United States Space Force plans to launch a constellation of satellites to follow Chinese or Russian space vehicles that may potentially destroy or damage orbiting objects, the latest step in the escalating extra-terrestrial competition between superpowers.
According to the Space Force and analysts, the network dubbed ‘Silent Barker’ would be the first of its type to supplement ground-based sensors and low-earth orbit satellites.
The satellites will be positioned in geosynchronous orbit which is 22,000 miles (35,400 kilometers) above the Earth and rotates at the same rate.
In a statement, the U.S. Space Force said, “This capability enables indications and warnings of threats against high-value US systems and will provide capabilities to search, detect, and track objects from space for timely threat detection”.
The NRO stated in a statement that the Silent Barker satellite constellation is scheduled for launch after July on board an Atlas V booster operated by the Boeing Co.-Lockheed Martin Corp.’s United Launch Alliance.
The launch date will be announced 30 days in advance on Facebook and Twitter, which is a significant departure for an agency that has been for decades but whose existence was not revealed until 1992.
Silent Barker is a response to China and Russia’s effect to develop devices capable of being sent into orbit and destroying concern for the US.
A former lead staffer on the House Armed Services Committee strategic subcommittee, Sarah Mineiro, who oversees space programs, stated, “The new constellation will dramatically increase Space Force’s ability to track on-orbit, adversary satellites that could be maneuvering around or in proximity to our satellites”.
Mineiro further said, “Silent Barker addresses the limitations of ground or lower-orbit surveillance systems and allows the US to really figure out what is going on up there in space”.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated in its annual threat assessment this year that China has weapons designed to attack US and allied satellites and that counter-space operations will be integral to potential PLA military campaigns, alluding to the People’s Liberation Army.
China’s SJ-21 satellite, which was launched in 2021 and subsequently successfully towed a dead Chinese satellite several hundred miles into a higher orbit, is one example.
According to a 2022 Defense Intelligence Agency report, a robotic arm on another Chinese satellite, Sijian-17, is outfitted that could be used for grappling other satellites.
In congressional testimony in March, US Space Command commander Gen. James Dickinson stated that the SJ-21 could clearly serve in a counter-space role and put our geosynchronous satellites at risk.
U.S. Space Force said, “The SJ-21 is the type of satellite Silent Barker would track as it looks to detect or discover new objects”.
The Space Force and NRO wouldn’t reveal how many satellites will make up the Silent Barker constellation, only that multiple space vehicles would be engaged.
The Space Force further said, “Space surveillance arguments ground sensors and overcomes ground sensor limitations by providing a timely 24-hour above-the-weather collection of satellite data”.
“Ground-based sensors of objects in geosynchronous orbit are limited by distance, geography, and weather but Silent Barker will overcome observation gaps”, the Space Force added.
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