The U.S. Air Force has started gathering imagery with TacSat-2, the first in a planned series intended to demonstrate the ability to deploy tactically responsive, space-based capabilities on short notice.

The Air Force launched TacSat-2, which features a platform built by Microsat Systems, Littleton, Colo., aboard a Minotaur rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., from Wallops Island, Va., last December. TacSat-2 was propelled into a circular orbit approximately 255 miles above the earth. The satellite, housed in a shroud atop the rocket, was released into space between 100,000 and 150,000 feet altitude and shared the brief ride into the cosmos with NASA's GeneSat-1.

TacSat-2 features 11 onboard experiments, which will be conducted during the spacecraft's planned 6- to 12-month mission. One of these, the U.S. Navy's Target Indicator Experiment (TIE), employs a wideband sensor to gather radar, radio and handheld communication signals. The TIE is also able to check for the automated identification transmission now mandated for large ocean-going ships. TacSat-2 can communicate directly with any common data-link-compatible ground station across the globe.

Other features include the integrated global positioning system occultation receiver that compiles high-precision location data for the micro-satellite and recycled solar array panels that produce 500 W of electrical power — plus autonomous subsystems that enable the TacSat-2 to virtually think for itself.

The Air Force had hoped to begin using the imaging and signals-intelligence payloads shortly after the spacecraft reached orbit. However, those instruments have been caught up in a dispute between the U.S. military and the intelligence community over tasking authority. In a March 26 memo, Thomas Behling, deputy undersecretary of defense for preparation and warning, said the director of the National Security Agency should have tasking authority over TacSat-2's signals-intelligence payload. However, Josh Hartman, a minority staff member on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said questions over TacSat-2 tasking authority should have been resolved well before the satellite's launch. However, TacSat-2's 11 other experimental payloads have not been affected by the dispute because they do not have intelligence-related missions.