Article Posted on : - Mar 12, 2012

Space fence. A Lockheed Martin photo.

MOORESTOWN, N.J (BNS): A prototype of a new radar system developed by a Lockheed Martin-led team is now tracking orbiting space objects.

Today, with hundreds of thousands of objects orbiting the earth, space debris and risk of potential collisions now threaten national space assets providing critical services, including the Global Positioning System, banking and telecommunications.

The prototype radar recently met a key contract requirement during a series of demonstration events by proving it could detect these resident space objects, as they are referred to by the Air Force, the Company said.

Steve Bruce, vice president of the Space Fence programme at Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems & Sensors business said, "Our final system design incorporates a scalable, solid-state S-band radar, with a higher wavelength frequency capable of detecting much smaller objects than the Air Force's current system."

Space Fence will enable the decommissioning of the aging US-based Air Force Space Surveillance System (AFSSS), originally installed in 1961.

"Space Fence will detect, track and catalog over 200,000 orbiting objects and help transform space situational awareness from being reactive to predictive.

The Air Force will have more time to anticipate events potentially impacting space assets and missions. Our net-centric design approach allows Space Fence to be easily integrated into the broader US Space Surveillance Network of sensors already operated by the Air Force," Bruce said.

Lockheed Martin's Space Fence prototype was developed under an 18-month, $107 million contract awarded by the Air Force in January 2011.

The Air Force plans to award a Space Fence production contract later in 2012.
The first of several Space Fence sites is expected to reach initial operational capability in 2017.