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Recently Declassified USAF Space Surveillance Program Pushes Orion Flight Test to December
http://www.americaspace.com/?p=55540
Recently Declassified USAF Space Surveillance Program Pushes Orion Flight Test to December
By Mike Killian
One of the most anticipated spaceflights of the last couple years is now delayed by nearly three months to give priority to U.S. military satellites that need to launch, too. Being that military satellites concern national security, the first flight of NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will now occur no earlier than early December 2014.
<snip>
It’s important to note that the delay has nothing to do with Orion’s processing at Kennedy Space Center for the upcoming launch, nor is it related to any problems with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta-IV rocket which will send Orion off on its spaceflight test. Orion’s processing in Kennedy’s Operations and Checkout Facility continues to move forward; construction on the service module was completed in January, and the service module passed the stress tests that followed with flying colors.
<snip>
The rocket itself is already at Cape Canaveral—well, most of it. …
<snip>
Sources blame the slip from a September/October launch to a December launch on two satellites ULA must place into orbit for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), a new initiative which is part of a recently declassified “neighborhood watch” satellite program by the U.S. Air Force to monitor spacecraft from other countries and track space debris.
<snip>
The two satellites, which are being built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of Virginia, will launch this fall from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a ULA Delta-IV rocket, eventually operating in a “near-geosynchronous orbit regime with a clear, unobstructed and distinct vantage point for viewing resident space objects orbiting earth in a near-geosynchronous orbit, without the disruption of weather or atmosphere that can limit ground-based systems,” according to General Shelton.
“Some of our most precious satellites fly in that orbit – one cheap shot against the AEHF constellation would be devastating,” added Shelton. “Similarly, with our Space Based Infrared System, SBIRS, one cheap shot creates a hole in our environment. GSSAP will bolster our ability to discern when adversaries attempt to avoid detection and to discover capabilities they may have which might be harmful to our critical assets at these higher altitudes.”
<snip>
Recently Declassified USAF Space Surveillance Program Pushes Orion Flight Test to December
By Mike Killian
One of the most anticipated spaceflights of the last couple years is now delayed by nearly three months to give priority to U.S. military satellites that need to launch, too. Being that military satellites concern national security, the first flight of NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will now occur no earlier than early December 2014.
<snip>
It’s important to note that the delay has nothing to do with Orion’s processing at Kennedy Space Center for the upcoming launch, nor is it related to any problems with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta-IV rocket which will send Orion off on its spaceflight test. Orion’s processing in Kennedy’s Operations and Checkout Facility continues to move forward; construction on the service module was completed in January, and the service module passed the stress tests that followed with flying colors.
<snip>
The rocket itself is already at Cape Canaveral—well, most of it. …
<snip>
Sources blame the slip from a September/October launch to a December launch on two satellites ULA must place into orbit for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), a new initiative which is part of a recently declassified “neighborhood watch” satellite program by the U.S. Air Force to monitor spacecraft from other countries and track space debris.
<snip>
The two satellites, which are being built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of Virginia, will launch this fall from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a ULA Delta-IV rocket, eventually operating in a “near-geosynchronous orbit regime with a clear, unobstructed and distinct vantage point for viewing resident space objects orbiting earth in a near-geosynchronous orbit, without the disruption of weather or atmosphere that can limit ground-based systems,” according to General Shelton.
“Some of our most precious satellites fly in that orbit – one cheap shot against the AEHF constellation would be devastating,” added Shelton. “Similarly, with our Space Based Infrared System, SBIRS, one cheap shot creates a hole in our environment. GSSAP will bolster our ability to discern when adversaries attempt to avoid detection and to discover capabilities they may have which might be harmful to our critical assets at these higher altitudes.”
<snip>
I wonder what made them move up the military satellite launch?
Are they expecting a "cheap shot" at our spy sats this fall?
Who would do that, and why?