DENVER (AP) – A new U.S. Air Force satellite will provide better surveillance of hundreds of satellites and thousands of pieces of space debris that could crash into American assets circling the Earth.

If all goes as planned, the $500 million Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite will have an unobstructed view of increasingly heavy traffic in Earth orbit.

The satellite is scheduled for launch Thursday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder, Colo.