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Future Imagery Architecture (FIA) was a program awarded to
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
to design a new generation of optical and
radar imaging Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), direction (geometry), direction (azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to det ...
US
reconnaissance satellites A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for Military intelligence, military or espionag ...
for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). In 2005 NRO director Donald Kerr recommended the project's termination, and the optical component of the program was finally cancelled in September 2005 by
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a Cabinet of the United States#Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials, cabinet-level Federal government of the United States, United States government intelligence and security official. The p ...
John Negroponte John Dimitri Negroponte (; born July 21, 1939) is an American diplomat. In 2018, he was a James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is a former J.B. and Maurice C. Shapi ...
. FIA has been called by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' "perhaps the most spectacular and expensive failure in the 50-year history of American spy satellite projects." Despite the optical component's cancellation, the radar component, known as Topaz, has continued, with four satellites in orbit .


History


Contractors

In May 1999
Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...
was awarded the contract for the deployment and integration of the ground infrastructure portion of FIA, the Mission Integration and Development (MIND) Program. In September 1999 the contract for the development, launch integration, and operations of FIA was awarded to the
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
company, and its subcontractors Hughes Space and Communications Company, Raytheon, Kodak and Harris. The initial development budget was US$5 billion for the first 5 years, and the total lifetime budget was US$10 billion. A NRO evaluation team estimated that
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
's competing proposal would require about US$1 billion (inflation adjusted US$ billion in ) more to implement than Boeing's proposal. Boeing's promised cost-saving relied in a large part on the utilisation of
commercial off-the-shelf Commercial-off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...
hardware and software.


Research and development challenges

The exact scope and mission of FIA are classified, although the head of the NRO said in 2001 that the project would focus on creating smaller and lighter satellites.Sullivan, Laura.
A peek into secrets most jealously guarded
", ''
Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...
'', September 8, 2001. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
Some industry experts believe that a key objective is to make the satellites more difficult to attack, possibly by placing them in higher orbits. Because of the large size of the program, as well as number of workers involved, some experts have compared it to the 1940s
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
. The project encountered a number of technical challenges. The required
traveling-wave tube A traveling-wave tube (TWT, pronounced "twit") or traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA, pronounced "tweeta") is a specialized vacuum tube that is used in electronics to amplify radio frequency (RF) signals in the microwave range. It was invented ...
for the Radar Imaging proved to be highly challenging, resulting in significant schedule delays. Some of the problems with traveling-wave tubes were traced to charge built-up, while crossing radiation belts, resulting in electrical sparking, which in turn created carbon tracks, ultimately shorting the traveling-wave tubes. The original optical specification could not be met, requiring a redesign. The system for the actuated
Secondary Mirror A secondary mirror (or secondary) is the second deflecting or focusing mirror element in a reflecting telescope. Light gathered by the primary mirror is directed towards a focal point typically past the location of the secondary. Secondary mirro ...
positioning was difficult to stabilise, and required the introduction of additional struts and launch-locks. In 1Q FY03 Boeing shut down their Battery Division, and in 3Q FY03 their Power Electronics manufacturing facility in order to correct defective validation procedures and manufacturing processes. NRO subsequently directed Boeing to bring a 2nd, more experienced battery manufacturer into the project.
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
supplied radiation hardened HX-3000 ASICs, which due to their low power usage and high speed had been selected to serve multiple functions in the project (''BRAM'', ''ADD'', ''EBWC'', ''ERBC'', ...), required several respins, and interventions to fix yield issues and manufacturing errors. In October 2003, issues with
Control moment gyroscope A control moment gyroscope (CMG) is an attitude control device generally used in spacecraft attitude control systems. A CMG consists of a spinning rotor and one or more motorized gimbals that tilt the rotor’s angular momentum. As the rotor til ...
s were delaying progress with the satellite bus. A NRO presentation on April 20, 2004 reported ''many issues with parts manufacturing and quality'', and presented a new IMINT baseline.


Termination of IMINT FIA

By 2005, an estimated US$10 billion had been spent by the US government on FIA, including Boeing's accumulated cost overrun of US$4 to 5 billion, and it was estimated to have an accumulated cost of US$25 billion over the ensuing twenty years. In reply to a request by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, NRO on May 6, 2005 provided estimated termination costs for the i) full FIA program, ii) IMINT FIA, and iii) for a rescope of FIA into a new procurement program. This was followed by a report of an NRO appointed tiger team on August 12, 2005. In September 2005 DNI
John Negroponte John Dimitri Negroponte (; born July 21, 1939) is an American diplomat. In 2018, he was a James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is a former J.B. and Maurice C. Shapi ...
terminated the FIA IMINT contract with Boeing because of the cost overruns and delays of the delivery date. Instead Lockheed Martin received a contract to restart production of two legacy
KH-11 Kennen The KH-11 KENNEN (later renamed CRYSTAL,p.199-200 then Evolved Enhanced CRYSTAL System, and codenamed 1010 and Key Hole) is a type of reconnaissance satellite first launched by the American National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in December 19 ...
satellite system with new upgrades. In 2012 NRO donated two sophisticated but unneeded space telescopes, reportedly built for FIA, to
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
for use in astronomy.


IMINT radar

The contract for the imaging radar satellite remained with Boeing. In September 2010 NRO director Bruce Carlson stated that while most NRO "programs are operating on schedule and on cost", one program was "700 percent over in schedule and 300 percent over in budget".


Technological innovations


Electro optical imaging

The optical system was specified to provide both high angular resolution via image stabilisation and wide angle (large field of view) capability. The optical telescope assets later transferred to NASA feature the following specifications and innovations: * f/8 telescope with <20% obstructed aperture, 1.6 degree Cassegrain field of view * 2.4m diameter f/1.2 lightweight ultra-low-expansion primary mirror with a surface quality better than 60nm rms * low
coefficient of thermal expansion Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to increase in length, area, or volume, changing its size and density, in response to an increase in temperature (usually excluding phase transitions). Substances usually contract with decreasing temp ...
composite and
invar Invar, also known generically as FeNi36 (64FeNi in the US), is a nickel–iron alloy notable for its uniquely low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE or α). The name ''Invar'' comes from the word ''invariable'', referring to its relative lac ...
structure * combined mass of for the telescope and outer barrel Another key component of FIA was to launch and orbit at least 10 satellites, which would provide a 2.5 times higher cadence of viewing opportunities than the previous EOI constellation.


Radar imaging

The radar imaging system was specified to provide better image quality than previous system by employing a very strong radar signal. Images by an amateur astronomer hint at an antenna diameter of roughly 12 m.


Launches

The first operational FIA Radar satellite, USA-215 or NROL-41, was launched on 21 September 2010. It is in a retrograde orbit inclined by 123 degrees, an orbital configuration indicating it is an SAR satellite. On 3 April 2012, a second satellite, USA-234 or NROL-25, was launched into a similar orbit. The earlier USA-193 satellite, launched in 2006, is believed to have been a technology demonstration satellite intended to test and develop systems for the FIA radar programme. However, it failed immediately after launch, and was subsequently destroyed by a missile.


Spacecraft


Successor program

USA-224, launched on 20 January 2011, is believed to be the first of the large post-FIA optical reconnaissance satellites built by Lockheed. The failed FIA program is to be succeeded by the Next Generation Electro-Optical (NGEO) program. NGEO is intended as a lower-risk modular system, which is capable of being modified incrementally over its lifetime.


See also

* Future Ground Architecture, also known as Sentient


References


External links


FIA on Globalsecurity.org
{{US Reconnaissance Satellites Boeing National Reconnaissance Office satellites Space synthetic aperture radar Military equipment introduced in the 2010s