Flying blind: air force faces daunting task to determine what's happening in space.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: Space Technology

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--Take all of Earth's air space that is used by conventional aircraft and multiply that 6,000 times. That's is the area the Air Force needs to monitor to have a complete picture of what is happening to the thousands of orbiting systems that circle the planet.

A Chinese anti-satellite test more than two years ago gave the service a renewed focus on the field of "space situational awareness."

On Feb. 10, the Air Force failed to predict the collision of two communications satellites in low-earth orbit. A Russian Cosmos spacecraft slammed into an Iridium satellite at a speed of seven-kilometers per second. The accident further reinforced the need for better space surveillance, Air Force officials said at the Space Symposium here.

Programs that will give the military a better idea of what is happening to its high-priced spacecraft--and those of potential foes, and more benign commercial and scientific operators--are in the works. Contractors confirmed that there are classified efforts underway in the "space protection" realm as well.

Meanwhile, some unclassified programs are being pursued. That includes a spacecraft awaiting launch that will be able to inspect satellites in geo-synchronous orbit--roughly 24,000 miles above the Earth (see accompanying story).

The current space situational awareness system, which uses ground-based radar, dates back to the Cold War and "works pretty good for what it does," said Vice Adm. Carl V. Mauney, deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command.

However, the military needs to "know what the intentions of adversaries are, and must be better able to predict close calls," he said. "Especially in low orbits where there is more traffic and more debris."

The Iridium-Cosmos collision provided an example of how the Air Force must deduce what is occuring in space since it doesn't have a direct view of what's happening there.

Lt. Gen. Larry James, commander of the 14th Air Force Wing and Stratcom's joint functional component command for space, said the first indication that something was wrong was a simple message from the Iridium satellite that it was no longer functioning. Temporary malfunctions are not uncommon, but staff at the joint space operations center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., carried out a routine analysis.

"No one knew what had occurred. There was no indication of what happened except the satellite was not working," he said. The Air Force uses a series of...