The first satellite in an eventual fleet of miniature orbiting observation platforms that will provide intelligence to small military units has been delivered to a specialize research unit in the US Department of Defense, Raytheon announced in a press release on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2018) The first satellite in an eventual fleet of miniature orbiting observation platforms that will provide intelligence to small military units has been delivered to a specialize research unit in the US Department of Defense, Raytheon announced in a press release on Wednesday.
"Ground troops can't always get immediate access to the larger, military and commercial satellites," Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems Vice President Thomas Bussing said in the release. "These smaller, SeeMe satellites will be dedicated to soldiers, providing them with real-time images from space when they're needed most."
Raytheon developed the program for the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), with plans to use automated missile production lines to mass produce large numbers of the tiny and relatively inexpensive satellites, the release explained.
Eventually, a SeeMe constellation may comprise several types of miniature satellites, each lasting one to five years before de-orbiting and burning up, leaving no space debris and causing no re-entry hazard, the release said.
DARPA plans to launch the first SeeMe satellite on a Space X payload early next year, giving military users a chance to evaluate the unit's performance, according to the release.
