WASHINGTON: "The U.S. Space Force just launched two new space domain awareness satellites, expanding the capability of its Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program and boosting the accuracy of the service’s on-orbit tracking constellation. With this launch, the Space Force will have six Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) space vehicles on orbit, the first of which launched in 2014 to provide what Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond calls a “neighborhood watch” function. Operating in geosynchronous Earth orbit more than 22,000 miles above the earth’s surface, the satellites track other space objects and feed that data to the Space Surveillance Network. They also perform rendezvous and proximity operations, drawing close to other satellites to observe and provide data on them. The service has been somewhat vague on GSSAP’s full suite of capabilities and has not released details on the value of its contract with Northrop Grumman. Asked this week during a Mitchell Institute event whether the two new satellites are more capable than those already on orbit, Raymond offered only that they would provide “additional capacity.” “This neighborhood watch capability has provided us a fuller look at what’s in space, specifically in the geosynchronous domain,” he said. “It’s important for our operations, and it’s going to be really important as we move forward.” https://www.defensenews.com/battlefield-tech/space/2022/01/21/space-force-expands-on-orbit-neighborhood-watch-mission-with-two-new-tracking-satellites/
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