Anna Forrester
Lockheed Martin has selected Northrop Grumman‘s Scalable Space Inertial Reference Unit to bring attitude control and sensor stabilization functions to the U.S. Air Force‘s fifth Space-Based Infrared System geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite.
Bob Mehltretter, vice president of navigation and positioning systems at Northrop’s electronic systems sector, said Tuesday that the award continues his company’s support for the SBIRS program, with Lockheed as prime contractor.
Northrop’s Scalable SIRU features a hemispherical resonator gyro to provide attitude control functions for government, commercial and civil space operations.
SBIRS works as an early-warning system on ballistic missile launches to support situational awareness, missile defense and intelligence missions.
