Northrop Grumman Awarded Contract to Develop Space Fence TechnologyReference: Northrop Grumman
Image: Defense Tech
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded the first phase of a $30 million firm-fixed price U.S. Air Force contract to develop a global space surveillance ground radar system.
The new S-Band Space Fence is part of the U.S. Department of Defense's effort to track and detect what is commonly referred to as resident space objects (RSO), consisting of thousands of pieces of "space debris" as well as commercial and military satellites. Space Fence will replace the current VHF Air Force Space Surveillance System built in 1961.
Space Fence will provide continuous, net-centric space situational awareness by detecting smaller objects in low and medium earth orbit. The current system requires constant sustainment intervention to maintain operations and does not address the growing population of small and micro satellites in orbit.
"The new Space Fence system will provide better accuracy and faster detection while allowing us to increase the number of satellites and other space objects that can be detected and tracked, thus avoiding collision and damage to other satellites," said Rich Davis, director of special projects at Northrop Grumman's Advanced Concepts and Technology Division.
Australia is a candidate for the first Space Fence location. Two additional sites in other parts of the world are also under consideration.
Further reading: Space Fence reinvented (C4ISR Journal)
