Dipole Antenna, Transmitter, Space Surveillance Fence
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This is a spare transmitter dipole antenna used in the Space Surveillance Fence. The system's three transmitter stations each had many hundreds of these antennas. Located across the southern United States, the three stations emitted a continous wave of radio energy in a narrow fan-shaped pattern. Together the beams extended about 5,000 miles from west to east and about 15,000 miles into space. Any object passing through a beam was illuminated and the reflected signals acquired by one or more or the six receiving stations along the same latitude as the transmitter stations. Unclassified and classified catalogs of all known objects in orbit were prepared from data from the Space Surveillance Fence and other sensors.
The Air Force assumed operation of the Space Surveillance Fence from the Navy in 2004. It was decommissioned in 2013, to be replaced by a space-based system.
SPX Communications manufactured the antenna. The Air Force transferred it to the Museum in 2014.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
EQUIPMENT-Electronics
Manufacturer
SPX Communications Dimensions
3-D (Overall): 81.3 × 45.7 × 16.7cm (2 ft. 8 in. × 1 ft. 6 in. × 6 9/16 in.) Materials
Aluminum
Plastic
Aluminum Coating
Solder Inventory Number
A20181521000
Credit Line
Transferred from the United States Air Force
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.