Leading the nation's most notable aerospace projects.

ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2)

In 2008, ORBCOMM selected Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) under a fixed-price $117M contract to develop, build, and integrate 18 spacecraft in the first phase of ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2). Boeing’s Intelligence and Security Systems unit and ITT’s Space Systems group are key partners on the ORBCOMM program, which will eventually include 48 satellites. SNC is currently assembling and testing the first spacecraft and is building an assembly-line production capability at its Space Systems Group headquarters in Louisville, Colorado. OG2’s first launch is scheduled for early 2011.

The ORBCOMM satellite constellation provides low-cost, reliable, two-way data communications services around the world through a global network of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites and accompanying ground infrastructure. ORBCOMM's products are installed on trucks, trailers, railcars, containers, heavy equipment, fluid tanks, utility meters, pipelines, marine vessels, oil wells and other assets. The system can send and receive short messages, between six bytes and several kilobytes, in near real-time, allowing users to access critical information readily, often from areas beyond the geographic reach of terrestrial systems.

ORBCOMM operates a network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that provide worldwide coverage. These satellites are relatively small in size and have significantly lower power requirements as compared to geostationary satellites. ORBCOMM is preparing now to deploy the second generation of its constellation which will replenish the original fleet and add additional communication services.

Other major projects

Kepler Mission – NASA's $500 million Kepler spacecraft is the first mission with the ability to find planets like Earth. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., developed the Kepler flight system and supports its mission operations.
GPS III – Lockheed Martin won a $1.5 billion contract in 2008 to develop GPS III, the newest military and civilian navigation technology that will have 500 times the transmission power of the current GPS constellation, will resist jamming, and provide better accuracy with faster clock update rates.
GOES-R – Lockheed Martin is building the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series, known as GOES-R, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Data from the $1.09 billion GOES system will provide accurate real-time weather forecast and early warning products to the public and private sectors.
GeoEye-1 – GeoEye, along with partners Starsys, SEAKR, and Ball Aerospace, built GeoEye-1 the highest resolution of any commercial imaging system and can collect images with a ground resolution of 0.41-meters or 16 inches. The satellite was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II launch vehicle on Sep. 6, 2008.
MAVEN – Lockheed Martin will design, build, and operate the $485-million spacecraft for NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) program to analyze the upper atmosphere and past climate change on Mars. CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics is leading the project.
Orion - Prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems won an $8.2 billion contract to design and build a state-of-the-art Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that will replace the Space Shuttle as NASA's primary spacecraft for human space exploration.
United Launch Alliance – The U.S. Air Force awarded Centennial-based United Launch Alliance a $505 million contract to provide launch services for three National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellites aboard Delta IV rockets under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
Worldview-2 – Built by Ball Aerospace, DigitalGlobe, and ITT Corporation’s Space Systems Division, WorldView-2 will offer half-meter panchromatic resolution, and 1.8-meter multispectral resolution full-color images for enhanced spectral analysis, mapping and monitoring applications, land-use planning, disaster relief, exploration, defense and intelligence, and visualization and simulation environments.