The launch of the first two new Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites was scrubbed Wednesday “due to an issue with the ground support equipment environmental control system that supports the launch vehicle,” Air Force Space Command spokeswoman Capt. Caitlin Suttie told Air Force Magazine. The launch has been rescheduled for 6:59 p.m. Thursday at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., “pending resolution” of the issue, she added. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on July 22, AFSPC boss Gen. William Shelton compared the new space situational satellites to a neighborhood watch system, saying he hopes the satellites deter adversaries from placing “nefarious” objects into orbit. “The GSSAP satellites will provide US Strategic Command with space situational awareness data allowing for more accurate tracking and characterization of man-made orbiting objects,” states an Air Force release. “The satellites will drift a safe distance away from the GEO belt while surveilling the area to further enable spaceflight safety.”
The latest round of environmental sampling for the Air Force’s Missile Community Cancer Study found trace amounts of potentially harmful chemicals called volatile organic compounds in the service’s ICBM facilities, but not at levels that would pose a health hazard, Air Force Global Strike Command announced Oct. 22.