The AN/FPS-133 Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, was a U.S. government multistatic radar system built to detect orbital objects passing over America. It is a component of the U.S. space surveillance network, and according to the U.S. Navy was able to detect basketball sized (75 cm (30 in)) objects at heights up to 30,000 km (19,000 mi).[1]
The system ceased operation in September 2013. Plans for a new space fence began with sites at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, along with an option for another radar site in Western Australia.[2] It became operational on March 28, 2020.[3]
The operation's headquarters were at Dahlgren, Virginia, and radar stations were spread out across the continental United States at roughly the level of the 33rd parallel north.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Wagner, Gary R. (24 October 2004). "Navy Transfers Space Surveillance Mission to Air Force". Navy NewsStand. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (2 June 2014). "Lockheed Martin wins contract for Space Fence". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Erwin, Sandra (28 March 2020). "Space Fence surveillance Radar Site Declared Operational". Retrieved 29 March 2020.
