Lockheed wins ‘space fence’ concept project
Lockheed Martin Corp. is one of three contractors hired by the Air Force to design and demonstrate a concept for space fence that would detect objects orbiting the Earth.
Lockheed Martin Corp. is one of three contractors hired by the Air Force to design and demonstrate a concept for a new warning system employing S-Band radars that would detect and describe objects orbiting the Earth.
Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will lead a contracting team that will study possible approaches to a “space fence” and deliver and demonstrate a prototype for Air Force officials, company officials said.
The work involves trade studies and analyses, design and prototyping, site and facility surveys, and establishment of net-centric approaches that would integrate with the legacy Space Surveillance Network, the officials said.
The Air Force Materiel Command’s Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is overseeing the Space Fence procurement. AFMC plans to deploy the system, which will include land-based S-Band radars and supporting operations centers, in a preliminary stage by 2015.
Lockheed Martin’s team includes General Dynamics Corp., AT&T Inc. and AMEC.
Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., ranks No. 1 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.