United States and Australia Advance Space Partnership

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             U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E.Panetta and Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith agreed to advance thebi-lateral long-term international partnership on space situational awarenessby placing two key U.S. space systems in Australia.
            The two militaries have agreed thatAustralia will operate a U.S. Air Force C-band ground-based radar system inAustralia.  The system will provide acritical dedicated sensor for the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN), whichis the principal system that the U.S. and its partners rely on to detect,track, and identify objects in space. 
            The U.S. and Australia have alsodecided to work towards the establishment of the Space Surveillance Telescope(SST) on Australian soil.  The SST is astate of the art optical telescope designed and built by the Defense AdvancedResearch Project Agency (DARPA) that provides deep space surveillance.
            The C-Band radar will be operatedfrom the Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Station at North West Cape inWestern Australia; the Australians are in the process of selecting a site forthe SST.  The United States and Australiawill share relocation and operational costs for the systems.  The C-Band radar will be delivered in2014.  Together, these complimentaryplatforms will provide highly accurate tracking and identification of objectsin space, such as satellites and debris, in order to improve overallspaceflight safety.  Data from theseplatforms will also improve the operational perspective for senior leaders to selectand execute appropriate courses of action in response to space events andscenarios.
            In addition, the U.S. and Australiaare in discussions on the establishment of a Combined Communications Gateway inWestern Australia.  The Gateway wouldprovide both U.S. and Australia operators access to Wideband Global Satellitecommunications satellites currently on orbit.
            The actions taken today are theresult of close collaboration from both nations on “New Frontiers” projects --including space and cyberspace -- during the last two AUSMIN sessions.  At the Melbourne AUSMIN 2010 conference,leaders signed the Space Situational Awareness Partnership.  At the San Francisco AUSMIN 2011, leadersdiscussed the goal of placing U.S. space systems in Australia and signed alandmark agreement on cyberspace. 
            The U.S. National Security SpaceStrategy emphasizes that shared awareness of spaceflight activity must improvein order to foster global spaceflight safety and help prevent mishaps,misperceptions, and mistrust.  Locatingthe C-Band radar and the SST telescope in Australia demonstrates progresstowards these goals and the benefits of the re-balance towards the Asia-Pacificacross domains.             Additional Information about C-BandRadar and the Space Surveillance Telescope
            C-Band Radar:
            -- The C-Band mechanical trackingground-based radar is a very capable asset for space surveillance and spaceobject identification capabilities for objects in low-earth orbit. 
            -- The C-Band radar can accuratelytrack up to approximately 200 objects/day and provide significant orbit andcharacterization information to help identify satellites, their orbits andpotential anomalies.
            -- When relocated, this C-bandradar will be the first low-earth orbit space surveillance network sensor inthe southern Hemisphere.  The newlocation provides needed southern and eastern hemisphere coverage that willlead to improved positional accuracies and predictions.
            -- C-Band radar can alsosignificantly contribute to tracking high-interest space launches from Asia.
            Space Surveillance Telescope:
            -- The SST provides an order ofmagnitude improvement in search rate and sensitivity (ability to detect andtrack satellites) from the existing U.S. system known as the Ground BasedElectro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) telescopes.
            -- Deep space search telescopes,like GEODSS, are unable to provide a full picture of objects likemicrosatellites and space debris that threaten satellites.  The SST provides an improved (wider) field ofview and can better detect track small objects at the deep space altitudesassociated with geosynchronous orbits (roughly 22,000 miles high).
            -- The SST telescope was integratedin the fall of 2010 and achieved first light in February 2011.  Following this important program achievement,the system underwent an extensive check-out period and fine alignment phasethat readied the system for a demonstration starting in October 2011.  SST completed its DARPA test and evaluationperiod in August 2012.
           -- Basing the SST in Australia will provide coverage of a more denselypopulated region of the geostationary belt than its previous location in NewMexico.