The US Space Force said the work was completed three months ahead of schedule and that testing and mission system integration were underway.
The instrument is one of three planned under the defence coalition, with two other sites planned for the UK and US.
It’s hoped the three together – known as the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability – will provide 24-hour global and all-weather coverage that’s difficult to obtain with existing technology.
“At 22,236 miles above the Earth, an object in geosynchronous orbit takes 24 hours to orbit the planet,” said the US Space Force. “This keeps the satellite ‘parked’ in the same spot, appearing stationary to ground sensors.
“This makes GEO important real estate for several satellites, but because GEO is so far above the Earth, it’s more difficult to monitor space debris and/or adversarial actions that could potentially disrupt or deny space-based capabilities in that orbit.
“Yet another challenge is that the US can only cover a limited portion of the sky based on its geography, which is one of the reasons international partnerships are so important.
“The DARC program demonstrates how allied partnerships can overcome both technical and geographic challenges while accelerating the delivery of advanced space technology in support of combined operations.”
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Space Force said one of the core benefits of the new radar is that it would operate in all weather and make observations through clouds during the daytime, which is impossible with traditional optical telescopes.
“An ongoing challenge of radar versus telescope, however, is that the further out your radar goes, the larger the power required to transmit and the bigger the receiver arrays must be.
“DARC addresses this challenge by using multiple smaller arrays that combine the signals from space to act as one large array.”
The Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability is partly funded by the US Space Force and is currently being developed by Northrop Grumman.
“Australia’s interests in space are not bound by geography,” said Defence Minister Richard Marles when it was announced.
“Strengthening Australia’s defence capabilities in the space domain and working with our partners is a prudent response to our changing strategic environment.”
Northrop Grumman was recently awarded a contract for the second site, which is currently proposed to be located at a UK Ministry of Defence site in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
A third site will be located in the “Continental United States” at a to-be-determined location, pending the completion of environmental and airspace studies.
The entire DARC system is expected to be complete by 2032.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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