Trinidad - израильский спутник для США

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Тема заведена с оглядкой на вот эту: http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11529
Возможно, в дальнейшем их можно будет объединить, однако пока никаких прямых указаний на это нет, так что пусть поживут отдельно.

Trinidad – Responsive, Spaceborne SAR Capability

Northrop Grumman has an exclusive teaming agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries to provide a responsive, cost-effective, space-based, synthetic aperture radar capability to U.S. government agencies and departments based on IAI's TECSAR multi-mode, X-band radar imaging satellite.
 
Known as Trinidad, the system will provide unique day/night and all-weather point and area collection capabilities. Northrop Grumman can deliver Trinidad quickly to help the U.S. gain a more complete picture of the threats the country faces today on a global scale.

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/trinidad/index.html

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Northrop Grumman Congratulates Israel Aerospace Industries On Successful TECSAR Satellite Launch

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) congratulates Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on the successful launch Monday of the TECSAR Satellite System. When fully operational, TECSAR will provide military users with a significant improvement in advanced imaging capabilities using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology.

In April 2007, Northrop Grumman and IAI initiated an exclusive teaming agreement to provide a responsive, cost-effective, space-based SAR capability to the U.S. government based on IAI's TECSAR multi-mode X-band radar imaging satellite. Known as Trinidad, the system will provide unique day/night and all-weather point and area collection capabilities. Trinidad can be manufactured in about 28 months and held in storage for launch on a 30-day call-up.

"We are confident that the high resolution imagery provided by Trinidad can become an important part of the U.S. inventory, providing global awareness," said Jeff D. Grant, vice president and general manager of the company's National Systems Division. "Northrop Grumman is ready to quickly deliver Trinidad to help the U.S. gain a more complete picture of the threats we face today on a global scale."

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $31.5 billion global defense and technology company, whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

SOURCE  Northrop Grumman Corporation
    -0-                             01/22/2008
    /CONTACT:  Bob Bishop of Northrop Grumman Corporation, +1-310-812-5227,
cell, +1-310-251-0261, bob.j.bishop@ngc.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.northropgrumman.com /
    (NOC)

CO:  Northrop Grumman Corporation
ST:  California, Israel, England
IN:  ARO
SU:

BL-DW
-- LATU125 --
0637 01/22/2008 10:28 EST http://www.prnewswire.com

http://investor.northropgrumman.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=112386&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1098611&highlight=
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=134714

U.S.-Israel Team Demonstrate TecSAR Abilities to Pentagon

By BARBARA OPALL-ROME
Space News Correspondent
posted: 30 June 2009
05:19 pm ET
      
TEL AVIV, Israel -- From a van parked outside Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) headquarters in Key West, Fla., a Northrop Grumman team and Israeli partners halfway around the world tasked, downlinked and delivered imagery from Israel's newest TecSAR spy satellite — all in a matter of 15 minutes.

Twice a day for three weeks in June, the U.S.-Israeli team demonstrated their ability to put strategic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery quickly into the hands of U.S. tactical commanders.

The curbside demonstration that ended June 21 was part of U.S. Southern Command's Project Thunderstorm, an effort funded by the Pentagon's Rapid Reaction Technology Office to identify and support emerging capabilities against asymmetric threats. According to the Pentagon's May 2009 budget item justification to Congress, Project Thunderstorm aims to experiment with "next-generation detection, cueing, monitoring, tracking and handoff capabilities against asymmetric target sets."

...

In the Key West demonstration — as in a debut presentation in late April for select members of the U.S. military and intelligence community attending the Responsive Space Conference in Los Angeles — Northrop Grumman used its deployable ground station to download and process TecSAR imagery.

...

"We had everything installed in a panel van; something like an ice cream truck," said Jeff Sneller, Northrop Grumman's Trinidad program manager. Similar in concept, but much smaller than the U.S. government's Eagle Vision mobile imagery ground station, the Northrop Grumman truck is equipped to task and receive data from the Israeli Ministry of Defense-operated TecSAR.

...

Under the concept of operations employed in Key West and in Los Angeles, tasking information was sent directly to Tel Aviv, Israel, which then uplinked commands to the satellite. However, in future demonstrations, the concept allows for direct tasking of the satellite from the Northrop Grumman truck via the co-located trailer-mounted antenna.

...

