New US Spy Satellites To Track Chinese, Russian Threats In Orbit
NDTV
Dubbed "Silent Barker," the network would be the first of its kind to complement ground-based sensors and low-earth orbit satellites, according to the Space Force and analysts.
The US Space Force is set to launch a constellation of satellites this summer to track Chinese or Russian space vehicles that can potentially disable or damage orbiting objects, the latest step in the burgeoning extra-terrestrial contest between superpowers.
Dubbed "Silent Barker," the network would be the first of its kind to complement ground-based sensors and low-earth orbit satellites, according to the Space Force and analysts. The satellites will be placed about 22,000 miles (35,400 kilometers) above the Earth and at the same speed it rotates, known as geosynchronous orbit.
"This capability enables indications and warnings of threats" against high-value US systems and will "provide capabilities to search, detect, and track objects from space for timely threat detection," the Space Force, which is developing the satellites with the National Reconnaissance Office, said in a statement.
The Silent Barker satellite constellation is scheduled for launch after July on board an Atlas V booster operated by the Boeing Co.-Lockheed Martin Corp.'s United Launch Alliance, the NRO said in a statement. The launch date will be announced 30 days in advance on Facebook and Twitter - quite a change for an agency that's been around for decades but whose existence wasn't declassified until 1992.
