The U.S. Air Force’s 1st Space Operations Squadron has updated a ground system for a fleet of Northrop Grumman-built space surveillance satellites slated to expand later this year, C4ISRnet reported Sunday.
The squadron passed operational acceptance assessments for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program ground infrastructure including software overhauls in February. 1st SOPS began the modernization effort in 2017 and concluded a trial period in December last year.
The initial GSSAP satellites were launched to orbit in 2014, with the GSSAP 3 and 4 spacecraft joining the fleet in 2016.
“There have been a series of robust security upgrades,” said Capt. Bradley Frost, satellite engineer for 1st SOPS. “There have been new hardware and bug fixes that have significantly increased the reliability of the system. To sum it up, it’s better, faster and more secure than ever before.”
The U.S. Space Force plans to launch the GSSAP 5 and 6 satellites aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket by the fourth quarter of 2020.