In a June 25 interview, Grant acknowledged frustration at the slow pace at which the Pentagon is following up on a directive issued last year by John Young, former U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. In a July 21, 2008, acquisition decision memorandum, Young called for a fast-tracked search for small, low-cost radar satellites and supporting ground systems for fielding as early as 2012.

http://www.spacenews.com/archive/archive09/trinidad_0629.html

10/8/09 12:48 PM ET
U.S. Loosens Restrictions on Commercial Radar Satellites
By Turner Brinton
ShareThis

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has relaxed licensing restrictions on commercial radar satellites, permitting U.S. companies to distribute higher quality data and potentially opening the door for a domestic market to blossom, industry officials said Oct. 7.

    Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Los Angeles is the first company to receive a license to operate a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite under the new regulations, Tim Frei, Northrop Grumman's vice president for national systems, said in an interview. The company was granted a license to develop and operate a satellite called Trinidad, which would be based on the Israeli TecSAR satellite now on orbit.

    The U.S. Department of Commerce, in coordination with other federal agencies, is responsible for issuing licenses to sell optical and radar satellite imagery commercially. Until recently, the regulations barred U.S. companies from selling radar imagery with ground resolution finer than 3 meters. Northrop Grumman received notice from the Commerce Department Oct. 6 that the policy has been modified to allow commercial sales of 1-meter radar satellite imagery, Frei said. Trinidad is designed to collect 1-meter radar imagery, which is sharp enough to distinguish ground objects or features of that size or larger.

    The U.S. government develops and operates large, highly sophisticated radar satellites for military and intelligence users. But the nation does not have a second-tier commercial industry that operates SAR satellites the way U.S. firms operate electro-optical imagery satellites. Internationally, several companies have built commercial radar satellites with the help of their governments, and the U.S. government has bought data from several of these firms.

    Last year a joint military-intelligence community program called Space Radar was canceled due to concerns about its cost and complexity, as well as questions over who would control the system. Since then, the government has been pondering its strategy for acquiring radar satellite data. The Air Force has solicited information from industry several times on potential commercial sources of radar imagery but has not started an acquisition.

    The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), meanwhile, in August initiated a program to buy radar satellite data. Proposals from industry were due in September, and the agency plans to issue contracts worth up to $85 million apiece to as many as four companies to provide radar imagery over five years.

    Northrop Grumman is preparing itself for any potential future government acquisition, but will not build and launch a satellite without a firm government commitment, said Jeff Sneller, the company's Trinidad program manager. The government could work out a deal with Northrop Grumman to get the satellite built and launched for "a small fraction" of what it invested to develop satellites under NGA's NextView optical-imagery purchasing program, Sneller said.

...

    "We have given estimates to a wide variety of U.S. government agencies for the cost of both a first Trinidad system as well as a larger constellation of capability," Sneller said. "We have a fixed price agreement for delivery from Israel Aerospace Industries for components of the Trinidad system to us, but we have not made public any specific price of a system.

    "There are changes to the basic TecSAR design to accommodate the U.S. government needs."

    Israel Aerospace Industries of Lod, Israel, built the TecSAR platform and has an agreement with Northrop Grumman to market the technology to the U.S. government.

...

http://www.spacenews.com/policy/loosens-restrictions-commercial-radar-satellites.html

