A decade-long plan to shift space surveillance technology from the United States to Australia is complete with a new telescope now operational.
Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief of Space and Cyber Lieutenant General Susan Coyle said Australia and its allies now had greater awareness of artificial objects orbiting Earth with the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) fully operational and ready for widespread use.
Lieutenant General Coyle said the ADF and the United States agreed to relocate the SST from New Mexico to Exmouth, Western Australia in 2013, as part of efforts to enhance coalition space domain awareness capability and improve coverage in the region.
She said space capabilities underpinned the ADF’s warfighting effectiveness and assured Australia had continuous open access to space.
“Locating the Space Surveillance Telescope in Western Australia provides unique space domain awareness coverage for Australia and our allies, filling a Space Surveillance Network gap over our region.
“The SST will enable us to work closely with US Space Force to detect, track, catalogue and identify objects in geostationary orbit, as well as predict and avoid potential collisions.”
ADF Head Space and Cyber Capabilities Rear Admiral Andrew Quinn said the SST had undergone a rigorous test and evaluation program to assess its performance as a space domain awareness sensor.
“A critical component to the SST reaching FOC was the establishment of a $17 million mirror recoating facility, co-located with the telescope,” Rear Admiral Quinn said.
“The Mirror Recoating Facility, built by Australian industry, will allow Defence to maintain and recoat the SST mirrors on site, keeping it at peak performance throughout its operational life.”
