The first Lockheed Martin-built Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous (GEO-1) spacecraft was encapsulated into its payload fairing April 20 in preparation for an early May liftoff aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

SBIRS GEO-1 will enhance the nation's missile warning capabilities and improve other critical mission areas simultaneously including missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness.

The GEO-1 satellite includes highly sophisticated scanning and staring sensors that will deliver enhanced infrared sensitivity and a reduction in area revisit times over the current constellation.

The scanning sensor will provide a wide area surveillance of missile launches and natural phenomena across the earth, while the staring sensor will be used to observe smaller areas of interest with enhanced sensitivity.

When GEO-1 is launched, declared operational and its data is fused into the current constellation, SBIRS will deliver unprecedented, global, persistent, taskable infrared surveillance capabilities to the warfighter, nation and allies for decades to come.

The SBIRS team is led by the Infrared Space Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Lockheed Martin is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman, as the payload integrator. Air Force Space Command operates the SBIRS system.