U.S. diplomatic and military officials remain perplexed and unsatisfied with China’s nonexplanatory responses to international protests regarding the Asian giant’s January anti-satellite (ASAT) ballistic missile test.
…Chilton voiced support for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, a planned constellation of satellites for tracking missiles and re-entry vehicles through the boost, midcourse and terminal phases of flight that was formerly known as the Space Based Infrared System-Low. The system could provide better space situational awareness, he stressed to the congressional crowd.
He said U.S. efforts should concentrate primarily on boosting situational awareness because officials need to be able to know what is happening to U.S. satellites. Before officials can discern that one has been attacked, they need to rule out several other possible scenarios and even then they must be able to accurately identify who attacked the satellite, the four-star general said.
Source: Aviation Now