The Space Force’s deep space tracking telescopes are getting dramatically sharper. Crews with the 15th Space Surveillance Squadron at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, now operate the first site to complete the Ground-Based Optical Sensor System upgrade, known as GBOSS, to the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance network.
The overhaul doubles the field of view, doubles search speed and more than triples sensitivity, letting the service find and track small, dim objects across medium Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, high Earth orbit and cislunar space. A second GEODSS site in Hawaii finished the same upgrade in April, with the network’s three locations spread around the globe.
Mission Delta 2’s 15th Space Surveillance Squadron runs the network, which scans the sky for threats other sensors miss. The squadron’s work feeds the wider space domain awareness picture that underpins collision warnings, threat assessments and orbital safety.
The upgrade program reflects a push to move modern technology to operators faster, giving the force a sharper view of the orbital environment at a time when adversaries are testing anti-satellite weapons and deploying closer to U.S. systems. Officials frame the improved optics as an asymmetric advantage across the full range of conflict.
The unit publicized the milestone in an Aug. 14 photo feature, spotlighting the New Mexico crews who operate and maintain the enhanced system.
