The Space-Based Infrared System - Geostationary (SBIRS-GEO) is a series of satellites in Geostationary orbit that are part of an early-warning missile system.

The satellites in the overall network are located in different orbits and are considered one of the United States’ highest priority space programs with a yearly budget of $2.5 billion USD in 2021.

They also provide critical battlefield and missile defense information for U.S. and allied forces across Earth.

SBIRS-GEO 6 is the second of the satellites to use a new platform from Lockheed Martin called the LM-2100.

This platform allows SBIRS-GEO 6 to have better performance and reliability over previous SBIRS satellites. It also allows for potential last-minute equipment additions or changes on the satellite before launch.

SBIRS-GEO has a twin, SBIRS-GEO 5. They are both built by Lockheed Martin and are designed to last 12 years. SBIRS-GEO 5 was launched on May 18, 2021.

Picture: SBIRS-GEO 6 getting ready for launch. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Meet United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) Atlas V.

The rocket is a mix of Russian and American technology, using the Russian RD-180 as the first stage engine.

It is also one of the most versatile rockets in the world with 20 possible configurations, though only 10 have flown.

Stats

Height: 58.3 m (191 ft) with payload fairing, 52.4 m (172 ft) with Starliner.

Diameter: 3.81 m (12.5 ft)

Mass: 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)

Stages: 2 (3 with Star 48 upper stage)

Developed in the mid- to late-1990s, it is the fifth and last version of the Atlas rocket, which began flying in 1957.

Lockheed Martin designed and built Atlas V as part of the U.S. government's mid-90s plan to create the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program for national security missions.

The two companies with EELV rockets, Lockheed Martin with Atlas V and Boeing with Delta IV, merged in 2006 to create ULA.

Pricing of the Atlas V has varied over the years, with a basic Atlas V 401 (no boosters and a single-engine second stage) costing anywhere from the high-$90 millions to $163 million USD in the 2000s and early 2010s depending on a mission's requirements.

Price reductions have occurred since SpaceX began directly competing with ULA in the 2010s.

The Atlas V's safety and success record is unparalleled - with a 100% mission success rating.

This mission will use the Atlas V 421 variant - with a four-meter payload fairing (4), two side-mounted solid rocket boosters (2), and a single engine Centaur upper stage (1).

This configuration of the Atlas V has a base cost of $123 million USD and can take 14,067 kg to low Earth orbit or 6,890 kg to Geostationary orbit.

Image: NASA

Space Launch Complex-41 is the east-coast home of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket.

The pad hosted its first launch on December 21st, 1965 and is currently being upgraded to serve ULA's Vulcan rocket no earlier than 2022.

Vulcan and Atlas V will share the pad for several years before the Atlas is retired.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, SLC-41 was used for the U.S. Air Force’s Titan III and Titan IV rockets.

It has been the launch site of many notable missions:

• the Helios probes to study the Sun
• the Viking missions to Mars
• the Voyager interstellar probes
• the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
• New Horizon to Pluto and Kuiper Belt
• Juno to Jupiter.

The pad will soon start launching humans on Boeing's Starliner capsule beginning no earlier than 2024.

Located on Florida’s east coast, Cape Canaveral is ideally located to allow access to a wide variety of space destinations that can be reached while safely launching over the open Atlantic Ocean so as not to endanger anyone on the ground.

The Cape currently supports the launch of four different rocket families: Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon 9, and Minotaur.

Launches of Vulcan from ULA and New Glenn from Blue Origin are set to begin no earlier than 2024 with current schedules.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center, which occupies neighboring Merritt Island, and Cape Canaveral are often confused with each other or referred to as a single place.

They are in fact separate government installations but united as a single “Eastern Range” for launch operations.

Over its history, the spaceport has held the following names:

• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (1949-1963)
• Cape Kennedy Air Force Station (1963-1973)
• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (1973-2020)
• Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (2020-present)

Credit: ULA

Photo: Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster