DARPA receives first SeeMe satellite
Raytheon has delivered the first Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements (SeeMe) satellite to DARPA, the company announced on 3 October.
The new satellite will provide increased situational awareness to soldiers on the ground.
DARPA's SeeMe programme intends to show that small satellites can be built affordably to give small squads direct and timely tactical imagery. A future constellation of small satellites would deliver high-resolution images of precise locations of interest to the soldier's handheld device.
DARPA will integrate the SeeMe satellite onto a Spaceflight Industries payload that will be launched into low-earth orbit on a SpaceX rocket later in 2018. Military users will have an opportunity to evaluate the satellite's performance during missions in early 2019.
Ultimately, a SeeMe constellation may comprise several types of small satellites, each lasting one to five years. They would then de-orbit and burn up, leaving no space debris and causing no re-entry hazard.
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