Two surveillance satellites will be added to monitor the current traffic in the geosynchronous orbit after the successful launch by Atlas V rocket Friday.
Atlas V Rocket Takes Off Friday
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - DECEMBER 18: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test mission, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test will be Starliners maiden mission to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 6:26 a.m. EST launch on Dec. 20, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket launch lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Fore Station Friday with two satellites for the Space Force program, Wesh reported.
The rocket carries two satellites that will serve as 'neighborhood watch' in orbit. Atlas V's launch is part of the latest project by the US Space Force.
The launch consists of an identical pair of satellites called the Geosynchronous Space Awareness Program (GSSAP) to stand by and monitor aerial and space activities from Earth's orbit.
After a successful launch, the Atlas V rocket will be deploying the twin geosynchronous satellites at the mark of six hours and 45 minutes. Afterward, both GSSAP will be placed in their respective locations near the geosynchronous orbit. The two satellites will be hovering at a height of 36,000 kilometers above the planet.
The geosynchronous satellite twins are the sixth and fifth GSSAP assets sent to space. In the previous launches, ULA deployed the first four satellites in two separate launch schedules. Both of the missions were held in 2016 and 2018, including the help of Delta IV Medium rockets. After one year, the said rocket retired from carrying spacecraft.
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Neighborhood Watch on Orbit
The GSSAP satellite launch is part of a bigger project from the US Space Command that focuses on monitoring the traffic conducted at the geosynchronous orbit. Every satellite hovering in space had its velocities matching the Earth's rotational speed in this region.
Although it may seem like a hindrance, the zone is beneficial for many types of satellites. The functions of communications, weather, and surveillance satellites are supported within the geosynchronous orbit, as an effortless hovering pattern will be induced by how our planet moves.
ULA experts, according to Space, said that the GSSAP satellites will provide a neighborhood watch up above the orbit's geosynchronous region. Any flight conducted by the joining countries will be safe and secure through the satellites.
According to a report by ULA, the satellites will have an enhanced deposition at a distance that would detect traffic-related instances in space. Through the knowledge of the space watch, the operators will be informed if a potential interception is at hand. It will prevent many countries and private enterprises from hazardous events in orbit.
The data from the geosynchronous zone will be continuously relayed to accurately predict orbital activities and secure the spaceflights in the future, avoiding any unwanted collisions upon the zone. The flight on Friday would be Atlas V's first 511 configurations, which will include a 5-meter-wide payload fairing, one Centaur upper stage, and a solid booster all equipped to the rocket's shaft Even though 511 is the first and only variant of Atlas V that will fly this weekend, ULA said that a separate variant, the 411, has already been deployed in previous missions.
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