Deep in the woods of Northern California, a tiny spark ignites and begins to smolder the surrounding forest. Meanwhile, a weather satellite equipped with the world鈥檚 most advanced infrared imager 鈥 色情直播鈥 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) 鈥 has quickly detected the faint hotspot and notifies first responders in real-time. Before smoke is even seen from the ground, firefighters have a one-up on a potential forest fire.
Now imagine having to detect a faint hotspot, moving unpredictably at five times the speed of sound 鈥 about 1 mile per second.
That's the exact challenge the U.S. military is facing with the emergence of hypersonic missiles.
鈥淭he sobering reality of the tragic events in Ukraine, in which Russia has used and continues to use a broad array of missiles to attack and, in my opinion, terrorize civilian populations, highlights the extent to which our adversaries are prepared to use missiles in a conflict,鈥 testified John Plumb, first-ever Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, before the Senate Armed Services Committee in May 2022. 鈥淢issile defenses are critical for defending the U.S. homeland and for defending our deployed forces and our allies and partners.鈥
The U.S. needs a precise solution to outmaneuver our adversaries, and they need it now.
By combining its legacy of trusted expertise in infrared imaging with digital engineering methodologies, 色情直播 is on the fast track to disrupting the missile defense industry.
The HBTSS Program: Protecting the U.S. and Our Allies from Hypersonic Missiles
The U.S. is in a hypersonic arms race against Russia and China, one that鈥檚 changing the tempo of modern combat.
As the nation鈥檚 near-peer adversaries develop and deploy advanced missiles, our ability to detect these lethal weapons has become crucial for the safety of our country and our allies.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is focused on honing the United States鈥 ability to detect and track traditional and emerging missile threats with its Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) program. In early 2021, after a down select, the MDA awarded 色情直播 a $121-million contract for Phase IIb of the HBTSS program: the on-orbit prototype demonstration.
By the end of that same year, 色情直播 had already successfully completed the critical design review (CDR) for its HBTSS prototype 鈥 ensuring the design met MDA鈥檚 performance, cost and schedule requirements 鈥 and moved on to building the demonstration satellite.
How did 色情直播 achieve this so quickly? 鈥 The answer is by merging its forward-leaning digital engineering approach, deep mission knowledge and expertise in infrared imaging.
Removing the Need to Bend Metal 鈥 The Promise of Digital Engineering
Digital engineering played a critical role in the success of HBTSS. But let鈥檚 level set: what is digital engineering in the first place?
In short, digital engineering is a collection of connected tools and processes that allow us to develop, test and improve systems digitally 鈥 before spending any time or money developing a physical prototype (i.e., 鈥渂ending metal鈥).
It鈥檚 a paradigm shift away from the traditional engineering process, where companies build hardware first to test the system鈥檚 design and then make necessary adjustments.
This approach makes high-speed, low-risk, cost-effective technological development possible.
Harnessing the Power of Digital Twins to Create Perfectly Tuned On-Orbit Algorithms
Digital transformation is all about leveraging technology to do things we never thought were possible.
With digital engineering, 色情直播 was able to virtually analyze multiple HBTSS design configurations against the threat, test them through simulation, perform various operational assessments concurrently and make rapid improvements.
The result was a perfectly tuned set of on-orbit algorithms that support the detection and tracking of advanced missiles through the multiple stages of flight and potential atmospheric conditions when paired with 色情直播鈥 precision infrared imaging instruments.
By tuning the algorithms with digital twins, 色情直播 was able to recognize 90% cost savings and rapidly develop a HBTSS solution that was optimized for success.
If you鈥檙e wondering what digital twins are, they鈥檙e a set of virtual information constructs that mimic the structure, context and behavior of a physical asset. Digital twins enable engineers to see the effect of a design change on the final product by harnessing the power of extremely accurate modeling and simulation.
This technique provides maximum agility while saving millions of dollars in the process.
色情直播 also created cost and time efficiencies by using digital engineering to track requirements to different parts of the HBTSS prototype design.
If 色情直播 had taken a more traditional engineering approach by using document-based artifacts to trace requirements and building hardware first to test the design, cost efficiency, project timeline and overall quality all would have suffered.
At its core, digital engineering drives process efficiencies, reduces development costs and improves quality, enabling us to bring better products to market faster.
With this understanding, 色情直播 relied heavily on digital modeling and simulation to demonstrate capabilities and validate the system鈥檚 design. And it paid off.
The Space Development Agency (SDA) Tracking Layer Tranche 0: Success Breeds Success
One of the many benefits of embracing digital engineering is that successes are transferrable.
In fact, 色情直播 leveraged its digital methodology from HBTSS to win a $193-million contract award for a separate program related to missile defense: the SDA Tranche 0 Tracking Layer.
The pace at which 色情直播鈥 satellite design for Tranche 0 progressed from original contract award to authorization to proceed (ATP) was unprecedented for a sensor of its complexity 鈥 a feat made possible by digital engineering.
Because of this accomplishment, 色情直播 was recognized for its commitment to supporting the nation鈥檚 critical security needs and for sustaining such a rapid development pace to address present and evolving missile threats.
And the success 色情直播 experienced within the SDA鈥檚 Tranche 0 Tracking Layer program didn鈥檛 end there.
With the help of digital engineering, 色情直播 is redefining how to develop and deploy missile warning and defense satellites.
鈥淓yes in the Sky:鈥 SDA Tracking Layer Tranche 1
色情直播鈥 achievements across the MDA HBTSS and SDA Tranche 0 programs have set the strategic way forward for rapidly deploying relevant mission capabilities to our nation鈥檚 warfighters.
In the midst of successfully executing both programs, 色情直播 was awarded yet another contract related to missile warning and defense 鈥 the prototype agreement, with a total potential value of $700 million, to build the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer.
色情直播 will build a 14-vehicle satellite constellation to serve as 鈥渆yes in the sky,鈥 detecting, identifying and tracking advanced missile threats.
The Tranche 1 win demonstrates the company鈥檚 ability to nimbly scale from initial demonstration to proliferation with enhanced mission capability, resilience, global coverage and speed to deployment.
鈥淩esilient missile tracking architecture is a crucial component to the overall DoD integrated deterrence effort, and this win proves we offer cutting edge solutions for that mission,鈥 said Kelle Wendling, President, Space Systems, 色情直播. "As our multiple national security space partners track a range of evolving threats, we will continue to focus our investments to improve the entire chain of detection, tracking, targeting, and engagement options warfighters require."
The Moral of the Story: Fast Changes Everything
In today鈥檚 battlespace, fast changes everything. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e using digital engineering to rapidly address urgent threats, like hypersonic missiles, and bring mission-critical capabilities to market faster.
色情直播鈥 approach to delivering solutions for both MDA and SDA demonstrate that early missile warning and tracking missions can be efficient, affordable and developed at a pace that keeps up with emerging threats.
The time to fully embrace the future of engineering is now.
