Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Space Fence radar system prototype successfully tracked orbiting space objects, according a company executive.
Steve Bruce, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of space surveillance systems, said in an interview the company demonstrated its prototype for the Air Force in January, the service issued its final approval of the company’s preliminary design on Feb. 29 and the company expects a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued “sometime in the May timeframe.”
“Sometime in the next few months or so, we’ll get an RFP for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase and then they will award that sometime toward maybe the end of summer, fall of this year,” Bruce said.
Lockheed Martin’s partners for the Space Fence program are General Dynamics [GD], AMEC of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and AT&T [ATT]. According to Bruce, GD supplies structural support, AMEC architecture and construction, and AT&T orbital mechanics.
Raytheon [RTN], which intends to bid on the next phase of the Space Fence program, also has demonstrated a working prototype, according to a company spokeswoman.
Space Fence will be a S-band radar designed to cast a broad array to track space debris that could pose risks to satellites or human activity in orbit. It will replace the decades-old Air Force Space Surveillance System (AFSSS). The AFSSS, which is comprised of three Very High Frequency (VHF) radar transmission sites and six receive sites spread out across the southern United States, has been in service since the 1960s.
While the legacy system is located entirely in the continental United States, the Space Fence system will likely be entirely outside the country with the goal of increasing coverage over the southern hemisphere. In fall 2010, U.S. and Australian defense chiefs signed a pact for cooperation on space situational awareness, which could include placing U.S. radars in Australia.