Air Force Space Surveillance System

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Part of the master transmitter antenna at Lake Kickapoo, Texas c.2001.

The Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, is a multistatic radar system that detects orbital objects passing over America. It is a component of the US space surveillance network, and is claimed to be able to detect objects as small as 10cm (four inches) at heights up to 30,000 km (15,000 nautical miles.) Although formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and known as NAVSPASUR (short for "Naval Space Command Surveillance")[1], command passed to the Air Force 20th Space Control Squadron on October 1, 2004.[2] The operation's headquarters are at Dahlgren, Virginia, while radar stations are spread out across the continental United States at roughly the level of the 33rd parallel north.

There are three transmitter sites in the system:[3]

The master transmitter at Lake Kickapoo is said to be the most powerful continuous wave (CW) station in the world, at 768 kW radiated power. Overhead imagery (see coordinates given above) of the Gila River and Jordan Lake sites suggests that the original design called for antennas of twice the present length with, presumably, greater radiated power.

There are 6 receiving stations:[3]

The receiving stations at Elephant Butte and Hawkinsville are considered to be "High Altitude" stations with longer and more complex antenna systems that are designed to see targets at higher altitudes than the other four receiving stations.

[edit] Space Fence Program Awards contracts for Concept Development [4]

  • The Space Fence is a system of three S-band ground-based radars designed to perform uncued detection, tracking and accurate measurement of orbiting space objects. The Space Fence is intended to replace the Air Force Space Surveillance System, or VHF Fence, that was transferred from the Navy to the Air Force in 2004. The higher wave frequency of the Space Fence allows for detection of much smaller satellites and debris.
  • The February collision of a U.S. Iridium communications satellite and a Russian Cosmos 2251 communications satellite, which added hundreds more pieces of debris to the atmosphere, highlighted the need for more precise tracking of space objects. [5]
  • Data collected from the Space Fence's sensors would potentially feed into the Joint Space Operations Center Mission System, which is used to track objects orbiting the Earth, monitor space weather and assess foreign launches. Used by operators at the 614th Air and Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the 614 AOC's 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week support provides vigilance of global and theater operations and equips the Joint Functional Component Command for space operations with the tools to conduct command and control of space forces.
  • The Space Fence's follow-on full and open competition is expected in the fall of 2010, following an in process review with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

[edit] References

  1. ^ NAVSPASUR: Fence
  2. ^ Navy newsstand. Navy Transfers Space Surveillance Mission to Air Force. October 24, 2004. Accessed May 24, 2006.
  3. ^ a b 47CFR§2.106 Footnote US229. Accessed May 24, 2006.
  4. ^ USAF News http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123161377
  5. ^ Aviation News - Collision http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/COLLIDE021109.xml&headline=Orbital%20Collision%20Was%20The%20Worst%20Ever&channel=space&gclid=CI7MrZu22JgCFQUWGgodnSEscw

[edit] External links

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