The Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) (formerly SBIRS-Low) was a pair of satellites developed by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which w ...
(MDA) to research the space-based detection and tracking of
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s. Data from STSS
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
s could allow interceptors to engage incoming missiles earlier in flight than would be possible with other missile detection systems. The STSS program began in 2001, when the "
SBIRS Low" program was transferred to MDA from the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
. In December 2002, SBIRS Low Research & Development (SBIRS Low R&D) was renamed Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS).
Launch
One of the two satellites had been shipped to
Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on 4 May 2009; the second satellite arrived at the launch site on 25 June 2009.
Two demonstration satellites were launched together on a single
Delta II
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 ...
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...
. Launch took place 25 September 2009, from
Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17
Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17), previously designated Launch Complex 17 (LC-17), was a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida used for Thor and Delta launch vehicles launches between 1958 and 2011.
It was built in ...
(LC-17B). STSS constellation consists of two satellites orbiting at 1350 km, 58.0°
inclination
Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object.
For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...
, with 120 minute
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
.
[ ]
It was reported that several items of debris, identified by amateur satellite watchers as remnants of the Delta-2 launch vehicle, had crashed in a field in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
on 19 February 2010.
Early detection
The perceived advantage of STSS was that its satellites, by operating at a lower altitude and by using long- and short-wave
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
sensors, would be able to acquire and track missiles in midcourse and during the boost phase.
The role of STSS
STSS was designed to be the
low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
er (LEO) within the layered
Ballistic Missile Defense System
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD or ABMD), also known as ''Sea-Based Midcourse'', is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate- ...
. It complemented the geosynchronous
Defense Support Program
The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a program of the United States Space Force that operated the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the ''Satellite Early Warning System'' used by the United States.
DSP satellite ...
, the
Space-Based Infrared System
The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) is a United States Space Force system intended to meet the United States' Department of Defense infrared space surveillance needs through the first two to three decades of the 21st century. The SBIRS prog ...
, and other overhead non-imaging infrared (ONIR) systems and provided tracking cues to systems on the surface. The STSS program was developed in phases, the first of which was the launch of two demonstrator satellites. The demonstrators performed experiments and proved out systems and processes to establish a knowledge base for future operational designs. The demonstration satellites, built by
Northrop Grumman Space Technology (spacecraft) and
Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
(sensors) detected and tracked a two-stage
Ground-Based Interceptor
The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is the anti-ballistic missile component of the United States' Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
Description
This interceptor is made up of a boost vehicle, constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporat ...
(GBI) during a U.S.
Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which w ...
flight test on 6 June 2010.
Congressional testimony
According to Congressional testimony, military officials believed that STSS had the potential to bolster the nation's missile defense system. "Two recent flight tests demonstrated that STSS dramatically improved the precision of threat missile attacks and provided more accurate fire control quality data to the
Aegis
The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...
ships several minutes earlier than less accurate data provided by organic radars in the
Aegis
The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...
or THAAD (
Theater High Altitude Area Defense) systems", U.S. Army Lt. General Patrick J. O'Reilly, Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, told the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense subcommittee in prepared testimony on 25 May 2011.
Timeline of STSS missile tracking tests
According to Globe Newswire (sourced by Northrop Grumman) press releases, the following is a summary of the STSS Demonstration program satellites' on-orbit performance.
June 2010
* 6 June 2010 at 22:25 UTC
Ground-Based Interceptor
The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is the anti-ballistic missile component of the United States' Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
Description
This interceptor is made up of a boost vehicle, constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporat ...
test launched from
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida
* Vandenberg Sp ...
.
First STSS Object Sighting Messages (OSM) of a missile
First on-board missile track formed.
* 16 June 2010 at 10:01 UTC
ICBM Minuteman III
The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and re ...
test launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base
Pre-determined target launched of
Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site
The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, commonly referred to as the Reagan Test Site (formerly Kwajalein Missile Range), is a missile test range in Marshall Islands (Pacific Ocean). It covers about and includes rocket launch s ...
at
Kwajalein Atoll,
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
Data transmitted at
Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center
In the military of the United States, the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC), formerly Joint National Integration Center (JNIC) and before that the Joint National Test Facility (JNTF), at Schriever Air Force Base is respo ...
(MDIOC) at
Schriever Air Force Base
Schriever Space Force Base, previously Schriever Air Force Base, Falcon Air Force Base, and Falcon Air Force Station, is a base of the United States Space Force located approximately east of Peterson Space Force Base near Colorado Springs in ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
.
First dual satellite collect of target, and
First target acquisition from a target launched beyond the horizon.
* 29 June 2010 at 07:32 UTC
Scud missile was launched from a Mobile Launch Platform (formerly
USS Tripoli) near of
Kauai,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their termina ...
(THAAD) missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
First OSMs sent to Enterprise Sensors Laboratory at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, for data fusion with other sensors in real time
First track of a dim theater missile.
July 2010
* 19 July 2010
First track of a resident space object.
Tracked a
NOAA weather satellite on 19 July 2010 for several minutes (externally queued)
* 23 July 2010
First autonomous acquisition sensor to track sensor handover of a target.
Hand-off demonstration occurred when STSS acquired a ground laser source operated by U.S.
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...
from the
Starfire Optical Range at
Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
August 2010
* 5 August 2010
First track of an aircraft
Precision track sensor operation below the horizon during daylight
First autonomous acquisition sensor to track sensor handover of an aircraft
September 2010
* 1 September 2010
Airborne Laser Test Bed Exercise
First autonomous acquisition sensor to track sensor handover of a boosted target
* 17 September 2020 at 10:02 UTC
ICBM Minuteman III test launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base to Island of Guam (8500 km).
First post boost track continuation of a target with track sensor
First demonstration of track sensor generating multiple tracks for separating objects.
October 2010
* 5 October 2010
Aegis Launch on Remote Campaign
First Track sensor stereo track of a dim boosted target
First stereo post boost tracking of midcourse target.
March 2011
* 9 March 2011
Second Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle Targeting
STSS satellites acquired and tracked its target until re-entry
* 15 March 2011
Second full-course tracking during U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Aegis launch
Successful production of "stereo" 3-D tracking software to follow the target missile's flight path to predict its impact point.
April 2011
* 15 April 2011
Sea-based missile defense test
STSS satellites target and help to intercept an
intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM); destruction of the IRBM on impact.
July 2011
* 8 July 2011
STSS test on short-range air-launched target (SRALT)
This test proved the STSS's ability to track dim objects that have extremely short flight timelines.
End of mission
The two Space Tracking and Surveillance System satellites stopped collecting data in September 2021. After being moved to higher orbits to prevent future collisions with other space objects, the two satellites were decommissioned on 8 March 2022.
See also
*
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD or ABMD), also known as ''Sea-Based Midcourse'', is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediat ...
*
Defense Support Program
The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a program of the United States Space Force that operated the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the ''Satellite Early Warning System'' used by the United States.
DSP satellite ...
*
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the United States' anti-ballistic missile system for intercepting incoming warheads in space, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile de ...
*
USA 205
USA-205, also known as Space Tracking and Surveillance System-Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (STSS-ATRR), and previously as Block 2010 Spacecraft Risk Reduction is a satellite formerly operated by the United States Missile Defense Agency. It ...
References
External links
STSS Missile Tracking DemonstrationsSTSS DEMO 1 (USA 208) - OrbitSTSS DEMO 2 (USA 209) - Orbit
{{United States Missile Defense
Missile defense
Early warning systems
Spacecraft launched in 2009
Spacecraft decommissioned in 2022