Image source: topwar.ru
Starting in July, satellite maneuvers in orbit, the US army is evaluating the results of an experimental satellite technology intended to prevent the fighters on the earth about blocking or distortion of the GPS signal.
The army space and missile defense (SMDC) has launched one of the two satellites Gunsmoke - L CubeSat to test the sensor design Lonestar. At the moment there are ways to evaluate the performance of the sensor. Despite this, SMDC continue to reflect on the question of who will be able to bring these important tests to the end. Among the contenders and the National intelligence Agency, and Space forces, and even some commercial partners.
Although the details are classified Gunsmoke-L is one of the three pilot initiatives CubeSat designed to assist field units of the army to more operational support of space in case of emergency situations.
The second project, called Polaris, is also intended to provide positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) in case of problems with the GPS signal, but aimed directly at providing alternatives if GPS will fail.
The third initiative — a series Gunsmoke-J CubeSat designed for reconnaissance over-the-horizon payload to support the army's opportunities for long-range precision fire, including launchers hypersonic missiles.
One of the demonstration satellites Gunsmoke-L was launched on 1 July in low earth orbit (work at a height of about 495 kilometers) within the mission of Virgin Orbit "Straight Up". Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, has received $ 8.3 million to develop two variants of the payload for the satellite.
Along with the results of the planned military exercises Dynetics will guide SMDC all technical data and Analytics provided by Lonestar for a one-year project to help the service determine the requirements for any potential version of the hosted payload.
The final goal is to create tools that will allow the us military to combat missions in conditions in which there is no possibility to use global positioning system GPS. In this Toolkit sounds and criticism. So, stated that the system could eventually be analogous to GPS, and therefore, a signal which can be blocked or distorted by the enemy. In any case, it is clear that the Pentagon was concerned with the question of how to operate the U.S. army in case of blocking of the GPS signal.
