US Space Force Upgrades Antennas at 12 Ground Stations, Capable of Controlling 20 Military Satellites Simultaneously

The increasing number of military satellites orbiting apparently makes the US Space Force (USSF) overwhelmed, it's understandable from the series of antennas from control stations on Earth, at one time control can only be carried out on one satellite. Not to mention, the USSF is faced with the situation of electronic satellite control devices that are old and starting to become out of date.

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Departing from the case above, the US Space Force as the sixth military branch in the US, has poured out contracts worth US$1.4 billion to upgrade antennas at 12 units of military ground stations. Quoted from spacenews.com (22/4/2023), the Space Rapid Capability Office, a unit within the USSF has awarded an antenna upgrade contract to BlueHalo.

With an upgrade plan starting in 2025, later the ground station as the satellite controller will be equipped with a new type of antenna from the electronic phased array antenna type, this will replace the type of parabolic antenna dish that is decades old.

Based in Arlington, Virginia, founded in 2019, BlueHalo specializes in space-based communications, directed energy, and missile defense technologies. Antenna replacement at the ground station is included in the Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource (SCAR) program, namely the modernization of the Satellite Control Network (SCN) from ground terminals that track US military and intelligence satellites in geostationary Earth orbit.

The type of antenna that will be installed on the ground station will be controlled electronically and is called the Badger. Currently the new antenna is under development and ready for production at a new facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

BlueHalo's primary subcontractor for the SCAR program is Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, which provides a software-based ground control system called OpenSpace.

Today, the network of satellite control Earth stations in the US arsenal is decades old. The military satellite control network has 19 satellite dishes at seven locations around the world. In fact, this technology is outdated and more capacity is needed to keep up with the growing number of satellites.

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Current antennas can only track one satellite at a time. Meanwhile with the Badger antenna it can maintain contact and simultaneous control of up to 20 satellites.

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