The Joint Space Operations Center here recently reached a milestone Dec. 18, increasing the number of active satellites tracked from 120 to approximately 1,150.
Now tracking every active satellite in space, the JSpOC reached the goal set by Air Force Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command ahead of their January 2010 deadline.
The drive to reach this new capability stems from 2009’s Iridium-Cosmos satellite collision. The Iridium 33, a communications satellite, collided with the Cosmos 2251, an inactive Russian communications satellite, at more than 15,000 mph. This caused bigger problems, according to JSpOC personnel, because the debris created in the aftermath increases the risk of collisions with other satellites and space equipment.
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