The SDA also awarded L3 Harris Technologies formerly Harris Corporation a contract worth $193 to build four hypersonic tracking satellites. Both companies are contractually obligated to deliver the satellites for launch by October 2022.
Building hypersonic tracking satellites will be challenging given the fact that hypersonic weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) can travel long distances very quickly. In other words, the satellites must be able to track and intercept hypersonic weapons before hitting their target.
Satellites are sometimes lost-in-space
The last crash of satellites took place in 2009 when two Russian satellites collided in space. The inactive Cosmos 2251 slammed into the active Iridium 33 over Siberia creating debris that scattered into both higher and lower orbits. Early this year, two US satellites almost collided. Two now-defunct NASA satellites, IRAS, and GGSE-4, narrowly missed colliding above Pittsburgh.
No one can deny that space is getting more and more crowded. The SDA-SpaceX contract also represents a better technology to track errant and decommissioned satellites.
