After several delays due to weather issues, the United Launch Alliance conducted their eighth successful liftoff this year on Monday as they delivered three satellites into orbit for two Air Force programs that are currently in motion.
The satellites were designed by Orbital Sciences Corp., who specializes in Geosynchronous-Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, spacecraft used for national security missions, and planetary probes to explore deep space. Two of these satellites were launched for the Air Force's Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) and plan to support the U.S. Strategic Command space surveillance operations as a dedicated Space Surveillance Network (SSN) sensor.
The GSSAP program consists of satellites orbiting near the geosynchronous belt that are tasked with collecting space situational awareness data, which enables the accurate tracking and characterization of man-made orbiting objects. The satellites also possess the capability to perform Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO), allowing them to maneuver near a space object while ensuring flight safety.
"They will be on the lookout for nefarious capability other nations may try to place in that critical orbital regime," said General William Shelton, commander of the US Air Force Space, in this Defense News article. "We will learn a great deal about the geo traffic with the images produced from these two satellites."
The third satellite was designed for the Air Force's Automated Navigation and Guidance Experiment for Local Space (ANGELS) - a program that examines techniques for providing a clearer picture of the environment around spacecraft operations above the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit. The experimental satellite the ULA sent into space for this program will test different types of maneuvers in orbit in order to collect data that will help scientists and engineers develop more automated spacecraft that are more effective in avoiding collisions with objects in space.
The Air Force has Orbital Sciences under contract to develop satellites for these two programs and they hope to apply the data and information provided by the spacecraft as soon as possible. You can read more about ULA's Monday launch in this Forbes.com article.
