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Space domain awareness is the study and monitoring of satellites orbiting the Earth. It involves the detection, tracking, cataloging and identification of artificial objects, i.e. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris.
Space domain awareness accomplishes the following:
Systems include:
The AN/FPS-133 Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, was a U.S. government multistatic radar system built to detect orbital objects passing over America. It is a component of the U.S. space surveillance network, and according to the U.S. Navy was able to detect basketball sized objects at heights up to 30,000 km (19,000 mi).
The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) is a United States Space Force system intended to meet the United States' Department of Defense infrared space surveillance needs through the first two to three decades of the 21st century. The SBIRS program is designed to provide key capabilities in the areas of missile warning, missile defense, battlespace characterization and technical intelligence via satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), sensors hosted on satellites in highly elliptical orbit (HEO), and ground-based data processing and control.
The United States Space Surveillance Network (SSN) detects, tracks, catalogs and identifies artificial objects orbiting Earth, e.g. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. The system is the responsibility of United States Space Command and operated by the United States Space Force and its functions are:
Cavalier Space Force Station, North Dakota, is a United States Space Force installation, where the 10th Space Warning Squadron, Space Delta 4, United States Space Force monitors and tracks potential missile launches against North America with the GE AN/FPQ-16 Enhanced Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS). The PARCS also monitors and tracks over half of all earth-orbiting objects to enable space situation awareness and space control. In addition to contractors, NORAD has US and Canadian military members assigned to the facility.
The Space Fence is a second-generation space surveillance system operated by the United States Space Force in order to track artificial satellites and space debris in Earth orbit. It was constructed and designed by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon starting in 2009, with it being declared operational in March 2020. The budget is US$1.594 billion (FY15). The main facility is located at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The 20th Space Surveillance Squadron is a Space Delta 2 unit located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida with the mission to execute multiplatform, tactical space warfighting domain characterization, recognition, and responsiveness to achieve 21st Space Wing and United States Space Command intent. The unit, formerly designated the 20th Space Control Squadron, was renamed on 25 March 2022.
USA-193, also known as NRO Launch 21, was a United States military reconnaissance satellite launched on 14 December 2006. It was the first launch conducted by the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Owned by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the craft's precise function and purpose were classified. On 21 February 2008, it was destroyed as a result of Operation Burnt Frost.
The 1st Space Operations Squadron is a United States Space Force unit responsible for space-based space domain awareness. Located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, the squadron operates the Space Based Space Surveillance system, the Advanced Technology Risk Reduction system, the Operationally Responsive Space-5 satellite, and the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program.
The Space Tracking and Surveillance System was a pair of satellites developed by the United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to research the space-based detection and tracking of ballistic missiles. Data from STSS satellites could allow interceptors to engage incoming missiles earlier in flight than would be possible with other missile detection systems. The STSS program began in 2001, when the "SBIRS Low" program was transferred to MDA from the United States Air Force. In December 2002, SBIRS Low Research & Development was renamed Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS).
The Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system is a planned United States Space Force constellation of satellites and supporting ground infrastructure that will improve the ability of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to detect and track space objects in orbit around the Earth.
The 7th Space Warning Squadron (SWS) is the premier Space Domain Awareness sensor on the West Coast. The unit was originally established to guard the U.S. West Coast against sea-launched ballistic missiles from the eastern outskirts of Beale Air Force Base approximately 8 miles (13 km) east of Marysville, California. 7 SWS is a geographically separated unit of Space Delta 4.
The 12th Space Warning Squadron is a United States Space Force ground-based radar used for missile warning, missile defense, and space situation awareness, stationed at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland.
The 19th Space Operations Squadron is an Air Force Reserve space operations unit, located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
Project Space Track was a research and development project of the US Air Force, to create a tracking system for all artificial satellites of the Earth and space probes, domestic and foreign.
The Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) is a Southern Hemisphere-based United States Space Force telescope used for detecting, tracking, and cataloguing satellites, near-Earth objects, and space debris.
The 821st Main Centre for Reconnaissance of Situation in Space is the headquarters of the Russian military's space surveillance network, SKKP. The centre is part of the Russian Space Forces and receives intelligence from a network of reporting stations which includes the Russian missile attack early warning network as well as some stations only used for space surveillance such as Okno and Krona.
Eglin AFB Site C-6 is a United States Space Force radar station which houses the AN/FPS-85 phased array radar, associated computer processing system(s), and radar control equipment designed and constructed for the U. S. Air Force by the Bendix Communications Division, Bendix Corporation. Commencing operations in 1969, the AN/FPS-85 was the first large phased array radar. The entire radar/computer system is located at a receiver/transmitter building and is supported by the site's power plant, fire station, 2 water wells, and other infrastructure for the system. As part of the US Space Force's Space Surveillance Network its mission is to detect and track spacecraft and other manmade objects in Earth orbit for the Combined Space Operations Center satellite catalogue. With a peak radiated power of 32 megawatts the Space Force claims it is the most powerful radar in the world, and can track a basketball-sized object up to 22,000 nautical miles (41,000 km) from Earth.
The Space Safety Programme, formerly the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme, is the European Space Agency's (ESA) initiative to monitor hazards from space, determine their risk, make this data available to the appropriate authorities and where possible, mitigate the threat.
Numerica Corporation is an air and missile defense company.
Tip and cue, sometimes referred to as tip and que, tipping and cueing, or tipping and queing, is a method for satellite imagery and reconnaissance satellites to automatically coordinate tracking of objects across different satellites in real or near real-time. This technique ensures continuous tracking of targets as they move across different regions by handing them off between satellites, sharing satellite imagery and collateral across discrete satellites. The coordination between various satellites and their complementary sensors allows for more accurate and efficient data collection. This system is particularly useful in scenarios requiring real-time monitoring and rapid response; the method significantly improves situational awareness and operational effectiveness.