The Air Force has transferred Satellite Control Authority of the SBSS Block 10 satellite to the 1st Space Operations Squadron, 50th Operations Group at Schriever AFB, Colo., officials said recently.
As a taskable dedicated sensor within the U.S. space surveillance network, SBSS performs space surveillance operations in support of U.S. Strategic Command. Block 10 is the only space-based sensor in the network and collects Space Object Identification data without the disruption of weather, time of day and atmosphere that can limit ground-based systems.
Providing improved detection timeliness assists the Joint Space Operations Center with maintaining an accurate knowledge of orbital positions of space objects, discovering new objects and debris and reducing the number of uncorrelated targets currently in the space catalog.
SBSS Block 10 was launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur IV rocket from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Sept. 25. The first signals from the advanced satellite were received a short time later at the Satellite Operations Center.
SBSS has a 500-pound optical camera mounted on an electronically movable gimbal.
“It’s an agile sensor so it can be tasked to look at high-interest objects on a more frequent basis,” said Col. Stephen Butler, Air Force Space Command’s chief of Space Situational Awareness and Command & Control.
“Having a space-based component means that if you need observation on a satellite that’s out there, you can get it any time, regardless of day, night or weather,” said Col. Steve Smith, chief of the Advanced Systems Division in SMC’s Space Superiority Systems Directorate.
After healthy satellite delivery to orbit, the SBSS development team immediately began a comprehensive and carefully controlled five-month on-orbit initialization, checkout, calibration and system characterization process. SCA transfer represents a successful culmination of these on-orbit checkout processes and puts the SBSS Block 10 on a solid path to achieving Initial Operational Capability.