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The ''Space Fence'' is a second-generation space surveillance system currently being built by the US Air Force in order to track artificial satellites and space debris in Earth orbit.〔 Contracts were issued for development and construction in 2014, and the Space Fence is expected to be operational in 2019.〔 〕 The budget is (FY15). The initial space fence facility will be located at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands,〔 along with an option for another radar site in Western Australia. == History == The initial plans to upgrade the legacy Air Force Space Surveillance System were made in 2009. The USAF 850th Electronic Systems Group, Electronic Systems Center awarded three $30-million study contracts to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon on 11 June 2009. The new ''Space Fence'' was envisioned to be a system of two or three S-band ground-based radars designed to perform uncued detection, tracking and accurate measurement of orbiting space objects, and was intended to replace the Air Force Space Surveillance System, or VHF Fence, that was transferred from the US Navy to the US Air Force in 2004. The shorter wavelength of the S-band ''Space Fence'' will allow for the detection of much smaller satellites and debris.〔 The February 10, 2009, collision of a U.S. Iridium communications satellite (Iridium 33) and a Russian Cosmos 2251 communications satellite, which added hundreds more pieces of debris to the atmosphere, highlighted the need for more precise tracking of space objects.〔 (article behind paywall)〕 , data collected from the new ''Space Fence's'' sensors was planned to feed into the Joint Space Operations Center Mission System, which is used to track objects orbiting the Earth, monitor space weather and assess foreign launches. Used by operators at the USAF 614th Air and Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the 614 AOC's 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week support provides vigilance of global and theater operations and equips the Joint Functional Component Command for space operations with the tools to conduct command and control of space forces.〔 Plans to award the final contract were delayed by the U.S. budget sequestration in early 2013 and the AFSSS system was scheduled to be discontinued in October 2013 due to budget cuts. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Space Fence」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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