Lockheed 
Martin technicians will begin assembling the GeoEye-2 Earth-imaging satellite at the company’s facility in Sunnydale, Calif., upon arrival of the satellite’s integrated propulsion system by month’s end, announced the company. “Completion of the propulsion system installation and the start of vehicle integration is a critical step forward in maintaining GeoEye-2’s schedule of on-orbit operations in 2013,” said Allen Anderson, Lockheed’s GeoEye-2 program director. Lockheed is building the satellite for GeoEye—a commercial satellite imagery provider headquartered in Herndon, Va.—under a fixed-price contract. Due to launch aboard an Atlas V booster next year, GeoEye-2 will move more quickly between assignments and collect imagery more rapidly than previous satellites using its modern high-resolution sensor, according to the companies. “It’s remarkable that we formalized our agreement with Lockheed Martin almost exactly one year ago,” said Bill Schuster, GeoEye chief operating officer. (See also GeoEye-2 Passes Milestone.)
China Practicing ‘Dogfighting in Space,’ US Space Force Says
March 18, 2025
China has been using experimental satellites to practice “dogfighting” in space, the U.S. Space Force’s No. 2 officer said March 18, the latest in a series of revelations as to how America’s adversaries may seek to disrupt U.S. space operations in the future.