|
Maintained by:
Sensor Tests:
Elsewhere:
Document illustrating missile detection scenarios
Press Release - mentions "Emerging Technologies"
| On-orbit Tests
During December 2010, Northrop Grumman, the satellite manufacturer, released a list of test milestones achieved by the STSS Demonstrator satellites.
Some had already been identified and there are analyses of them available from the left hand menu. There are some newly-revealed events and more detail has been added all round. They are summarised in this calendar.
STSS - Space Tracking and Surveillance System
As the name implies, STSS Demonstrators represent part of a System. The aim is to be able to detect missile launches and to follow the payload throughout the flight, up to the point of impact - the 'mid-course'. Launches can currently be detected by the DSP satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Mid-course detection has until now been difficult because the payload in a relatively-cold body compared with the launcher that emits a large amount of near-visible radiation from the hot exhaust stream. STSS in the round aims to address this by working in conjunction with other satellites and ground-based equipment.
STSS sensor
 The Missile Defence Agency's web site describes the STSS Demonstrator Satellites as capable of detecting visible and infrared light and being able to detect missile launches, provide continuous target tracking, and communicate with missile defense command and control systems.
The main sensor is a movable instrument capable of scanning round to point at targets. As the is oriented in orbit, the sensor is located on the underside of the body - pointing horizontally and downward. It was built by Raytheon and the version aboard STSS Demonstrator is referred to a "Block 6" type. The illustration here is taken from a Raytheon document.
| Date |
Time (UTC) |
Event |
2010 Jun 6 | 22:25 | Observation of GBI Launch Vandenberg AFB |  One of the STSS Demonstrator satellite pair tracked a Ground Based Interceptor launch. The two-stage missile had no physical target, it delivered an exoatmospheric kill vehicle to a designated point in space.
According to Northrop-Grumman, the satellite operated as expected and the system generated high-quality track data while the missile engine was operating.
Northrop Grumman summary:
* First STSS Object Sighting Messages (OSM) of a missile
* First on-board missile track formed
Detailed analysis:
http://www.zarya.info/Tracking/STSSDemo/STSSDemoMissile0.php
The map shows the positions of the STSS Demonstrator satellites at the time the missile was launched. It was generated using the "Orbitron" satellite tracking program and orbital elements from Mike McCants's "classified.zip" elements file.
| 2010 Jun 16 | 10:01 | Observation of Minuteman III ICBM Launch Vandenberg AFB |  Minuteman III launched from Vandenberg AFB for impact near Kwajalein. The re-entry vehicle travelled approximately 6750 km in 28 minutes before impact
Northrop Grumman summary:
* First dual satellite collect of target, and
* First target acquisition from a target launched beyond the horizon
Detailed analysis:
http://www.zarya.info/Tracking/STSSDemo/STSSDemoMissile1.php
The map shows the positions of the STSS Demonstrator satellites at the time the missile was launched. It was generated using the "Orbitron" satellite tracking program and orbital elements from Mike McCants's "classified.zip" elements file.
| 2010 Jun 29 | 06:32 | Detection of Missile Launch Pacific Missile Range: MLP near Kauai (Scud), Barking Sands (THAAD) |  Scud, or similar, target launched from the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) at sea within the Pacific Missile Range. Destroyed by interceptor missile launched five minutes later.
Northrop Grumman summary:
* First Object Sighting Messages sent to Enterprise Sensors Laboratory at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado - for data fusion with other sensors in real time
* First tracking of a dim theater missile
Detailed analysis:
http://www.zarya.info/Tracking/STSSDemo/STSSDemoMissile2.php
The map shows the positions of the STSS Demonstrator satellites at the time the target missile was launched. It was generated using the "Orbitron" satellite tracking program and orbital elements from Mike McCants's "classified.zip" elements file.
| 2010 Jul 19 | | Tracking of NOAA Satellite in orbit | One of the satellites was programmed in advance to track a NOAA weather satellite that was pursuing its own orbit. It was seen both against open space and against the Earth.
Northrop Grumman summary:
* First tracking of a resident space object
* Tracked a NOAA weather satellite for several minutes
| 2010 Jul 23 | | Detection of Ground-based Laser Starfire Optical Range, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico | Automatically detected laser illumination from the US. Air Force Research Laboratory.
