Worlds largest phased array radar under construction

Lockheed Martin has passed the Critical Design Review of the new Space Fence radar. The facility will cover six acres on Kwajalein Island. The CDR process covered three days, included 21,000 pages of design documents, an 8 day Design Walkthrough, and small scale demonstration of an S band radar.

The radar will replace the older Space Fence system that was shut down due to budget problems. The system will detect, track, and catalog objects in orbit over 1.5 million times a day. The radar is planned to begin operations in late 2018, when it will achieve Initial Operation Capability.

MOORESTOWN, N.J., Sept. 28, 2015 – Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Space Fence System, including the large-scale digital radar and turn-key facility were deemed technically mature and provided evidence that all requirements will be met through the program’s Critical Design Review (CDR) conducted by the U.S. Air Force.
Government representatives met with Lockheed Martin engineers in Moorestown to review the Space Fence S-band radar system design, which will detect, track, and catalog orbital objects in space more than 1.5 million times a day to predict and prevent space-based collisions. The three-day CDR was preceded by the delivery of 21,000 pages of design documents, and an eight-day Design Walkthrough, to ensure the system will meet performance requirements. The CDR event featured the demonstration of a small-scale system built with end-item components that detected and tracked orbiting space objects.
“Completion of CDR marks the end of the design phase and the start of radar production and facility construction of the Space Fence system,” says Steve Bruce, vice president for Advanced Systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. "Once complete, Space Fence will deliver revolutionary capability to the U.S. Air Force with a flexible system capable of adapting to future missions requiring new tracking and coverage approaches. We look forward to continuing our successful partnerships with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Life-Cycle Management Center and Space Command.”

www.lockheedmartin.com...

Closed

The thread is re-opened minus the OT remarks.

Let's keep it on the topic, folks.

a reply to: masqua

Thanks was just about to ask a question before it was closed on me.

Zaphod58, why a permanent land based system, wouldn't a mobile based radar system be less prone to attack.

a reply to: glend

That's actually what the Sea Based X-Band radar was going to be for. Space Fence is designed to help NASA and Space Command keep track of orbital debris that could be a threat to the ISS and other satellites, so that if necessary they can adjust the orbit of them.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: glend

That's actually what the Sea Based X-Band radar was going to be for. Space Fence is designed to help NASA and Space Command keep track of orbital debris that could be a threat to the ISS and other satellites, so that if necessary they can adjust the orbit of them.

SBX was actually originally supposed to be a land-based radar in Adak, but due to some missed deadlines and fortuitous circumstances wound up on a oil platform and found more usefulness as a mobile sensor. LRDR will, in theory fill the original role.

a reply to: Halfswede

Right, but once it was redesigned, it would have served the role he was asking about. I always thought that putting a radar like that at sea just made sense.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Only a small segment of the sky will be viewable from this 6 acre plot. Are there plans to place other facilities elsewhere around the world for a more comprehensive view?

TheBorg

a reply to: TheBorg

Eventually, once they can free up the budget for it. They'll have three or four facilities from what I've heard.

Maybe we can stick one on mars that is nuclear power or maybe hydrogen/he3.