A new space debris detecting satellite prepares for deployment in Western Australia.
In an effort to prevent the accumulation of space debris in geosynchronous orbit, the US Department of Defense and DARPA have been developing an ultra-wide field, high resolution telescope.
Named the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST), the ground based monitor has been under development since 2002 and started to produce reliable results in 2011. Built upon a Mersenne-Schmidt mirror configuration the SST houses some of the steepest aspherical mirrors ever produced, giving the system the fastest optics within its aperture-class.
Beyond fast optics, the SST also boasts a field of view that’s so wide it’ll have the ability to scour the entire geosynchronous belt numerous times in a single evening. Given that the SST is also ten times more sensitive than current, state-of-the-art debris seeking telescopes, it’ll have the ability to track even small, dim objects speeding around the Earth.
In addition to those features, the SST also comes equipped with some very advanced servo-controls that give the telescope the ability to move rapidly, stop accurately and focus on a band of sky to make lightning quick observations.
Rather than acting solely as a watch station, the SST will also track the orbit of debris, log its motion over time and predict future orbits. As the system works through the traffic whizzing in orbit, a clearer picture of the seemingly chaotic geosynchronous milieu will come into focus. With that data, the DOD will have the opportunity to forecast future close calls and even prevent collisions by moving precious technology away from harm.
In the coming year the SST will begin its journey to its final resting place in Western Australia. Once it arrives, an enclosure of the optics will be built and the telescope will resume operating sometime in 2016. Once it is turned on again the SST will ensure that deep space remains safe for satellite traffic well into the future.
Images and Video Courtesy of DARPA
