Last night's launch of six Pentagon missile-detection satellites was well timed as fears mount that Russia is considering putting nuclear weapons into space.
The US Department of Defense confirmed its payload included two satellites for the Missile Defense Agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, and the final four Tranche 0 satellites for the Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture communications constellation.
American defense contractor L3Harris, which designed five of the six satellites, said the launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, was a success.
The other satellite, a second HBTSS unit, was built by Northrop Grumman.
Yesterday's launch brings the total number of PWSA satellites to 27, all of which form of the first layer of the military's missile tracking and data transport kit, a.k.a. Tranche 0.
Launch of those satellites began in April of last year after a number of delays in the program.
Tests of the PWSA tranche 0 satellites, which was supposed to take place over the summer last year, only happened in late November due to concerns from the US Federal Aviation Administration that downlinks from the constellation to Earth could cause dangerous interference for aircraft and ground-based receivers.
The National Telecommunications and Information Agency issued a waiver for the tests, but only over international waters and on the ground in an unnamed Five Eyes country.
The PWSA constellation will eventually feature as many as four tranches and hundreds of satellites, which will add progressively more capabilities to build a space-based communications network for US military.
Along with missile tracking, PWSA satellites will provide targeting of objects beyond line-of-site, low-latency data links, improved positioning and navigation services, and encrypted communications.
Satellites for Tranche 1 of the PWSA are being constructed now, we're told, and are scheduled for launch later this year.
The missile sensors in HBTSS satellites are also different from those onboard PWSA sats, which SDA director Derek Tournear said will give the Defense Department improved threat visibility.
Reports have indicated the Russian weapon would be designed to take out other satellites, and while Turner has urged President Biden to declassify all information regarding the threat to enable open discussion of a solution, other parties are urging calm and saying the potential weapon isn't necessarily a threat.
The Kremlin has already tested ground-launched missiles to destroy its own satellites, though not nuclear ones - and not ones that would be launched from space.
Russian officials denied the anti-sat space nuke claims, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it a ploy by the White House to get Congress to approve funding for Ukraine's fight against Russia's 2022 invasion of the country.
The US Senate has approved a $95 billion bill to provide defense assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, but House speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday he has no plans to bring the bill to an immediate vote in the House.
This Cyber News was published on go.theregister.com. Publication date: Thu, 15 Feb 2024 20:43:04 +0000