A
United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy lift expendable launch vehicle successfully boosted the last Defense Support Program satellite into orbit Nov. 10 at 8:50 p.m. The Northrop Grumman-built DSP separated from the booster six hours and 20 minutes later, states a company release. Slated to be replaced by the Space-based Infrared System, the DSP constellation should serve “well into the next decade” with the addition of DSP 23, said Alexis Livanos, head of Northrop’s space technology sector. The DSP system has been in service for about 40 years.
China is expanding the arsenal of counter-space weapons it could use in a potential conflict with the U.S., to include on-orbit systems, according to a new report from the Defense Intelligence Agency.