Bigger eye in space to monitor satellites
Source: Agencies |
July 5, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A new United States Air Force satellite will provide the first full-time, space-based surveillance of hundreds of satellites and thousands of pieces of debris that could crash into American and allied assets circling the Earth.
If all goes as planned, the Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite, set for a Thursday launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, will have an unobstructed, around-the-clock view of the increasingly heavy traffic in Earth orbit - something the Air Force doesn't have now.
The Air Force now relies on a ground-based network of radar and optical telescopes around the globe to monitor about 1,000 active satellites and 20,000 pieces of debris. The telescopes can be used only on clear nights, and not all radar stations are powerful enough to detect satellites in deep space orbit, about 35,400 kilometers from Earth.
From its orbit about 630 kilometers above the Earth, the new satellite will have a clear view of deep space, unaffected by daylight or weather.
"It really has tremendous capabilities," said Todd Citron, director of advanced space and intelligence systems for Boeing Co, prime contractor for the satellite.
Citron said SBSS will revolutionize "space situational awareness," the military term for knowing not only where the objects are, but where they're headed and what might be in their path.
An Air Force official was more cautious.
"We do know that the sensor is going to provide a lot of capability," said Colonel J.R. Jordan, mission director for the SBSS launch.
"We haven't really come up with broad statements" about how much SBSS is expected to improve monitoring, said Jordan.
If all goes as planned, the Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite, set for a Thursday launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, will have an unobstructed, around-the-clock view of the increasingly heavy traffic in Earth orbit - something the Air Force doesn't have now.
The Air Force now relies on a ground-based network of radar and optical telescopes around the globe to monitor about 1,000 active satellites and 20,000 pieces of debris. The telescopes can be used only on clear nights, and not all radar stations are powerful enough to detect satellites in deep space orbit, about 35,400 kilometers from Earth.
From its orbit about 630 kilometers above the Earth, the new satellite will have a clear view of deep space, unaffected by daylight or weather.
"It really has tremendous capabilities," said Todd Citron, director of advanced space and intelligence systems for Boeing Co, prime contractor for the satellite.
Citron said SBSS will revolutionize "space situational awareness," the military term for knowing not only where the objects are, but where they're headed and what might be in their path.
An Air Force official was more cautious.
"We do know that the sensor is going to provide a lot of capability," said Colonel J.R. Jordan, mission director for the SBSS launch.
"We haven't really come up with broad statements" about how much SBSS is expected to improve monitoring, said Jordan.
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