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Space Based Tracking Radar Will Have Hurdles
By Jeremy Singer
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 07:00 pm ET
09 April 2003
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By JEREMY SINGER COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo -- Though not scheduled to go online until 2012, the Pentagon's satellite system aimed at tracking moving targets is likely have small gaps in its coverage early in its deployment. The Pentagon plans to begin launching the Space Based Radar satellites into a low Earth orbit in 2012. The constellation will initially consist of between nine and 12 satellites, which will lead to coverage gaps that could last as long as five minutes, said Michael Gross, of Raytheon Electronic Systems, El Segundo, Calif. Raythenon is in competition to build the satellites. A gap in coverage of a few minutes may not be a problem when tracking targets like a convoy of vehicles moving across an uncrowded area like a desert, Gross said during a press conference at the National Space Symposium here on April 9. However, it could cause U.S. officials to lose track of a target like a mobile Scud missile launcher that is traveling in an urban area or a congested highway, he said. This would force a commander to task an aerial reconnaissance vehicle to continue to track the mobile Scud launcher, Gross said. The Pentagon plans to begin launching an improved set of Space Based Radar satellites after 2015, which could shorten the coverage gaps, Gross said. The gaps could be shortened by placing some satellites in a medium Earth orbit, which could watch a larger area, or increasing the number of satellites in low Earth orbit, he said.
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