This State-Of-The-Art US Telescope Is Ready To Scan The Sky For Space Junk And Asteroids

SST Telescope/Doc. United States Space Force

JAKARTA - In an effort to search for space debris, asteroids, and comets, the United States Space Force (US) has relocated the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) to Australia.

The SST, which first saw the light in 2011 and underwent years of testing, is now ready to work in the southern hemisphere, where it will join the global Space Surveillance Network for the US and its allies.

The main mission of the SST is none other than the search for alien spacecraft or space debris orbiting Earth. The telescope can also be reused for other astronomical observations.

In addition, the SST can also track faint objects, asteroids, and comets in space to help predict and avoid potential collisions.

The telescope was tested at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico between 2011 and 2017 with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

After being handed over to the US Air Force in 2017, they decided to move the telescope to the Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt on Australia's northwest coast in 2020 until now.

Space debris is indeed a concern of the US government, where it is dangerous enough to interfere with other space missions such as the ISS.

The space company SpaceX, sent thousands of Starlink satellites into orbit, increasing the potential for collisions with other missions. So did the Russian anti-satellite test (ASAT) in November 2021, which created a huge plume of debris.

The US Space Force has joined forces with NASA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Vice President Kamala Harris (who heads the National Space Council) to tackle space debris in recent months.