The Sentinel Watch Program

&nbsp The Sentinel Watch Program is the name given to the Defense Satellites and surface lunar stations protecting the Earth from potentially aberrant asteroid trajectories.

ORIGINS

The Sentinel Watch Program's practical origins came decades before the Collapse when Asteroid 4192 passed within 30,000km of the Earth's atmosphere. If it had hit, the damage would have been catastrophic, with an estimated death-toll in the billions of lives due to the impact and side effects of the collision.

At that point, the United States of America (now known as the United States of North America) launched satellites to monitor all asteroids in the vicinity of the solar system and followed this with missile-armed platforms, designed to intercept asteroids far out in the system to deflect their trajectory. Viewed with suspicion by the rival Chinese government, President Walker allowed Chinese scientists and engineers to examine the satellites before launch to assure them they were not meant as offensive weapons systems. Though they remained suspicious, the Chinese took no actions against the USA though they did attempt to duplicate the technology involved.

TODAY

As of Year +50, the much-upgraded Sentinel Watch Program remains controlled by the USNA government. Authority over the satellites has never been handed over to the World League of Nations and the USNA adamantly refuses to give up its control of the program. The WLN has debated building its own asteroid screen system, but to this point has taken no action, figuring that as outposts are established further out in the system, the problem will eliminate itself.

The USNA is aware of this as well and deep within the bowels of the Pentagon, in the little known offices of the Space Threat Assessment Office, discussions have been held by top officials whether the satellites' programming and wiring could be altered so that the satellites could be used for political leverage in the constant political infighting between governments, corporations, and the WLN on Earth.