Delta IV rocket vaults off launch pad to orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A pair of owl-eyed military satellites took flight Monday to a high orbit where they'll hunt for threats to fellow national security spacecraft.
Air Force officials say they are increasingly concerned an enemy "cheap shot" could take out a critical military or commercial satellite in the area 22,300 miles above the equator called geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO.
"This neighborhood watch twosome will help protect our precious assets in GEO, plus they will be on the lookout for nefarious capability other nations might try to place in that critical orbital regime," Gen. William Shelton, the head of Air Force Space Command, told reporters at the Pentagon last week.
The first two of four Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites, and a small experimental satellite testing related technologies, blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:28 p.m. atop a 20-story United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket.
It was the mission's fifth launch attempt in six days. After technical trouble cut short the first countdown last Wednesday, thunderstorms and lightning scrubbed three more tries in a row.
The Delta IV rocket launched two military surveillance satellites and a small experimental satellite. This was the AFSPC-4 mission's fifth launch attempt since last Wednesday. ULA Posted Monday, July 28, 2014
The 27th flight by a Delta IV appeared off to a good start, but ULA blacked out its broadcast about five minutes after liftoff at the Air Force's request.
The twin GSSAP satellites, whose existence was declassified earlier this year as a deterrent, are expected to fly slightly above and below the geosynchronous belt where satellites match the speed of Earth's rotation and appear fixed in the sky.
Circling that belt, they'll inspect other spacecraft to better understand of what's there and what they are up to.
Ground-based radars and telescopes have provided most of this "situational awareness" to date, but are limited by distance, daylight and bad weather.
The new satellites will be "up close and personal with the geosynchronous region," said Brian Weeden, technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation. "They're much closer to the action."
The region includes U.S. satellites that monitor missile launches, collect signals intelligence, support drone operations and would enable the president to command forces during a nuclear conflict.
Weeden said it makes sense for the Air Force to take steps to better protect those critical space assets.
At the same time, some countries might interpret interpret approaches and inspections of their satellites as aggressive acts with the potential to take one out.
"There's a lot of other devious, malicious things you can do with that technology," he said.
The mission's patch features a pair of owls -- known for their sharp eyesight and skill as predators -- with wings and talons outstretched.
The small experimental satellite launched Monday could add to that concern.
After the two GSSAP satellites were dropped in orbit, plans called for the Delta IV rocket's upper stage to continue a safe distance up and deploy the 440-pound microsatellite called ANGELS, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
It will fly near the spent rocket stage, gradually approaching closer and closer in tests of enhanced GPS sensors that could enable more automated maneuvers.
Col. David Goldstein, head of the AFRL's Space Vehicle Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, likened the ability to perform such "rendezvous and proximity operations" to a home security system helping to determine if a tree limb or robber broke your window.
"You want to be able to attribute what's going on up there so you can better understand what's going on with your satellite," he said. "And if there is some real intention, than it certainly would be nice to know what others are doing."
In that way, the new satellites could help diagnose if any problems with U.S. vehicles, like a missile warning satellite that failed suddenly in 2008, were caused by a hostile act, space debris or simply a system malfunction.
Weeden recommended that the Air Force publish the satellites' orbits to allay speculation about their activities. The Air Force does not plan to do that, but knows they'll be tracked from the ground as best as possible.
"Other nations are going to think what they're going to think," said Goldstein. "Our purpose is not to provoke anyone."
Monday's Delta IV launch could be the first of three from the Cape within a week.
A ULA Atlas V rocket is targeting an 11:23 p.m. Friday launch of a new Global Positioning System satellite, and a SpaceX Falcon 9 is planning a pre-dawn liftoff next Monday with a commercial broadcasting satellite.