Space Force Retires DSP Missile-Warning Constellation After More Than Half a Century
The U.S. Space Force's Combat Forces Command has announced that the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite constellation has been retired after more than half a century of service. The constellation, first launched in the early 1970s, flew its final satellites until their retirement last month.
During U.S. Space Command's Apollo Maneuvers 2026 live-fly exercise in September, guardians of the 2nd Space Warning Squadron demonstrated dynamic on-orbit maneuvers with the last two DSP satellites, ahead of the system's planned decommissioning into a supersynchronous orbit. From geosynchronous orbit, the satellites' powerful infrared sensors detected the heat signatures of missile launches and relayed warning through a global network of ground stations, forming a critical space-based platform for missile warning and tracking.
"The DSP constellation was foundational to the defense of our nation and the missile warning and tracking enterprise," said U.S. Space Force Col. Brandon Davenport, commander of Mission Delta 4. "These last two satellites were the culminating end to over a half century of space-based early warning. The DSP constellation ensured deterrence during the Cold War and protected our deployed warfighters from the Gulf War until their retirement last month."
The Space Force said the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation, launched beginning in 2011, provided uninterrupted service alongside DSP and will continue as Mission Delta 4 prepares to integrate the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (NGG) system. Teams of the 2nd Space Warning Squadron have begun training for the onboarding of NGG, and the squadron's commander, Lt. Col. Ann Hughes, said retiring the legacy system lets the unit posture for the future while keeping a reliable, seamless picture of missile threats. (Source: U.S. Space Force)
Source: U.S. Space Force
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：DSP-23导弹预警卫星。美国空军照片（公共领域），Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The DSP-23 missile-warning satellite. U.S. Air Force photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
