Raytheon has announced a new emphasis on providing a spectrum of innovative technologies to address demands in the emerging Responsive Space "launch-on-demand" market.
At the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Raytheon officials discussed the company's efforts in helping the warfighter strike a balance between strategic space assets, which often take years to develop, and tactical solutions that can be turned around in months.
"Raytheon sees this area of the space business growing quickly as asymmetric threats make the need for up-to-date, detailed information critical to the safety and success of our warfighters," said Brian Arnold, vice president and general manager of Raytheon's Strategic Systems for Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business. "Responsive Space has proven itself an essential element of next-generation space-mission systems."
Raytheon's efforts in this area include the December 2006 delivery of ARTEMIS (Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer) to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. This $14 million program took just 15 months from contract award to completion, highlighting the benefit of lower-cost, fast delivery space assets. ARTEMIS' experimental optical sensor was developed to help troops identify potential threats on the ground such as weapons, equipment or combatants.
In addition to ARTEMIS, Raytheon is developing hyperspectral, radar and electro-optical/infrared sensors for tactical satellites and supporting that effort with innovative design and lean manufacturing.
The development of Responsive Space assets, as well as their integration with existing and developing strategic space capabilities, will be a critical part of Raytheon's focus in space.
This task will require tight integration of different tasks including mission management, command and control and data processing through ground- based systems. "Using sophisticated algorithms, information obtained by space assets can be collected, processed and disseminated quickly to those who need it most — commanders on the battlefield," said Charles Enoch, vice president of Space Systems for Raytheon's Intelligence and Information Systems business.
