SBIRS Overview

SBIRS Overview
- The Threats --
During the Cold War, the two superpowers aimed their vast arsenals of ICBMs at each other and the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction deterred nuclear war. In order to provide warning of a first strike attack by the Soviet Union, the United States constructed a vast network of surveillance posts, radar sites, and satellite systems. One of these systems was a constellation of infrared satellites in geostationary orbit called the Defense Support Program. First launched in November 1970, and still operational today, DSP's primary mission is to detect rockets in their boost phase and to report them to the National Command Authority.
As the Cold War ended, missile threats and challenges changed. Instead of a mass ICBM strike from the USSR against the U.S. mainland, tomorrow's threats come primarily from potential rogue nations and terrorist groups that have acquired theater and ballistic missile technology with nuclear, chemical and biological warheads.

"The continued proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction... calls for enhanced theater missile defenses and space-based capabilities that will protect U.S. forces, support strategy, and facilitate warfighting." -
General Peay, Commander, U.S. Central Command.
An ICBM attack from former Soviet Republics or China is still possible, and fundamental shifts in internal political power within these countries could easily throw the world back into a Cold War scenario; therefore, we must still maintain the capability to provide early warning against ICBM attacks. With the threats to U.S. forces evolving, so too must the weapon systems used to combat them.

-- The Missions --
In order to meet the needs of future conflicts, four primary missions have been allocated to SBIRS.
1. MISSILE WARNING - Utilizing over 25 years experience on DSP and state-of-the-art technology, missile warning capabilities will significantly increase, and space based platforms will provide better missile warning information to commanders.
2. MISSILE DEFENSE - This mission will be satisfied by using space based infrared platforms to track targets from initial boost phase through mid-course, and this data will be relayed to interceptors.
3. TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE - Using multiple platforms, space based infrared sensors will provide valuable data necessary for missile characterization, phenomenology and other target data.
4. BATTLESPACE CHARACTERIZATION - Capitalizing on the advantages of space based infrared sensors, commanders will be able to assess battle damage and track infrared-intense events to improve battlefield situational awareness.

-- The Solution --
The answer to the evolving threats and the four missions is the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) architecture. This new system, currently under development, is a "System of Systems" approach that will integrate space assets in multiple orbit configurations with a consolidated ground segment to provide more effective integration of data and better information to the warfighter. The goal is to provide a seamless transition from DSP to SBIRS and meet the jointly defined requirements of the entire defense community at an affordable price. This will be accomplished using streamlined acquisition processes and capitalizing on mature technologies.
The SBIRS architecture will consist of four satellites located in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), two satellites orbiting in Highly Elliptical Orbits (HEO) and a constellation of greater than 20 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to provide global coverage in support of the SBIRS missions. Using multiple orbit configurations, the SBIRS "System of Systems" architecture will satisfy all mission requirements.
SBIRS Elements
The SBIRS architecture is not a revolutionary idea. It is instead an evolutionary step forward in space infrared surveillance.
Standing watch in the skies for the past quarter century has been the Defense Support Program (DSP). Integrated with DSP are the Attack and Launch Early Reporting to Theater (ALERT) program operated by the Air Force's 11th Space Warning Squadron and the Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS) operated by the Army and Navy. These two systems utilize DSP and other data to provide U.S. forces with enhanced theater based missile warning. ALERT has been operational since 1995 and JTAGS since 1997.
Currently under development, a follow-on program to DSP called "SBIRS High" is scheduled for first launch in 2002. Completing the architecture, a new Low Earth Orbiting element called "SBIRS Low" will be added to the SBIRS architecture in 2004.

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