South Jersey Facility Aided in Avoiding a Mid-Space Collision

An unassuming little building on Rt. 38 in Moorestown helped two space objects from colliding in space.

Located on the South Jersey campus of Lockheed Martin, the little white building is a test site for a much larger facility that will be completed by the Air Force in the South Pacific.

Small objects flying through space can sometimes collide causing debris to continuously orbit in Earth's atmosphere.  The facility in Moorestown emitted a radar beam that tracked such debris and helped to avoid a collision.

According to Philly.com,

Pebble-sized objects may not sound like much of a threat, but typically they travel at thousands of miles per hour, posing a risk to satellites that are essential to the daily workings of modern society, such as communications, weather forecasting, and GPS location.

Why does this help?

If a satellite is in the direct path with some debris - the satellite can be rerouted and avoid an mid-space collision.

Interesting.

Source: Philly.com