Featured:

Air Force launches space surveillance satellites

By

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – DECEMBER 05: In this handout provided by NASA,The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA’s Orion spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 at 7:05 a.m. EST on December 5, 2014 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Orion spacecraft orbited Earth twice, reaching an altitude of approximately 3,600 miles above Earth before landing. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

Two Air Force space surveillance satellites were successfully launched on Friday.

The third and fourth satellites in the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) were lofted aboard a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The satellites, built by Orbital ATK, “will operate in near-geosynchronous orbit and collect Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data for more accurate tracking and characterization of man-made objects in Earth orbit,” according to a company announcement. “The goal of the program is to enhance the country’s knowledge of the geosynchronous orbit environment for more timely and accurate orbit predictions to improve space flight safety.”

The first two GSSAP satellites were launched July 28, 2014.

About 

Michael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him at theuncommondefense.com. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com.