Space Force Picks Lake Kickapoo, Texas, To Complete DARC Radar Triad

The U.S. Space Force has selected a remote location near Lake Kickapoo in northern Texas as the third and final site for its next-generation ground-based space domain awareness network. The choice completes a three-site global triad designed to track objects in deep space, including in geostationary orbit.

The decision, announced September 9, identifies Lake Kickapoo as the preferred location for the third Deep-space Advanced Radar Capability, or DARC, installation. The program is run by the Space Force and represents a next-generation ground-based space awareness network.

DARC is intended to give the United States persistent, all-weather, 24-hour radar coverage of the geostationary belt, where many high-value military and communications satellites operate. The first site is located in Exmouth, Western Australia, where a transmit antenna has been photographed operating at night.

With the Texas selection, the Space Force fills out the third and final node in a global network built to monitor deep-space activity. The three sites together are designed to track objects far from Earth, including those in geostationary orbit.

Completing the triad marks a major step in the military's ability to watch adversary activity far from Earth. The network is designed to provide continuous radar coverage of the geostationary belt regardless of weather or time of day.

Once all three DARC sites are online, few maneuvers in the geostationary belt will go unseen. The Space Force has now identified all three locations required to bring the network to full coverage.