Northrop Grumman summary:
* Hand-off demonstration occurred when STSS acquired a ground laser source
| 2010 Sep 1 | | Tracking of Short Range Missile Atlantic Ocean, California Coast | One of the satellites tracked a fast-moving missile launched as a test for the Airborne Laser Test Bed.
Northrop Grumman summary - not sure what it means!:
* First autonomous acquisition sensor to track sensor handover of a boosted target
| 2010 Sep 17 | 10:03 | Detection of Minuteman III ICBM Launch Vandenberg AFB |  Delayed from Sep 15 because of equipment not being "ready".
Impact of multiple dummy warheads occurred 320 kilometres south west of the island of Guam around three quarters of an hour later later after a flight of 8,500 kilometres.
Northrop Grumman summary:
* First post boost track continuation of a target with track sensor
* First demonstration of track sensor generating multiple tracks for separating objects
See: http://www.zarya.info/Tracking/STSSDemo/STSSDemoMissile3.php
The map shows the positions of the STSS Demonstrator satellites at the time the missile was launched. It was generated using the "Orbitron" satellite tracking program and orbital elements from Mike McCants's "classified.zip" elements file.
| 2010 Oct 6 | | Detection of Aegis Missile Launches Pacific Missile Range - near Kauai, Hawaii | Two missiles were fired with a two hour interval between them (dictated by the orbital period of the STSS Demonstrator satellites). Both USA 208 and USA 209 were used.
It demonstrated the ability of STSS to view a dim medium-range missile. They observed the targets with the tracking sensors on both satellites until booster shut down, and continued to observe the spent rocket well into the midcourse phase.
The satellites transmitted tracking data to the Enterprise Sensors Laboratory at the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado for combination with data from other sources to create "stereo" tracks.
Northrop Grumman summary:
* First Track sensor stereo track of a dim boosted target
* First stereo post boost tracking of midcourse target
| 2011 Mar 9 | 00:00 | Aegis Missile Test Pacific Ocean | One of the STSS satellites acquired and tracked a target until re-entry during a test designed to validate Aegis system software upgrades. The timing of the launch was coordinated between Aegis and STSS to assure visibility to the satellite.
| 2011 Mar 15 | | Aegis Missile Test Pacific Ocean | Both STSS satellites demonstrated full-course tracking during a portion of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Aegis launch on remote campaign. Both satellites acquired the target through their track sensors and followed the missile through re-entry.
During the test, the Ground Mission Data Processing software, operating at the Missile Defense Experimentation Center, successfully produced a "stereo," 3-D track of the missile's flight path, predicting its impact point in advance.
| 2011 Apr 15 | 06:52 | Sea-based Missile Interception Tests Ronald Reagan Missile Test Range, Marshall Islands | An intermediate-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Reagan Test Site, located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The target flew in a northeasterly direction. Following target launch, a forward-based AN/TPY-2 X-band transportable radar, located on Wake Island, detected and tracked the threat missile and transmitted remote target data to the USS O’Kane. The destroyer, located to the west of Hawaii, used the data to develop a fire control solution and launch the SM-3 Block IA missile approximately 11 minutes after the target was launched.
The STSS Demonstrator Satellites tracked the target from midcourse to termination.
| 2011 Jul 9 | 02:04 | Missile Interception Tests Eastern Pacific Ocean | The Missile Defense Agency successfully completed a flight test involving the launch of a Short Range Air Launched Target (SRALT) at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division-Point Mugu Sea Range, California. The SRALT missile was deployed from a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft over the Pacific Ocean approximately 500 miles west of the California coast.
The test was used as a target of opportunity for several emerging missile defense technologies. The two Space Tracking Surveillance System (STSS) demonstration satellites tracked the target and transmitted data to the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). It was the first demonstration of stereo acquisition and track handover of a short range target and showed the satellites' ability to track dim objects that have extremely short flight timelines.
| 2011 Oct 5 | 05:56 | Missile Interception Tests Pacific Missile Range - near Kauai, Hawaii | The BMDS Operational Test Agency (OTA) conducted, with support of the Missile Defense Agency, an operational test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii.
During the test, THAAD system engaged and simultaneously intercepted one short-range and one medium-range class ballistic missile target. .
The STSS Demonstrator satellite pair were nearby when the test was conducted.
|
|
|
