Space-surveillance satellite starts tests

摘要

After resolving a communications glitch with its first space-surveillance satellite, the U.S. Air Force is beginning to test its ability to track other satellites and orbital debris. The Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite was built for the Air Force by Ball Aerospace under a teaming arrangement with Boeing. If the dollar500 million SBSS system works as planned, the spacecraft will track and examine other satellites from the vantage point of space, a task currently performed mostly by ground telescopes. Shortly after the spacecraft's Sept. 25 launch, operators at Los Angeles Air Force Base discovered a flaw in the communications plan for SBSS.