Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: rogwar on August 31, 2013, 05:45:13 PM
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Drove by here just north of Olney to have a look. Photos from both sides of the road. It's an Air Force Space Command satellite, object and debris tracking station or at least the public version. The array is like 2 miles long and has like a 2 million dollar budget just for electricity.
Pics are from phone.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/TurkeyHunter65/Atrix/IMG_20130831_160359_175.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/TurkeyHunter65/Atrix/IMG_20130831_160337_930.jpg)
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That used to be a Navy operation. They must have handed it over to AF. Now it looks like it's being shut down.
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/466832/air-force-space-command-to-discontinue-space-surveillance-system.aspx
Due to resource constraints caused by sequestration, Air Force Space Command officials have directed the 21st Space Wing to prepare to discontinue operations at the Air Force Space Surveillance System by Oct. 1.
By discontinuing operations, the AFSSS would not be maintained in operational status; however, equipment will not be removed until a final disposition determination is made.
The AFSSS sites are operated under contract and the 21st SW has notified the vendor, Five Rivers Services in Colorado Springs, Colo., that it most likely will not exercise the next contract option beginning Oct. 1. By de-activating the AFSSS by Oct. 1, AFSPC would see a cost savings of approximately $14 million per year, beginning in fiscal 2014.
AFSPC officials have devised modified operating modes for the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System at Cavalier Air Force Station, N.D., and for the space surveillance radar at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., which allows the discontinuation of AFSSS operations while still maintaining solid space situational awareness.
The AFSSS is a series of three transmitters and six receivers along the 33rd parallel stretching across the southern United States.The three transmitter sites are located at Jordan Lake, Ala.; Lake Kickapoo, Texas; and Gila River, Ariz. The six receivers are located at Tattnall, Ga.; Hawkinsville, Ga.; Silver Lake, Miss.; Red River, Ark.; Elephant Butte, N.M.; and San Diego, Calif. The two receiver sites at Tattnall and Silver Lake were deactivated in April of this year.
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http://www.texomashomepage.com/story/kickapoo-space-surveillance-system-to-be-shut-down/d/story/VBnnIAJKd0KCV17TIpUofg