Space Force Struggles To Track Objects in Orbit
5/26/2023
By Josh Luckenbaugh
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Space is an increasingly crowded domain, with governments and commercial companies across the globe launching more and more systems into orbit. Meanwhile, the Space Force is struggling to keep tabs on what’s happening up there, service officials say.
In the last 15 years, 53 nations have begun operating satellites in space, increasing active satellites orbiting the Earth by nearly 500 percent, Space Force’s Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said during a keynote address at the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium.
With more countries and companies operating in space, the number of orbital launches is expected to go up exponentially in the coming years. Dr. Chris Scolese, the director of the National Reconnaissance Office, said at the symposium the NRO alone is planning to quadruple the number of satellites it has in orbit over the next decade.
Saltzman said along with the operational systems in space, “the amount of trackable debris has dramatically risen.” The International Space Station has had 1,500 close approaches and taken six debris avoidance maneuvers in the last year, he said.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2023/5/26/space-force-struggles-to-track-objects-in-orbit
