[Satellite TODAY Insider 04-19-12] Raytheon’s Space Fence system, which aims to reduce the danger of space debris in orbit, recently completed a comprehensive Preliminary Design Review (PDR) that demonstrated its S-band radar’s ability to detect and track “space junk” objects, Raytheon announced April 18 at the National Space Symposium.

            The PDR was held during a three-month period to allow U.S. Air Force officials to evaluate all aspects of the program and ensure design and technology readiness as the acquisition of the technology moves into the final phase later this year. Work on the current phase of the program is expected to conclude the end of July.

            The PDR is the culmination of a $107 million U.S. Air Force contract to complete the technology development of a modern space surveillance system serving as the primary means for un-cued detection and tracking in low earth orbits, allowing the decommission of the Air Force Space Surveillance System, which has been tracking space debris since the 1960s.        

            “We feel confident that Raytheon is offering the U.S. Air Force an affordable, low-risk solution by virtue of mature and advanced technologies we’re employing,” Raytheon Vice President of Global Integrated Sensors David Gulla said in a statement. “We’re continuing to identify areas where we can increase the value for the Air Force in terms of advances in technology and affordability to meet current and future demands for situational awareness in space.”

            In February 2011, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and French Defense Minister Alain Juppe signed a statement of principles outlining a bilateral agreement between the two countries to share data on space debris and cooperate on reducing the risk of accidents and collisions in space.

            The agreement lead to the U.S. military’s acceptance of the European Union’s Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities, which are aimed at reducing the amount of space debris that could collide into satellites. The agreement also leveraged technology produced by recent U.S. Air Force contract awards to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to design the Pentagon’s Space Fence, which will replace its 50-year-old VHF Space Surveillance System to detect space objects and debris in low-Earth orbit — a concept the two companies have been working on with Northrop Grumman since June 2009.

            Both companies were awarded an initial $20 million under the 18-month contract, with a potential $107 million in additional orders. Lockheed Martin’s prototype design was based on its Aegis naval weapons S-band radar. Raytheon’s model focused on expanding the range of objects the system could track, including objects that threaten space shuttles and the International Space Station.