Collision Risk Management Using Autonomous System for Secondary Object Tracking

£5.00

W. Zaidi et al. (2019), JBIS72, pp.17-27

Refcode: 2019.72.17

Abstract:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) predicts that deep-space and GEO orbit populations will grow by at least 45% over the next 20 years. This growth in the artificial satellite population further stresses the ability of government to maintain a comprehensive, near real-time deep-space catalogue. The Combined Space Operations Centre (CSpOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the source of Conjunction Data Messages (CDMs) for many operational craft, is challenged balancing the cost of their catalogue maintenance responsibilities supporting commercial industry with their other military SSA missions. To help address these future challenges of catalogue maintenance and commercial safety of flight, the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) has led research efforts of alternative, more cost-effective approaches to executing the function of Commercial Space Catalogue. In response to this need, L3 Applied Defence Solutions (L3 ADS) has designed an autonomous Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (TCPED) architecture for object tracking and catalogue maintenance. This system can be used to provide enhanced space situational awareness as part of a collision risk management system which enables spacecraft operators to better respond to conjunction events.