September 22, 2022
By Aazam
The U.S. The Space Force in its 2023 budget adds billions of dollars for new constellations of missile-warning and missile-tracking satellites
The Pentagon argues it is needed to detect and track advanced hypersonic missile and glide vehicles developed by Russia and China
The missile warning and tracking programs will weigh heavily in debates about the future of U.S. space systems
The Space Force budget projections lay out a future architecture of about 135 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and 16 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites that would work in concert through an integrated ground system
The Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program with five satellites — three in GEO and two polar satellites
Senate appropriators seem to want to accelerate this transition, he pointed out, cutting some of the funding for next-generation GEO and polar-orbiting systems and nearly doubling the funding for LEO and MEO
The multi-orbit approach may also be a harbinger for broader emphasis within the Pentagon to develop resilient and defendable architectures for other critical space missions
Deconflicting missile-defense projects has been a congressional priority amid concerns that agencies are developing systems in isolation and not coordinating efforts