Swales Aerospace announced Friday that it has been awarded a new Task Order under its existing Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with the Air Force Material Command, Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/VS). Under this award, Swales will design, build and test the Operationally Responsive Space Modular Bus (ORSMB) for the TacSat-3 mission, which will demonstrate the ability of a tactical satellite to collect militarily useful data over a theatre of interest and provide that data direct to the warfighter in real-time.

The ORSMB program will demonstrate modular spacecraft bus standards, interfaces, and processes to meet the goals of the Department of Defense's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) initiative that seeks rapid, low-cost space assets launched to support the needs of tactical warfighters. The work involves completing bus critical design, fabrication and integration of the bus, and providing support to AFRL for spacecraft integration and test, launch and on orbit operations.

Mike Cerneck, CEO of Swales Aerospace said, "This contract award further cements Swales' leadership in the growing market for operationally responsive small and micro-satellites." Cerneck continued, "In selecting us, AFRL recognized several major strengths of our proposed system engineering approach and bus design, including an excellent accommodation of the Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer (ARTEMIS) hyperspectral imaging sensor and other mission payloads on a bus providing good performance margins, thermal management, and pointing agility, as well as our excellent assembly, integration and test approach."

The TacSat-3 mission project is funded in part by the DOD's Office of Force Transformation and the Air Force Research Laboratory under Phase II of a four-phased approach to develop modular spacecraft buses, built to an emerging set of ORS bus performance standards. AFRL/VS is leading the TacSat-3 mission development for a planned launch in 2007. Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) recognized Swales' leadership in the development of ORS on March 20, 2006 when he visited their Beltsville headquarters. During that visit, Congressman Hoyer said, "This program is not only important to our state's economy, but it will further enhance our military capabilities, and thereby contribute to our national security."

The mission of the United States Air Force's Air Force Research Laboratory/Space Vehicles Directorate is to develop and transition high pay- off space technologies supporting the warfighter while leveraging commercial, civil and other government capabilities to ensure America's advantage. The Vision of the Space Vehicles Directorate is to provide innovative space technologies that make warfighter missions more effective and affordable. The Space Vehicles Directorate (VS) Headquarters is located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM, at the site of the former Phillips Laboratory.

Swales Aerospace is an employee-owned company that provides a broad range of aerospace engineering services to the Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial aerospace clients. Headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland, the company posted annual revenues in excess of $193 million in 2005 and employs more than 900 professionals in offices in Maryland, Virginia and California.