Delta 4 Launches Surveillance Satellites for the U.S. Air Force

摘要

The U.S. Air Force launched three satellites July 28 that are expected to provide a significant boost to the service's space surveillance capabilities, particularly of the geosynchronous-orbit belt high above the equator. The mission, known as AFSPC-4, short for Air Force Space Command-4, launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida around 7 p.m. The launch followed delays on several previous attempts due to weather and technical issues. The rocket's primary mission was to deploy two satellites that will serve as the first generation of the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), a previously classified space surveillance system first disclosed in February by Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command. Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, is the GSSAP program's general contractor. According to an Air Force fact sheet, the two-satellite system will operate in a "near-geosynchronous orbit regime" to provide accurate tracking and characterization of man-made orbiting objects. Satellites with missions including communications and missile warning operate in the geosynchronous-orbit belt roughly 36,000 kilometers above the equator.