The selected contractor teams are led by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo.; Spectrum Astro Inc., Gilbert, Ariz.; and TRW Defense Systems Division, Redondo Beach, Calif.

Each Phase One team has been awarded a firm, fixed-price, initial contract valued at about $10 million. A contract option is planned to complete the 18-month Phase One effort. The total Phase One effort is estimated at about $60 million. Each team will perform concept definition, system capabilities and performance trade studies, cost-performance trade-off analyses and preliminary system design.

The Discoverer II program is a joint Air Force, DARPA and NRO technology demonstration initiative to develop and demonstrate revolutionary capabilities for space-based radar. The goal of the demonstration program is to develop, design, fabricate and launch two research and development satellites capable of detecting and tracking moving targets on the Earth's surface, producing high-resolution imagery and collecting high-resolution, digital terrain mapping data.

Discoverer II satellites will demonstrate the capability of U.S. military forces to directly task space-based collection activities and receive the requested data in near real-time directly from the satellite itself, for areas of interest virtually worldwide, both day and night and in all-weather conditions.

Most significantly, according to Discoverer II officials, the program will demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of fielding these capabilities at a cost that will make orbiting a large number of Discoverer II-type satellites an affordable reality.

With that in mind, the Discoverer II program intends to show how individual satellite costs can be cut to less than $100 million, reducing the 20-year life-cycle cost of a large operational system to less than $10 billion.

Phase One of the Discoverer II program will last about 18 months and allows the most promising contractor teams to complete preliminary prototype system designs. At the end of Phase One, one or two contractors will be selected to proceed to Phase Two to perform final design and fabrication of the two Discoverer II satellites.

Phase Two will last about four years, and will culminate in the launch of the Discoverer II satellites in late 2003, and the performance of a year-long, on-orbit demonstration ending in late 2004.

If the Discoverer II program proves successful, the Department of Defense will decide whether to proceed with the acquisition of an operational constellation of Discoverer II follow-on satellites that would revolutionize the coverage and timeliness of worldwide reconnaissance and surveillance. A follow-on, operational system would support U.S. military forces deployed around the globe, as well as national-level users.

If a go-ahead decision is made, initial operational satellite launches could occur as early as 2007. Additionally, the Discoverer II demonstrator will provide a technological foundation for related efforts in the parent agencies.

FAS Discovery II Page

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Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.