DSP 22

USA / US Air Force

Spacecraft n°:

USA satellite n°:

Defense Support Program satellite
Also known as IMEWS-22, USA 176 or DSP 3-9

Launch data:

Designation	28158 / 04004A
Launch date	14 Feb 2004 - 18:50 UT
Launch site	CC, SLC-40
Launch vehicle	Titan-402B/IUS (#4B-39)
Mission	Military: Early warning
Geostationary orbit:
Perigee / Apogee	35741 x 35832 km
Eccentricity	1.08E-03
Inclination	1.41°
Period	1436.12 min

DSP-14 satellite

To provide early warning of missile and space launches, as well as nuclear explosions.
Titan 4B-39 placed the IUS-10 upper stage in parking orbit; two IUS solid motor burns put DSP-22 into geostationary drift orbit. The Titan second stage remains in low orbit, the IUS SRM-1 motor in geostationary transfer orbit, SRM-2 in geostationary drift orbit. The DSP satellite's infrared telescope cover was presumably ejected a few days later, and the satellite is being placed on station to observe missile launches. This was the 24th and last use of the Boeing IUS upper stage since the first IUS launch in 1982; a 25th stage, IUS-23, was never flown. The final DSP will be launched on a Boeing Delta 4.

Spacecraft data:

Prime contractor	Northrop Grumman's Redondo Beach operation (formerly TRW)
Platform
Operator	US Air Force
Mass at launch	2380 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension	6.7 m dia x 10 m long (deployed)
Solar array
Stabilization	spin stabilized
DC power	1485 W
Design lifetime	7-9 yrs - still active

Location:

Date	Position	Remarks
April 2010	103.84° E

Probably downlinks in S- and X-band. Has a wide field infrared telescope to provide real-time warning of missile launches (6000 infrared detectors).

An artist's concept shows the DSP riding atop the IUS booster. Credit: Northrop Grumman

Mission details:

Infrared sensors to detect heat from missile and booster plumes against earth's background; detection capability of smaller missiles; improved warning of attack by short-range missiles against U.S. and allied forces.

Ref.: #3(SD380), #7(JR521), #15, #226 - update: 19.05.10

Home