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The Trinidad program team successfully took its show on the road during 2009 to prove its imaging system's capabilities as a low-cost, low-risk approach to responsive radar imaging.
The Trinidad satellite system delivers high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging to meet the needs of warfighters and the intelligence community.
"Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (AS) is teamed with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on this project," said Trinidad Program Manager Jeff Sneller. "IAI built and launched TecSAR, the first system satellite. We've been able to use TecSAR to demonstrate our ability to take high resolution pictures day or night — and through smoke, dust, and clouds — and deliver them directly to warfighters in the field."
Select military and intelligence community officials witnessed the first real-time demonstration of the system's capabilities during the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Responsive Space Conference in April 2009.
TecSAR provided high-resolution, tactical SAR imagery of Southern California within minutes of imaging by direct downlink from the satellite to a mobile ground station in El Segundo.
To build the self-funded prototype ground station for that demonstration, Sneller acquired help from an unexpected source.
"We borrowed equipment from the AS Amateur Radio Club, a group of employees and retirees who are shortwave radio enthusiasts and who provide emergency communications to support disaster response plans for us and the surrounding community," he explained. "Not only did they have a readybuilt communications van that we could modify into a ground station, but several club members donated considerable personal time to work through practical operations issues."
Club members, in turn, appreciated being able to assist with this innovative program.
"We love having opportunities to do out-ofthe-box stuff like this," said club president, Ray Enriquez, an electrical integration technician in AS. "It makes it fun to work here."
When Trinidad received Department of Defense funding to perform missions for U.S. Southern Command's Project Thunderstorm, the value of the club's expertise was soon evident. "We were able to deploy a ground station at the Joint Interagency Task Force headquarters in Key West, Fla., in less than four weeks," Sneller said. "That's something we could not have done without the contributions of that brain trust."
The Project Thunderstorm missions, carried out in June, required delivering images of fleeting targets in an open ocean area spanning thousands of square miles. With an average 15-minute turnaround time from imaging to delivery, Trinidad demonstrated its responsiveness admirably. Plus, the mission amply showcased the benefits of Trinidad's high-resolution images. "With lower resolution, you might be able to see if
there's something in the water. With higher resolution, you can distinguish between a ferry and a speedboat," Sneller pointed out.
Trinidad was put through its paces again at the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's GEOINT symposium in October.
"Defense and intelligence community representatives were fascinated by how inexpensively and quickly we can bring an imaging system online," said Sneller. "Hearing comments like 'this is the first really new thing we've seen in years' is exciting and tells me that we're succeeding at demonstrating our simple, affordable path for global all-weather imagery, using hardware and software that we have available now."

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/media/pdf/Feb_final_2010.pdf (стр. 20-21)

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IAI, Northrop to produce low-earth orbit spy satellites
Apr. 13, 2007 SatNews Daily
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, April 13, 2007 - Satnews Daily - An Israeli radar spy satellite will be upgraded in the U.S. to expand its mission envelope to include missile defense and other operationally responsive applications.Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) TecSAR satellite carries synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capable of imaging static ground objects obscured by clouds or smoke, in both day and night.
TecSAR is a medium-resolution, SAR satellite weighing some 800 pounds operating in the military X-band.
The Israeli military weekly "Bamahane" in early 2005 described TecSAR is a technological breakthrough that will expand the capabilities of Israel's satellite program. It said TecSAR and an optical imaging spy satellite, Ofeq 7, would be launched in the near future. Israeli spy satellites such as Ofeq 5 regularly overfly neighboring states including Syria and Iran.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is partnering IAI to adapt TecSAR for use in "operationally responsive space" applications. Northrop Grumman will modify the satellite with additional payloads and specialized software. The upgraded satellite will be re-named "Trinidad". New TecSAR satellites will be manufactured by IAI under the Northrop Grumman name and shipped to Northrop Grumman's Redondo Beach facility for modifications.
Since TecSAR operates in the X band, it could support sea- and land-based Xband radars developed for U.S. missile defense. It could also augment airborne networks or the future Space-Based Radar constellation.
Northrop Grumman said it has not identified specific customers for the Trinidad, though the ability to build a satellite within 28 months would make the system ideal for "hot spots" requiring static-image radar. The satellite can track vehicles, but does not provide video images.

http://wopared.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/economics_ctte/space_08/submissions/sub26.pdf

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Trinidad
Private Remote Sensing License Public Summary

On 24 August 2009, the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the Department of Commerce, granted a license to Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp., One Space Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90278, (310) 812-4321, http://www.st.northropgrumman.com, to operate a private, commercial, space-based, remote sensing system named "Trinidad."
Trinidad consists of one synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operating at X-band, capable of collecting imagery with ground resolution of 1 meter, day or night, in all weather conditions. Trinidad is designed to provide access up to four times per day over mid-latitude targets of interest, with optional rapid direct data downlink from the satellite to transportable user terminals. Trinidad will offer flexible beam control techniques, supporting spotlight and wide area modes, as well as polarimetric imaging.
The Trinidad satellite will be launched by a small US booster from a US launch site. The satellite will operate in a moderately inclined, circular, low earth orbit (around 500 km).
Imagery and other radar data products will be sold to government agencies, as well as commercial private- and public-sector customers. Command, telemetry and mission image data transmission between the satellite and the US-based control center comply with international S and X-Band frequency allocations for space communications.
For further information, please contact Bob Bishop at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, One Space Park, Redondo Beach, CA, 90278, (310) 812-5227 or at
Bob.Bishop@ngc.com.

October 2, 2009 11:27 AM

http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/CRSRA/files/Trinidad_NOAA_Summary2.pdf