TRW Wins Space Surveillance Contract in Colorado Springs

The US Air Force has granted TRW Space & Missile Systems (Reston, VA) a $5 million contract for the development and demonstration of a tracking system for monitoring satellites. The Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS) tracks satellites orbiting at altitudes above 22,000 miles, beyond where most radars can see, reporting position information back to the Air Force and U.S. Space Commands.

The upgraded system will include a low-light camera system so the Air Force can track dimmer objects in space more precisely, says TRW vice president and general manager Robert Strickler. GEODSS is comprised of an Optical Command, Control, and Communications Facility at Edwards AFB (CA), that serves as a collection point for electro-optical sensors, or telescopes located at White Sands Missile Range, NM; Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory; and Maui, HI.

TRW will be collaborating with Sarnoff Corp. (Princeton, NJ) Raytheon (Lexington, MA) on the project. Sarnoff will develop a camera subsystem for the prototype based on low-light charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors. Raytheon will develop telescope control and pointing systems. TRW will upgrade the existing image processing software and integrate all of the subsystems into a working prototype.

When the prototype is successfully completed, the Air Force can exercise options to upgrade and enhance operational sites; potential value of the project is $20 million.

Edited by Kristin Lewotsky