US Space Force Retires the Last 1970s Soviet Missile Tracking Satellites
The US Space Force has announced the retirement of the final two satellites from the half-century-old Defense Support Program (DSP). This constellation used infrared detectors to detect signs of Soviet missile launches and remained in geosynchronous orbit, but the program is now coming to an end.
The first DSP satellite launched in 1970, beginning the replacement of the 1960s MIDAS system. America continued launching DSP satellites until 2007, and has since launched a number of next-generation satellites as part of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). That system takes over the entirety of US infrared tracking in space, combining satellites in geosynchronous orbit, others in highly elliptical orbit, and ground-based tracking stations.
The DSP satellites used their infrared detectors to hunt for the telltale heat signatures of ballistic missiles fired from the Soviet Union. However, at the end of the Cold War, they were repurposed to look for launches from...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to www.extremetech.com. To see the full text click HERE
