Northrop Grumman’s Final Sat For DSP Set For Launch

The final Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE:NOC] built satellite in support of the Defense Support Program for the U.S. Air Force will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday, November 10th, from Launch Complex 37. The launch window is expected to open at 8:30 a.m., EST. DPS Flight 23 will complete a constellation that has served as the nation’s “eyes in the sky” for the past 37 years. The constellation has been on-orbit to provide early warning of ballistic missile launches against the United States and allies. The DSP has served continuously since becoming operational and has monitored the globe and has reported on missile launches in peacetime and in conflict.




The first DSP became operational during the Cold War. The satellites initially monitored Soviet and Chinese ICBMs and Soviet short-range, submarine-launched ballistic missiles from a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. The system then started monitoring tactical ballistic missiles and, more recently, has been used to detect and study large fires and volcanic eruptions—Redondo Beach, California