神马文学网US Air Force’s SBSS satellite launched successfully
来源：百度文库 编辑：神马文学网 时间：2024/05/01 11:41:41
- TNM
- Science News
After a number of repeated delays, the US Air Force’s Space-Based Satellite Surveillance (SBSS) satellite was successfully launched into the low Earth orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur IV rocket at 9:41 p. m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, September 25.
The satellite will essentially detect as well as track orbital space debris and other satellites that can potentially hit NASA’s International Space Station (ISS). The information from the satellite, which will work in coordination with ground-based sensors, will help the ISS to steer clear of the path of the orbital space debris and satellites.
The SBSS has been manufactured by Boeing and Ball, and it weighs approximately 2,200 lb. One of the key features of the satellite is a Beryllium-mounted gimbaled telescope which can provide a high degree of dexterity for the satellite’s 2.4-megapixel focal plane shutter to capture the images of spacecrafts and space debris without any vibration or obstruction.
With launcher issues repeatedly causing delays in the SBSS launch, the take off of the satellite is also an important check-off for Orbital Science’s Minotaur IV. With the SBSS requiring its full four-stage configuration, the first three solid-propellant stages have been derived from Peacekeeper-class intercontinental ballistic missiles, where as the fourth stage is Alliant’s commercial Orion-38.
With its Saturday launch, the SBSS now enters a checkout period that will likely last 210 days, after which the satellite will be handed over to the Air Force Space Command’s 1st Space Operations Squadron.