The United States Air Force made history on September 13, 1985. The first air-to-space missile was launched on this day, successfully destroying an orbiting satellite. This remarkable achievement gave America the upper hand against the Soviet Union during the US-Soviet Space Race. But did you know about the first space ace?
Major Wilbert “Doug” Peterson performed the first and only air-to-space kill in history on September 13, 1985, when he shot down a satellite with an F-15A fighter jet.
The Space Race between Russia and the United States
During the Space Race, the Soviet Union developed a robust program capable of launching very small reconnaissance satellites into orbit to track the location of US military forces. Even though America was ahead of the Soviets in defense, the country’s government was intimidated by these small satellites, which nearly eliminated the element of surprise in military attacks.
Fears that the Soviet Union would soon launch nuclear-armed satellites into space prompted the United States government to launch its program to destroy Soviet satellites. These concerns arose as early as the October 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, but it would take several decades, despite numerous attempts, before an adequate plan was implemented. (Source: War History Online)
The Historic Flight
During the Space Race, the Soviet Union developed a robust program capable of launching very small reconnaissance satellites into orbit to track the location of US military forces. Even though America was ahead of the Soviets in defense, the country’s government was intimidated by these small satellites, which nearly eliminated the element of surprise in military attacks.
Wilbert Pearson took three hours after takeoff to reach an altitude of 30,000 feet. He then activated the afterburners on his F-15A Eagle and accelerated to Mach 1.3, pulling the plane into a 60-degree climb before slowing to Mach.96 as the countdown to the missile launch began. He pressed the pickle button and launched the ASM-135 ASAT toward the P78-1 Solwind satellite once the countdown was complete.
It was just a beautiful sight to see the missile suspended there and the flame come out of the rocket motor. And then it took off like a bandit.” Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to see or know for himself if the missile had reached its target. Instead, he’d established a code with a control room operator that would let him know whether the test was successful
Wilbert Pearson, First Space Ace
For this time-sensitive mission, selecting the right aircraft was critical. It came down to the F-15 Eagle in the end.
The F-15 was a real racehorse, We could fly supersonic and we could maneuver it to be in the right kind of a climb, and we could integrate all the required systems into the airplane to communicate with the missile. It could physically hold the ASAT weapon. It was a very large missile so it needed a big enough airplane.
Wilbert Pearson, First Space Ace
(Source: War History Online)
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