SAIC (NYSE: SAI) along with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), SES WORLD SKIES U.S. Government Solutions, Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) have finalized the Commercially-Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) Integrated Sensor Functional Test.
According to the firm, “this is the first test demonstrating the high-level functionality of the CHIRP sensor, operating through the Orbital Secondary Payload Interface (SPI), and commanded from the CHIRP Mission Analysis Center (CMAC) interface, located in Seal Beach, Calif. The CMAC monitored activities from Orbital as the team successfully passed test images through the system. The CHIRP sensor was delivered to Orbital by SAIC in July.”
“The ongoing success of this program is proof-of-concept that a variety of government missions can be served by special purpose payloads hosted on commercial spacecraft, ” said Stu Shea, SAIC group president. “The space-qualified payload enables our Air Force customer to field the required capability in a rapid-response fashion, and demonstrates that the acquisition process can acquire and field important space capabilities.”
