The U.S. Space Force achieved a significant milestone with the Advanced Tracking and Launch Analysis System (ATLAS) March 14 as it concluded an additional test that demonstrated momentous progress in preparation for fielding the capability.
This marked ATLAS’s 10th Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Capability Integrated Test (SCIT), which commenced Feb. 24 at Vandenberg SFB, Calif.
The Space Force conducted the SCIT with an integrated test force (ITF) comprising representatives from Mission Delta 2’s 18th Space Defense Squadron, Mission Delta 2 Detachment 1, the 2nd Space Sustainment Squadron, Space Delta 12’s 1st Test and Evaluation Squadron, and the 96th Cyberspace Test Group’s 45th Test Squadron.
For the first time, a coalition partner was integrated into SCIT, a major step in the U.S. Space Force’s goal of full integration with key international partners by the time ATLAS is fielded.
“SDA, as an enterprise function, has far-reaching connections across the combined force,” said U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Jordan Mugg, 18th Space Defense Squadron commander. “It’s fitting we put a Canadian officer into ATLAS training at first opportunity.”
Already a certified Orbital Analyst on the Space Defense Operations Center with two years of crew experience, Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Tristan Blaikie “breezed through the course, and we project he’s paved a new path for our exchange members, fully integrated into next-gen SDA systems through which we can partner to win,” Mugg said.
What is the ALTAS program?
ATLAS is the service’s next-generation SDA analysis system designed to modernize and enhance the capabilities of the Space Defense Operations Center. ATLAS will provide an agile, modern platform capable of addressing emerging space threats. Key features include integrated bi-directional messaging that connects SDA, as an enterprise function, across the combined force, delivering a timely and accurate space picture to warfighters.
The ITF across Space Operations Command and Space Training and Readiness Command is a hallmark of intra-service cooperation to focus on Minimum Viable Capability-Release while assuring requirements validation. Throughout SCIT 10, the test squadrons, working shoulder-to-shoulder with space operators, provided credible and timely analysis of the system’s capabilities.
“Having operators and testers together in the ITF is critical to ensure warfighter needs are supported by delivering a fully burdened operational system and reduces time in the feedback loop when compared to a traditional acquisition,” said U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Amber Johnson, 2nd Space Sustainment Squadron commander and acquisition materiel leader. “Successful completion of SCIT 10 represents a significant milestone in progress toward certifying and maintaining a highly advanced and robust SDA tracking system and provides evidence that ATLAS will be ready for operational acceptance in the fall of 2025.”