Space Domain Awareness (SDA)
Abstract
The goal of the Space Domain Awareness (SDA) program is to develop and demonstrate an operational framework and responsive defense application to enhance the availability of vulnerable space-based communications resources. SDA will investigate revolutionary technologies in two areas: 1) advanced space surveillance sensors to better detect, track, and characterize space objects, with an emphasis on deep space objects, and 2) space surveillance data processing/data fusion to provide automated data synergy, to increase space domain awareness, overall space safety of flight, and ultimately to allow space operators to make informed, timely decisions. Current space surveillance sensors cannot detect, track, or determine the future location and threat potential of small advanced technology spacecraft in deep space orbits, where a majority of DoD spacecraft are located. Additionally, servicing missions to geosynchronous (GEO) orbits will require exquisite situational awareness, from ultra high-accuracy debris tracking for mission assurance at GEO orbits to high resolution imaging of GEO spacecraft for service mission planning. The SDA program will leverage data fusion and advanced algorithms developed under the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) program, as well as seek to exploit new ground-breaking technologies across the electromagnetic spectrum and utilize already existing sensor technology in non-traditional or exotic ways, to bring advanced capabilities to the space domain. SDA will correlate a wide range of operational support and space system user data to rapidly identify threat activities, propose mitigating countermeasures, and verify the effectiveness of selected responses. Critical technologies include accessing disparate sources of relevant data, model-based situational awareness, and candidate response generation and evaluation. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ability to continuously adapt to changes in defended system components and usage patterns as well as validation of system integrity. The potential transition customer is the Air Force. Efficient collection of data for SDA is crucial to controlling costs. SDA will demonstrate new approaches to collection of data utilizing a variety of collection modalities, ranging from fusion of observations from amateur astronomers, to evaluation of sparse aperture imaging techniques. The first sparse aperture demonstration is Galileo. This effort will develop technology to image a Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite from the ground. Galileo will utilize fixed mobile telescopes, each with adaptive optics and a guide star, to create multiple baselines that can be used to reconstruct the image through an inverse Fourier transform. The concept is similar to existing astronomic interferometers, except Galileo will extend the basic interferometric technology to utilize fiber optic transport of light between each telescope to match the optical path length instead of the traditional evacuated light tubes. Technical challenges include: controlling thermal effects and disperation within the fiber to properly interfere the light from the two telescopes, and precisely measuring the distance between the fixed and mobile telescope systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2013
- Source ID
- 5906c2def49bfc272dffec0ce776f09d