Tracking whats above

March 31st, 2009 | National Space Symposium | Posted by Michael Hoffman

The Air Force wants to more than double how many satellites it can track by Oct. 1, said Col. Dusty Tyson, chief of the Air Force space control division.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, Air Force Space Command chief Gen. Robert Kehler and U.S. Strategic Command Gen. Kevin Chilton all met inside the Pentagon with CEOs from the ten top satellite companies on March 24 to discuss how the U.S. and the satellite industry can cooperate and reach this goal.

A collision between a Russian and U.S. satellite in February brought national attention to the crowd of satellites and debris floating in Earth’s orbit.

Officials want to increase the number of maneuverable satellites the Air Force tracks from 330 to 800, Tyson said.

Tags: Gen. Kevin Chilton, Gen. Robert Kehler, National Space Symposium, satellite, Secretary Michael Donley

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