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With civilization in the rear view mirror, the long road
leading to a relatively unknown compound appears to never
end. The seemingly infinite landscape, nearly untouched by
human hands, is all that fills the eye.
The setting
sun and emergence of the night sky signals the beginning of
a mission for a select group of Airmen.
Standing just
shy of 4-feet tall, the telescopes, assigned to Detachment 1
of the 21st Space Wing, sit in the northwest corner of the
U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico,
detecting, tracking and cataloging tens of thousands of
objects in orbit within their area of coverage.
The
only lights illuminating the sky are the stars and the Milky
Way.
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March 29, 2017 - Stars fill the sky above the the ground-based
electro-optical deep-space surveillance telescope located on White
Sands Missile Range, which is the location of Detachment 1, 20th
Operations Group and their space surveillance mission in New Mexico.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dennis Hoffman)
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Throughout the night, Det. 1 collects positional
and photometric data on satellites and space objects
orbiting the earth and provides this information to the 18th
Space Control Squadron and Joint Space Operations Center at
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, said Maj. Erin
Salinas, Det. 1 commander.
With everyday life and the
Air Force mission becoming more dependent on satellites,
identifying and tracking objects that could harm them has
become a priority. These objects include everything from
dead satellites and expended upper-stage rocket bodies, to
debris the size of a softball, as well as the 1300 other
active satellites with a range of roles, including GPS and
communications.
“We have to know where things are in
space in order to know what is going on around us,” Salinas
said. “Our data helps maintain the advantages space is
providing us, in not just our everyday life as civilians,
but with our military capabilities as well.”
Located
around the globe, the Air Force has three Ground-based
Electro-Optical Deep-Space Surveillance sites. Working
together, these telescopes provide situational awareness of
items in space, ranging from 3,000-22,000 miles away. In
addition to Det. 1, the two other sites are located in Diego
Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, and Maui, Hawaii.
The GEODSS sites perform their mission using three
powerful, 1.2-meter telescopes, including low light level,
electro-optical cameras and high speed computers. Because
the sites use optical sensors, mission operations are
limited to low-light pollution skies and the isolated high
desert of central New Mexico provides an ideal location for
Det. 1’s operations.
“New Mexico has a history of
having a great environment to view the stars,” Salinas said.
“Since we are a photometric telescope, meaning that we are a
telescope looking at light coming off of objects, we
definitely want to be somewhere where there is not a lot of
light pollution, which helps us accurately detect objects in
space.”
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April 27, 2017 - Maj. Erin Salinas demonstrates the mobility of
the telescope at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. (U.S. Air
Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dennis Hoffman)
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Space is a warfighting domian just like other
domains, according to Salinas. With more countries operating
in space every day, military leaders require the most
current information on detected objects in order to make
decisions that shape actions. As defense, space operators
often have the ability to fly the satellites away from
threats.
“It’s important for us to understand what is
going on in this domain because you can’t make a great
decision unless you know what is happening,” Salinas said.
“We can detect if something changes, and we can ensure we
protect our own satellites and those of our allies. We can
adequately defend our satellites if necessary because our
leaders will make decisions on adversarial movements in
space.”
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Dennis Hoffman
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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