AFSSS

2013 Shutdown

On 1 August 2013, General William L. Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, directed that the Air Force Space Surveillance System (AFSSS) be closed and all sites vacated effective 1 October 2013. The main advantage of the system was its ability to provide uncued data on new objects as opposed to tracking objects based on existing information. However, the system was also said to be inherently inaccurate due to its dated design. Alternate operating modes for radars at Cavalier Space Force Station and Eglin AFB were devised to fulfill the mission to provide uncued data for new objects. Shelton also noted the confusion between the planned new S-band space fence and the old UHF AFSSS, which was commonly called the "space fence".The AFSSS was turned off September first. "It appears they pulled the plug at 00:00 UTC (6 a.m. Local MDT) on September 1st", reports engineer Stan Nelson, who was monitoring the radar using an antenna in Roswell. The radar's final echoes came from a Russian satellite and a sporadic meteor". The shutdown only affects the original Space Fence, not the new one contracted to be built by Lockheed Martin for deployment in Australia and the Marshall Islands.