-cost, best-value technology solutions in the warfighter's hands in less time.”

In the Air Force's responsive-space approach, satellites and their cargo, such as an ARTEMIS payload, would be kept in readiness so systems could be assembled and transported rapidly to a convenient launch site. “Conceivably, a system could be mounted on a satellite, launched and in orbit some 200 miles above the Earth within three to seven days of a request by a field commander,” Arnold said.

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