DeKok, Marsh and Tattini at ribbon-cutting. Photo: Air Force

The Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command and Lockheed Martin took a giant step toward building greater unity and teamwork as the Space Based Infrared Systems Combined Task Force opened Thursday at a ceremony in Boulder, Colo.

Lt. Gen. Gene Tattini, SMC commander, with Lt. Gen. Roger DeKok, AFSPC vice commander and Lockheed president Tom Marsh, along with over 100 members of the three organizations, took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility located on Lockheed Martin property in northeast Boulder.

"This Combined Task Force will be critical to the future success of the SBIRS program, with a cascading impact on the future of the National Missile Defense System, which is so dependent on SBIRS to form a credible missile defense umbrella. I suspect we will see more composite teams of this nature, as we look for more innovative ways to meet the mission challenges for SMC and AFSPC," Tattini said.

The CTF has the dual mission of providing crews necessary to conduct early orbit testing of new SBIRS payloads and spacecraft and to test and activate software upgrades of the SBIRS ground segment to ensure the warfighter has the capabilities they need.

"We now have in place a first class team of operators and engineers from SMC, AFSPC and Lockheed Martin. Our job is to allow the AFSPC operators to focus on their primary mission of missile warning and flying the existing satellites, while the CTF will focus on testing new hardware and software before it is turned over to AFSPC users," said Col. (s) Bill Possel, CTF director.

An assignment to this new organization, which will ultimately include 10 people from SMC, 15 from AFSPC and about 40 from Lockheed Martin, will be an opportunity to participate in both space acquisition and operations at the same time.

"For Air Force personnel assigned to the CTF, this will be the experience of a lifetime because they will work the development, testing and eventual turnover to AFSPC of the new SBIRS systems," said Col. Mike Booen, SBIRS system program director here.

The SBIRS program will provide the nation with critical missile defense and warning capability well into the 21st century. SBIRS is one of the Air Force's highest priority space systems. It is designed to incrementally upgrade and eventually replace the Defense Support Program.

Artist's concept of the SBIRS High satellite system. Photo: Lockheed Martin

SBIRS is an integrated "system of systems" with multiple space constellations and an evolving ground element. The legacy Defense Support Program satellites will continue to operate and provide data to the nation. Increment 1 will usher in a consolidated ground segment that will streamline the current software capabilities with an open architecture that will accommodate SBIRS High and Low components as they are fielded.

Increment 2 will be marked by the addition of SBIRS High. This component will consist of satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit and sensors in a highly elliptical orbit.

SBIRS Low will be added as part of Increment 3. It will consist of a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit.

Together, all these systems will form an integrated SBIRS "system of systems" providing far greater missile warning capabilities to the nation and warfighter.

The Space and Missile Systems Center is the center of technical excellence for developing and purchasing military space systems and manages more than $56 billion in contracts. The center has an annual operating budget of more than $5.5 billion and employs about 3,400 people worldwide.