An illustration of satellites tracking numerous kinds of rockets, consisting of a hypersonic slide lorry. (Image credit: Space Development Agency)
The United States Space Force has actually purchased the very first satellites for an upcoming sophisticated rocket defense constellation.
The Space Development Agency (SDA), a company within the U.S. Space Force charged with establishing brand-new, disruptive area innovations, granted $414 million to California-based Millennium Space Systems, Inc. to develop 8 satellites for its upcoming Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter program, likewise referred to as F2 or FOO Fighter.
The satellites will be entrusted with discovering, supplying caution and tracking of what SDA describes as “sophisticated rocket dangers,” that include hypersonic rockets that can take a trip at speeds in between 5 and 25 times the speed of noise. SDA wants to introduce the satellites in the very first quarter of 2027, according to a firm declaration.
Related: Space Force desires ‘Foo Fighter’ satellites to track hypersonic rockets
Information about the FOO Fighter program are limited, however SDA formerly specified in an agreement chance that it will “offer fire-control in assistance” of resisting rocket risks. Typically, fire-control describes systems that integrate innovations such as radar or infrared sensing units with targeting computer systems and varied weapons such as rocket interceptors. Fire-control systems assist ‘point’ defenses in the best instructions, connecting numerous systems together so that countermeasures can be directed at hazards.
In the company’s declaration revealing the award, SDA director Derek Tournear stated the FOO Fighter satellites will contribute to the company’s growing fleet of rocket tracking spacecraft referred to as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA, currently being released in little batches referred to as tranches.
“The FOO Fighter program will supply a functional presentation of fire control efforts different from, however complementary to, our rocket warning/missile tracking and rocket defense efforts currently underway in the tranches,” Tournear stated. “We eagerly anticipate dealing with Millennium, a brand-new colleague in the broadening market of entertainers innovating to provide the PWSA for the warfighter.”
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The very first 10 satellites of SDA’s Tranche 0 layer released in April 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 that removed from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SpaceX released 13 more Tranche 0 satellites in September of that year.
Of the prepared 28 satellites for the Tranche 0 constellation, 20 will work as interaction relays and 8 will be geared up with wide-field-of-view rocket detection sensing units. All of the satellites will be linked by laser information links.
The FOO Fighter program shares its name with the well-known UFOs reported by Allied pilots throughout World War Two. Those foo fighters looked like luminescent orbs or balls of fire, typically appearing to follow airplane in flight.
While a conclusive description for the UFOs has yet to be discovered, numerous theories for their cause have actually been advanced in the years because, consisting of ball lightning or climatic discharges of fixed electrical energy.
