L3Harris Completes Mirror Upgrade for US Space Force Telescope in Australia

L3Harris Technologies, working with Australian partners, has completed a major refurbishment of the primary mirror on the US Space Force’s Space Surveillance Telescope (SST).

Located in the Southern Hemisphere, the ground-based space monitoring system tracks objects roughly 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth, including operational satellites, debris, and potential hazards.

The maintenance extends the telescope’s life and supports continued space domain awareness amid growing orbital congestion and emerging threats.

Technical Upgrades

The work included the removal, restoration, and enhancement of the primary and tertiary mirrors, which form the telescope’s optical core.

L3Harris engineers reinforced key connection points to improve stability and performance under demanding conditions.

The primary mirror was fully refurbished, including cleaning and recoating with a custom-built Vacuum Deposition System.

The tertiary mirror received specialized cleaning and structural repairs to its support hardware.

Strategic Importance

Relocated from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to Australia in 2017 and operational since 2022, SST is a key component of the US-Australia space situational awareness partnership.

“SST is a cornerstone capability for protecting the nation’s space assets,” said Jeff Hanke, President of Space Systems at L3Harris.

The upgrade, “ensures Space Force operators continue to receive the precise, reliable sensor performance they need to detect threats, avoid collisions and defend the space infrastructure our military, economy, and citizens depend on.”

Unlike space-based sensors, which cannot be upgraded once in orbit, ground-based systems such as the SST can be maintained and improved, providing a long-term strategic advantage in the increasingly contested space domain.