NOC (Northrop Grumman Corporation) and RTN’s (Raytheon Company) STSS (Space Tracking and Surveillance System) Demonstration program satellite, demonstrated its abilities yet another time by perceiving and tracking a resident space object, the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather satellite, on 19th July. According to the Vice President of NOC’s Aerospace Systems Sector, Gabe Weston, the NOAA was tracked for a few minutes by utilizing multi-track sensor bands.
Payload sensors fixed on the U.S. MDA’s STSS (Missile Defense Agency), scans both over the the horizon level showing space in the backdrop, in the wake of the tracked target, and also lower than the horizon, showing earth in the background setting, behind the target. This would help in achieving accurate and precise tracking, otherwise known as birth-to-death tracking, of the ballistic missiles undergoing its various phases of flights.
Watson further commented that detection and tracking a resident space object, such as NOAA, adds to the long list of abilities which the space-based sensors possess, all for the benefit of missile defense and the nation.
The MDA is treating the STSS Demonstration Program, as a space-based sensing element, belonging to the Ballistic Missile Defense System. This satellite would contribute to missile defense sensor risk reduction ideas, to aid advancements in future missions.
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Source: http://www.northropgrumman.com