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U.S. military radar satellites being developed to track moving targets on the ground could prove useful in missile defense applications as well, according to a report from a military advisory panel.
With minor changes that would not unacceptably inflate the cost of the Space Based Radar program, the Pentagon could use those satellites to detect missile launches and track missiles in flight, according to the Defense Science Board.
The board’s report, “Contributions of Space Based Radar to Missile Defense,†was completed in June and released by the Pentagon in late August. The report was prepared by a task force led by Robert Hermann, a former director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and retired Gen. Larry Welch, a former U.S. Air Force chief of staff. Michael Wynne, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, requested the review in February.Industry teams led by Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Md., and Northrop Grumman, Los Angeles, are working on designs for the Space Based Radar. The Air Force had incorporated plans for a nine-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit into its budget projections, and expected to begin launching the satellites as soon as 2012.
However, in July, Congress chopped the Air Force’s $328 million budget request for the program in 2005 to $75 million, and directed that the service scale it back to a research and development effort. Air Force Undersecretary Peter B. Teets said in August that the service will propose a scaled-back system in its budget request for 2006, to be submitted to Congress early next year.
The board’s report said the Space Based Radar might be able to augment the Pentagon’s geostationary-orbiting infrared satellites to provide warning of ballistic missile launches. The infrared sensors on these geostationary satellites detect the heat of a missile launch, but they might not be able to pick up launches that take place beneath cloud cover until the rocket rises above the clouds. Clouds would not block the Space Based Radar satellites, the report said.
Currently the U.S. Defense Department relies on the Defense Support Program infrared satellites for missile warning. These will be replaced starting later this decade with the Space Based Infrared System High satellites.
In addition to initial launch warning, the Space Based Radar satellites could assist in reading the trajectory of the missiles, information that can help cue anti-missile batteries, the report said.
Tracking missiles once they are launched may require some additional software development, onboard signal processing and communications links for the Space Based Radar satellites, the report said.
But the report also said using the Space Based Radar for missile defense purposes would require a constellation larger than the proposed nine-satellite system, which was rejected by the Congress on cost grounds. Estimates for a nine-satellite constellation have run as high as $34 billion, while projections for a 21- to 24- satellite system previously envisioned by some Air Force officials are in the $60 billion range.
James Lewis, director of technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank here, said the Space Based Radar satellites could offer a more effective missile tracking method than other concepts that the Pentagon has pursued for this purpose.The most recent attempt to build a constellation of missile tracking satellites was the Space Based Infrared System – Low program, which has been scaled back to a research and development effort.
Lewis said radar satellites could be more effective than infrared sensors at tracking an incoming strike because the missiles cool off after their motors shut down.
Some congressional aides expressed surprise at the Defense Science Board’s findings. The aides said that when they questioned Pentagon officials about the role of Space Based Radar for missile defense in the past, the response was that the satellites would be useful only for tracking mobile launchers for missiles. They said touting the radar satellites’ effectiveness for missile defense could have helped to persuade members of Congress to save the program’s 2005 budget.
Until recently, Air Force officials may have been reluctant to address potential missile defense uses for the Space Based Radar satellites in order to keep the program clear of the highly charged missile defense debate, the aides said.
http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=351837
With minor changes that would not unacceptably inflate the cost of the Space Based Radar program, the Pentagon could use those satellites to detect missile launches and track missiles in flight, according to the Defense Science Board.
The board’s report, “Contributions of Space Based Radar to Missile Defense,†was completed in June and released by the Pentagon in late August. The report was prepared by a task force led by Robert Hermann, a former director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and retired Gen. Larry Welch, a former U.S. Air Force chief of staff. Michael Wynne, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, requested the review in February.Industry teams led by Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Md., and Northrop Grumman, Los Angeles, are working on designs for the Space Based Radar. The Air Force had incorporated plans for a nine-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit into its budget projections, and expected to begin launching the satellites as soon as 2012.
However, in July, Congress chopped the Air Force’s $328 million budget request for the program in 2005 to $75 million, and directed that the service scale it back to a research and development effort. Air Force Undersecretary Peter B. Teets said in August that the service will propose a scaled-back system in its budget request for 2006, to be submitted to Congress early next year.
The board’s report said the Space Based Radar might be able to augment the Pentagon’s geostationary-orbiting infrared satellites to provide warning of ballistic missile launches. The infrared sensors on these geostationary satellites detect the heat of a missile launch, but they might not be able to pick up launches that take place beneath cloud cover until the rocket rises above the clouds. Clouds would not block the Space Based Radar satellites, the report said.
Currently the U.S. Defense Department relies on the Defense Support Program infrared satellites for missile warning. These will be replaced starting later this decade with the Space Based Infrared System High satellites.
In addition to initial launch warning, the Space Based Radar satellites could assist in reading the trajectory of the missiles, information that can help cue anti-missile batteries, the report said.
Tracking missiles once they are launched may require some additional software development, onboard signal processing and communications links for the Space Based Radar satellites, the report said.
But the report also said using the Space Based Radar for missile defense purposes would require a constellation larger than the proposed nine-satellite system, which was rejected by the Congress on cost grounds. Estimates for a nine-satellite constellation have run as high as $34 billion, while projections for a 21- to 24- satellite system previously envisioned by some Air Force officials are in the $60 billion range.
James Lewis, director of technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank here, said the Space Based Radar satellites could offer a more effective missile tracking method than other concepts that the Pentagon has pursued for this purpose.The most recent attempt to build a constellation of missile tracking satellites was the Space Based Infrared System – Low program, which has been scaled back to a research and development effort.
Lewis said radar satellites could be more effective than infrared sensors at tracking an incoming strike because the missiles cool off after their motors shut down.
Some congressional aides expressed surprise at the Defense Science Board’s findings. The aides said that when they questioned Pentagon officials about the role of Space Based Radar for missile defense in the past, the response was that the satellites would be useful only for tracking mobile launchers for missiles. They said touting the radar satellites’ effectiveness for missile defense could have helped to persuade members of Congress to save the program’s 2005 budget.
Until recently, Air Force officials may have been reluctant to address potential missile defense uses for the Space Based Radar satellites in order to keep the program clear of the highly charged missile defense debate, the aides said.
http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=351837