To defeat hypersonic weapons, Pentagon aims to build a vast Space Sensor Layer
Share to twitterThe Trump Administration is pursuing a series of secret military space projects that collectively will cost tens of billions of dollars. At least one of those projects is too big to hide: a Space Sensor Layer that would place hundreds of satellites in low earth orbit to track hostile hypersonic missiles, and many ballistic threats too.
Because longer-range ballistic missiles often move faster than the hypersonic systems that Russia and China are developing, the Pentagon already has interceptor systems that potentially could destroy them. What it lacks is a sensor network for tracking the missiles and guiding interceptors to their vicinity.... [+]Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
This is not a new idea. As Global Security.org points out, “a spacebased sensor layer has been a feature of every missile defense architecture for the past five administrations.” But as long as the path of hostile missiles was ballistic, meaning predictable, Pentagon planners were able to convince themselves they didn’t absolutely require a low-orbit sensor network to complement their early warning satellites in geosynchronous orbit .
But building a Space Sensor Layer is challenging because any satellites orbited below geosynchronous positions will be traveling at thousands of miles per hour relative to the earth’s surface, rather than appearing to hover above one point. That means just to cover a specific area continuously, dozens of satellites might be needed in an orbital plane to assure that at least one can see what’s happening while the others are over the horizon.
Once the hurdle of affordable production is overcome, there are distinct advantages to operating in low earth orbit. Launch costs would be modest, and with smallsats multiple satellites could be lofted into orbit on a single rocket. Spacecraft could be replaced frequently as technology advances, and might even be serviced while in orbit.
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