Northrop Grumman’s next cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station will carry a Space Development Agency payload to collect sample data to develop algorithms used to identify hypersonic missiles flying in low orbits, as was reported by Spacenews.
The experiment known as Prototype Infrared Payload is scheduled to launch in July on the NG-16 Cygnus cargo mission on a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia. The project received a $13.8 million contract in June from the Space Development Agency.
The Prototype Infrared Payload will collect sample data to develop algorithms that sensors will use to identify hypersonic missiles flying in low orbits. A Northrop Grumman spokesperson said the data will be collected during the Cygnus resupply mission shortly after berthing with the ISS until the end of the mission which can last about three months.
The experiment is related to Northrop Grumman’s work for the Missile Defense Agency in the program known as Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensors.
MDA awarded Northrop Grumman and L3Harris contracts to build sensor satellites to be deployed in low Earth orbit in July 2023. The agency will test the capabilities of the sensors to track hypersonic and dim upper-stage ballistic missiles. The MDA satellites will be part of a larger missile warning network that will include Space Development Agency missile-tracking satellites being developed by L3Harris and SpaceX.
The experiment is crucial as the needed sample data from the low Earth orbit environment will be collected for further development of the algorithms for space-based infrared sensors.