Guardian:
After costing more than $10 billion and taking nearly two
decades to build, the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS)
ground station outside Harrogate, UK, is ready to go on line,
writes Jamie Doward of the
Guardian. The ground station, located at a Royal Air
Force base, consists of 33 satellite dishes that receive data
from SBIRS's four satellites 39â000 km above
Earth. The satellites are designed to detect hostile missile
launches. Tracking the missiles is the job of a second
space-based system, the Space Tracking and Surveillance System,
which is under construction. The UK-based element of SBIRS is
controversial because it could itself become the target of a
missile attack.
