Lockheed Martin has modernized the process, and recently released a video showcasing their stunning surveillance system, dubbed Space Fence.

In addition to their impressive software, their vast array of displays and CSI-inspired animations looks like the command center of a future spaceship -- minus the aliens, of course.

Lockheed Martin's hardware lets them monitor all of the objects in orbit around Earth, as well as detect and track new objects that aren't in their database. Constantly looking for new objects, they claim their system is extremely accurate and able to "track something as small as a basketball, potentially traveling 17,000-m.p.h."

Lockheed expects the software to be in operation in 2015. It's slated to replace the Air Force Space Surveillance System, which has been in use since the early 60's.

[via , ]