An emphasis on space situational awareness, also known as SSA, isn’t new. Gen. William Shelton, who will retire as head of Air Force Space Command in August, has consistently warned that space is more “competitive, congested and contested” than ever before, necessitating greater awareness of what is floating around the earth.But this year, there was more open conversation about the need to track the hundreds of thousands of objects, most of which could rip a hole through a multimillion dollar satellite.“Currently we track more than 23,000 objects in space,” Shelton said in his May 20 keynote address. “However, our sensors cannot see the estimated 500,000 pieces of debris between 1 and 10 centimeters in size. We’ve learned some lessons the hard way with orbital collisions and this increased traffic in space is causing collision-avoidance maneuvers at a pace we’ve never before experienced. After five decades of relatively benign operations, space is becoming an increasingly challenging place to operate.”It’s not just debris that poses a threat to US hardware. Shelton highlighted the ways that foreign powers could target satellites in orbit, leaving a core capability of the American military offline.“If we don’t come together as a world community to condemn this kind of weapon, we face the very real threat of making low earth orbit unusable for years,” Shelton warned.The cornerstone of improving the Air Force’s space situational awareness is the Space Fence program. The Air Force is relying on Space Fence to “detect, track and measure an object the size of a softball orbiting more than 1,200 miles in space,” according to a service statement.
The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin the contract for its Space Fence program, worth $914.7 million.The contract puts the world’s largest defense company in charge of developing the Space Fence system, a key asset in the service’s plans for space situational awareness (SSA). Lockheed was in competition with Raytheon for the program.The contract awards Lockheed $415 million for RDT&E efforts immediately, while the rest will be earned over the course of the 52-month period the company has before it must reach initial operational capability.Space Fence consists of a large S-band radar on the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean. Due to its proximity to the equator, Kwajalein provides a wide angle for the radar to take in as much of the sky as possible. With the Earth’s rotation, the stationary radar creates a “fence” through which everything in space should pass over the course of 24 hours.
It is interesting how we get acres of coverage of the latest Space X program or whoever, yet vital safety nets such as this get ignored but I suppose these kind of things just aren't 'glamorous' enough.
Quote from: Star One on 06/03/2014 11:30 pmIt is interesting how we get acres of coverage of the latest Space X program or whoever, yet vital safety nets such as this get ignored but I suppose these kind of things just aren't 'glamorous' enough.Many of us dream of human civilization expanding out into space. The space fence is critical for maintaining what we already have, but it doesn't hold the promise of bring major progress in the human expansion into space. Cheap and safe human orbital launch does hold that promise. SpaceX seems most likely, right now, to give us cheap and safe human access to space, which is why it's more fun to think about than a space fence.
Quote from: ChrisWilson68 on 06/04/2014 03:58 amQuote from: Star One on 06/03/2014 11:30 pmIt is interesting how we get acres of coverage of the latest Space X program or whoever, yet vital safety nets such as this get ignored but I suppose these kind of things just aren't 'glamorous' enough.Many of us dream of human civilization expanding out into space. The space fence is critical for maintaining what we already have, but it doesn't hold the promise of bring major progress in the human expansion into space. Cheap and safe human orbital launch does hold that promise. SpaceX seems most likely, right now, to give us cheap and safe human access to space, which is why it's more fun to think about than a space fence.All very noble but it cannot be done without something like Space Fence to help make a start on this thanks to fact that as usual Humans have left so much 'litter' up in orbit.
Quote from: Star One on 06/04/2014 06:58 amQuote from: ChrisWilson68 on 06/04/2014 03:58 amQuote from: Star One on 06/03/2014 11:30 pmIt is interesting how we get acres of coverage of the latest Space X program or whoever, yet vital safety nets such as this get ignored but I suppose these kind of things just aren't 'glamorous' enough.Many of us dream of human civilization expanding out into space. The space fence is critical for maintaining what we already have, but it doesn't hold the promise of bring major progress in the human expansion into space. Cheap and safe human orbital launch does hold that promise. SpaceX seems most likely, right now, to give us cheap and safe human access to space, which is why it's more fun to think about than a space fence.All very noble but it cannot be done without something like Space Fence to help make a start on this thanks to fact that as usual Humans have left so much 'litter' up in orbit.Absolutely. I'm not saying it's less important. Just less interesting to think about.The farms that grow our food are critical to our lives. We'd all starve to death without them. But I'm on a spaceflight forum, not a farming forum. That doesn't mean farms aren't important. They're just not as interesting to think about.
Or knowing where it is so you don't end up running it over. Remember the previous an promised future space fences are small beans when it comes to the budgets.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s contract with Lockheed Martin to develop a next-generation space surveillance system includes measures to ensure compatibility with the service’s situation room for space activity, which also is undergoing a major upgrade.
Yeah, and AFSSS (The predecessor we could no longer afford) only cost $14 million a year to operate...btw. An excellent article that did a great job of explaining the moving of the deck chairs back when AFSSS was shutdown. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2357/1And the thread that appeared when AFSSS was shutdown. http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32566.msg1082641#msg1082641Is this months flavor still raspberry?
QuoteWASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s contract with Lockheed Martin to develop a next-generation space surveillance system includes measures to ensure compatibility with the service’s situation room for space activity, which also is undergoing a major upgrade.http://www.spacenews.com/article/military-space/40839space-fence-development-closely-tied-to-upgrade-of-us-air-force-control
That's been the synopsis of most articles on the subject. Yes... Shutdown the primary asset so they have to build a newer better asset and pray they can cover the gap in the interim.
It appears on the face of it a risky strategy but it appears to have worked. I presume it links into their on orbit assets, but not to be speculated on as it's probably classified.
Quote from: Star One on 06/10/2014 02:54 pmIt appears on the face of it a risky strategy but it appears to have worked. I presume it links into their on orbit assets, but not to be speculated on as it's probably classified.I think it's a little hasty to say the gambit worked. The new system has only been contracted and will still have a coverage gap until 2018. It has to go forward, only because there is now a gap. They just insured themselves a program, no matter how large the cost overruns.If a preventable event occurs between now and 2018 the gambit will have failed and the money saved wasted. Though one would have to prove that the uncued search capability of the older system would have prevented the event(s). And then we enter the spin zone...