$29M To Start US Satellite Protection Program

coondoggie sends in a Network World piece that begins "The Air Force laid out $29 million in contracts this week to build space-based sensors that could detect threats or hazards and protect satellites in orbit. Assurance Technologies and Lockheed Martin Space Systems will split $20 million of the two-year contract that the Air Force says should ultimately demonstrate a viable sensing capability, as well as integration with other space systems to offer threat and hazard detection, assessment and notification ... The Air Force is looking to protect satellites from ground based lasers or anti-satellite missiles mostly."

Comments

And my first thought was...

[Narnie]

pew!! pew!!

That's a Nice Satellite There...

[Greyfox]

Be a shame if something was to happen to it. (*Crash*) Whoops. How clumsy of me...

Re:That's a Nice Satellite There...

[Greyfox]

Yeah, though it works best if you read it in a heavy New York accent, like the guy from Charlie the Unicorn.

$29 Million?

[Entropy98]

$29 million doesn't buy much these days.
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  IP Finding

Re:$29 Million?

[MozeeToby]

I was thinking the same thing. For 29 Million, you probably get a requirements document, a feasibility study to see if the idea is even workable, and maybe a high level architecture. If you hire a small, agile company (read: 'cheap') you might get some kind of small, proof of concept for one or two small parts of the system with the highest risk of failure.

Re:$29 Million?

[jlarocco]

Define "much." Because this country has many people that truly can't buy "much" "these days". As soon as there's an eminent war with a global super power (because anything shorter of one wouldn't merit this program), I'm pretty sure a lot of us are going to look back and say "I wish all that money was spent on stabilizing our economy and international relations rather than on big guns for the pricks that started this conflict."

In case you missed it, they already tried spending over $800 billion dollars on that, and it didn't work. Seems very unlikely a mere $29 million more would fix the problem.

Not that I necessarily agree with this satellite program, but it's a better waste of tax money than bailing out idiots.

Re:Aren't the armed forces already..

[BlowHole666]

If someone starts blowing up satellites you have bigger problems then someone affording plane tickets. We can not protect our borders effectively without satellites , boats use GPS so shipping is effected. Trains use GPS to track their locations so so trade by train is effected. When you purchase gas with a credit card the transaction is sent via satellite so credit card purchases are effected. Cell phones are effected if satellites are taken out. So in other words stop to think that maybe this is a good project because the second the US starts loosing satellites we have some huge problems on our hands.

Re:laser protection?

[wiggles]

If you had read the first paragraph of TFA, you would have read this:

demonstrate a viable sensing capability, as well as integration with other space systems to offer threat and hazard detection, assessment and notification.

In other words, it's not so much about protecting the satellite, but confirming that the satellite was or was not hit by some sort of laser. That would be some pretty valuable intelligence, if you ask me. The system will tell DOD that somebody's shooting at their stuff, not preventing someone from shooting at them.

Re:laser protection?

[daveime]

Not sure if these figures are 100%, but I understand that geo-stat orbit satellites are at a distance of 38,500km above the earths surface ... and speed of light is 299,792 km/s ... that surely gives them about 128 milliseconds to detect an incoming laser beam from initiation on earth to the target light hitting the satellite's detector.

And as it would take at least ANOTHER 128 milliseconds to transmit that fact back to earth anyway, it means we'd only know about it 128 milliseconds after the thing had been bloody vaporized anyway.

I can think of better ways to spend 29 million to be honest, mostly involving hookers and beer.

Re:Pointless, no wonder its underfunded

[cowscows]

I agree. I think a much more useful line of research is making satellites harder to detect. There's not much that can be done to protect the big bright ones that are already up there, but I'd imagine that better technology has resulted in more capable satellites in smaller packages. Add in some fancy stealth-type technologies, and now we're talking.

retroreflectors

[at10u8]

For some satellites hitting them with ground-based lasers is the whole point of their existence.

Re:More Star Wars?

[philspear]

Good thing that was marked troll. All those military industry CEOs, arms manufacturers, military strategists, and politicians who read slashdot would have been pretty upset had they read that.

So much for...

[DeadPixels]

...the treaties against the "militarization of space." Seems like it might not be long until we've got people blowing up each others' satellites left and right.