Space Security Index

Space Security 2011
46
Contributing: ese sensors belong to private contractors or other government agencies and
provide some data under contract to the SSN.
Data from all SSN sensors is used to maintain positions on more than 21,000 manmade
objects in Earth orbit. ose objects that can be tracked repeatedly and whose source has been
identied are placed in the satellite catalog, currently numbering more than 15,000 objects.
A low accuracy version of this catalog is publicly available at the Space Track website, 14 but
the data is not suciently precise to adequately support collision avoidance. e U.S. Air
Force uses a private high-accuracy catalog for a number of data products.
Operators outside the U.S. government can also request surveillance information through
the Commercial and Foreign Entities (CFE) program, a pilot initiative started in 2004 that
allows satellite operators to access space surveillance data through a website. Initially, the Air
Force Space Command oversaw the CFE pilot program and its website, Space-Track.org.
In 2009, however, responsibility for CFE, renamed SSA Sharing Program, was transferred
to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) — specically, to the Joint Functional
Component Command for Space. But while some operators would like direct access to
orbital data, there is some reluctance to release it widely. 15 For instance, regulations for the
CFE program restrict the sharing of surveillance information with a non-U.S. government
entity to agreements in which “providing such data analysis to that entity is in the national
security interest of the United States.” 16
In recent years there has been increased impetus in the U.S. to boost conjunction analysis
— the ability to accurately predict high-speed collisions between two orbiting objects.
However, this will necessitate certain changes in the way space objects are monitored by
the Department of Defense (DOD). At the time of the Iridium collision, approximately
140 spacecraft were being monitored for potential collisions and the Joint Space Operations
Center (JSpOC) had ve operators supporting a single position for conjunction prediction. 17
To conduct more eective collision avoidance, more personnel and computing equipment
are needed. According to Lt. Gen. Larry James, former commander of the Joint Functional
Component Command for Space at Vandenberg Air Force Base, collision analysis of roughly
1,300 satellites — including approximately 500 that are not maneuverable — would require
as many as 20 more people than were available at the time of the Cosmos-Iridium collision. 18
2010 Development
U.S. launches orbital space surveillance sensor as part of 20-year plan to improve SSA
In November, the U.S. Air Force’s Space Command announced that it has a 20-year plan
to improve U.S. SSA capability. 19 Lieutenant Colonel Richard Benz of Space Command’s
Directorate of Plans and Requirements said that they were also working with U.S. Strategic
Command and the National Security Space Oce to better dene requirements for SSA
capabilities and systems. 20
e rst step in the plan was the launch of the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS)
Block 10 satellite on 25 September from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 21 e
launch had been delayed almost two years from its original date of December 2008, with an
entire program cost of $823-million. e Block 10 satellite is considered a “pathnder” for
follow-on satellites and the eventual creation of an SBSS constellation. e launch vehicle
placed the satellite into a 630-km, Sun-synchronous orbit and was designed to have a sevenyear
lifespan. 22