U.S. Space Force Activates Major GBOSS Upgrade to Sharpen Deep Space Surveillance

In a major step to enhance its space-tracking capabilities, the U.S. Space Force has officially activated a significant upgrade to the Ground-Based Optical Sensor System (GBOSS) at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This upgraded system will now play a stronger role in helping the U.S. military monitor and track objects in deep space, improving overall space domain awareness.

Developed in collaboration between Space Operations Command (SpOC) and Space Systems Command (SSC), the upgrade marks a key modernization milestone. GBOSS is part of the broader Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) network, which supports the Space Surveillance Network (SSN)—the system the U.S. relies on to monitor thousands of satellites and objects orbiting above Earth.

The recent upgrade at White Sands is already fully operational, while another similar upgrade at the Maui site in Hawaii is in its final testing stages and will also become part of the GBOSS program once approved.

According to Colonel Barry Croker, Commander of SpOC Mission Delta 2 – Space Domain Awareness, this advancement offers “a leap forward in capability for the joint warfighter.” The updated system not only improves the accuracy and speed of detecting objects in orbit but also increases how often space is scanned (known as revisit rates) and how many objects can be monitored at once.

GBOSS was originally built in the 1980s, and this modernization was long overdue. The new version is far more sensitive, faster, and cost-efficient, with improved ability to work with commercial space data providers. This means better coordination across military and civilian space tracking efforts—something that's becoming increasingly important as both satellite traffic and threats in orbit continue to grow.

Shannon Pallone, SSC Program Executive Officer for Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication, and Space Intelligence, praised the teams behind the upgrade, saying they “demonstrated a strong technical understanding of requirements, skillful program management, and seamless execution.”

The U.S. Space Force says systems like GBOSS are crucial for tracking satellites and other space objects located more than 10,000 kilometers above Earth. With this upgrade, the military is better equipped to detect potential threats, avoid collisions, and maintain secure operations in orbit—key goals as space becomes a more contested domain.

Upgrades like this show how the U.S. is preparing to stay ahead in the increasingly crowded and competitive space environment, focusing not just on launching new assets but also on modernizing its ground-based infrastructure.