USA-231

USA-231^[5] or ORS-1 (Operationally Responsive Space-1) is an American reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 2011 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia by a Minotaur I launch vehicle.^[3] It is the first operational satellite of the Operationally Responsive Space Office. It is equipped with a SYERS 2A sensor.^[6]

ORS-1

Illustration of the ORS-1 satellite
Mission type	Imaging
Operator	US DoD
COSPAR ID	2011-029A
SATCAT no.	37728
Spacecraft properties
Bus	ATK satellite bus[1]
Manufacturer	Goodrich Corporation[1]
Launch mass	434 kilograms (957 lb)[2]
Start of mission
Launch date	June 30, 2011, 03:09 (2011-06-30UTC03:09Z) UTC[3]
Rocket	Minotaur I
Launch site	Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport LP-0B
Contractor	Orbital Sciences
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	423 kilometers (263 mi)[4]
Apogee altitude	427 kilometers (265 mi)[4]
Inclination	40.07 degrees[4]
Period	92.93 minutes[4]
Epoch	January 13, 2015, 04:45:04 UTC[4]

ORS-1 satellite is designed to provide orbital space imagery of Southwest Asia and to enhance battlespace awareness to operational field commanders. The ORS-1 will undergo a 30-day trial and adjustment check before the ORS Office turns over it operations to USAF's 1st Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colorado.^[3]

Minotaur I Rocket Launch at NASA Wallops, June 30, 2011 with ORS-1

SYERS

SYERS 2 is an optical and infrared camera with a 40 cm aperture and a field of view larger than 2 degrees. It uses Time Delay and Integration CCD sensors to compensate for ground motion, resulting in a resolution of 1m (NIIRS 4) from a nominal 300 km orbit.^[7] SYERS 2 is supplied by the Goodrich Corporation.

SYERS is also carried by the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.^[8]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• 2011 in spaceflight