LeoLabs expands global space radar coverage as WA system declared operational

LeoLabs, a leading commercial provider of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services, has commissioned its West Australian Space Radar (WASR).

The WASR site at Collie, near Bunbury in WA, hosts two S-band active phased array radars that add critical surveillance capability for the Southern Hemisphere. In collaboration with the LeoLabs Kiwi Space Radar in the South Island of New Zealand, this site will enable superior tracking and monitoring of median to high inclination resident space objects in LEO in the heart of the Indo Pacific region.

The two radar sites will also increase LeoLabs capacity to discover new objects, including lethal, small debris that are currently non-trackable. Finally, with the addition of this new radar site, LeoLabs’ network has grown to include 10 independent radars across six operational sites, with plans to expand further in 2023 and 2024.

LeoLabs provides superior information in the dynamic space era through its vertically integrated space operations stack and globally networked space radars. LeoLabs announced its plans to build its sixth radar site near Bunbury in October 2021. Site work began in April 2022 with construction finishing in November and operational testing completed in December.

The US manufactured radars were assembled by a consortium of local Australian companies under the supervision of LeoLabs Australia.

Despite the COVID pandemic, local engineering companies were able to complete the project in eight months.