2014
2014 – U.S. Spaceports
SpaceX, builder of the Falcon 9 space launch vehicle, broke ground in September 2014 for a new spaceport near Brownsville, Texas. While actual building activity is not scheduled until later in 2015, SpaceX plans to launch from the site as early as 2016. Once construction on the site is completed, it would be the closest launch site to the Earth’s equator on U.S. soil.
2014 – U.S.: GSSAP, ANGELS, and SBSS
In February 2014, the USAF took the unusual step of publicly announcing the existence of classified space situational awareness satellites. In the initial announcement, General William Shelton stated that the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites will provide more accurate locations and data about satellites and perhaps debris orbiting the Earth. The first ## of ## GSSAP satellites were launched to GEO in July 2014, and the USAF intends to launch ## more satellites in 2016.
2014 – Canada: Sapphire
Launched in February 2013 and fully operational as of January 2014, the Canadian Department of National Defence’s (DND’s) Sapphire satellite was designed to provide data about space objects orbiting the Earth. Sapphire is in a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit of ## kilometers (## miles). Sapphire’s orbit around the Earth aligns with the Sun in such a way to allow its telescope to see the brightest reflections possible of other objects in space.
2014 – U.S. Missile Defense
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA’s) two Space Tracking and Surveillance System-Demonstrator (STSS-D) satellites remained fairly quiet in 2014. Launched in September 2009, the satellites continue to circle the Earth at an altitude of 1,350 kilometers (840 miles). The satellites can track a missile in “stereo” (when both satellites’ infrared payloads track and provide data on the same object) from the time of a missile’s launch until it re-enters the atmosphere.
2014 – Russian Missile Detection
As of early 2015, Russia was not able to detect missile launches by means of its Oko missile warning satellite system. The last two of the system’s HEO satellites ceased operations in January 2015, and the last of Oko’s GEO satellites experienced a power problem in mid-2014, taking it offline. Oko is supposed to be composed of six satellites, some in GEO and others in HEO.
2014 – U.S. Missile Detection
There were two SBIRS GEO satellites and two SBIRS HEO payloads in operation by the end of 2014. These operated in concert with the older DSP satellites to fulfill all four missions. Two more SBIRS GEO satellites will be added to the SBIRS constellation, possibly around 2020. The USAF continues to pursue plans established in 1995 for integrating all OPIR satellite data, developing a new ground system and testing transmission of commands to multiple systems in March 2015.
2014 – QZSS
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the ## satellite of its Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) in September 2010, and continued to operate and run tests on it during 2014. Japan’s urban canyons and mountainous regions present challenges for receiving the relatively weak signals from PNT satellites such as GPS. The inclined orbit of QZSS, in combination with its dwell time over Japan, gives PNT receivers in Japan a better chance of receiving a PNT signal.
2014 – BeiDou
China was uncharacteristically inactive in terms of PNT satellite launches during 2013 and 2014. A new navigation test satellite the Chinese were expected to launch for phase 3 of the BeiDou2 constellation in 2014 was delayed to 2015. ## BeiDou2 satellites are already in medium Earth orbit, ## are in geostationary orbit, and another ## are in an inclined geosynchronous orbit. All ## are aimed at providing PNT service to China and areas surrounding it. China plans to have about ## BeiDou satellites in the constellation by 2020 for global coverage.
2014 – IRNSS
India continued with plans for its regional PNT constellation, the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), launching ## more IRNSS satellites in 2014. With a total of ## PNT satellites in geosynchronous orbit, India is nearly halfway toward completing its ##-satellite IRNSS constellation. Even with ## IRNSS satellites, the Indians will continue to rely on GPS for their GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system, which became operational in 2014.
2014 – Galileo
The European Union’s Galileo constellation was scheduled to be operational in 2014, with ## satellites in use by the end of the year. Those plans had to be delayed when ## key Galileo satellites, Sat 5 and 6, were launched and then inserted into the wrong orbit in August 2014. Initially thought to be a lost cause, the Europeans proceeded in October 2014 on a plan to put Sat 5 in circular orbit, allowing the satellite to still be used for its navigation mission. Once the operators have confirmed the plan’s success with Sat 5, they will try implementing a similar plan for Sat 6.