The manufacturer said it has completed a round of critical design reviews, which accelerates the GeoEye-2 program into its production cycle. The two-day space system review was completed seven months after the program’s preliminary design review in November 2010. The critical design review phase included a series of detailed examinations of the satellite’s technical design as well as the command and control element of the ground system. The incremental reviews leading up to the final review verified that each aspect of the system would meet mission requirements.

   Lockheed Martin also holds the launch contract for GeoEye-2, which is expected to be operational by 2013. GeoEye’s new satellite was spurned from a $3.8 billion contract the company won from the U.S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency last fall.