DARPA Perspective on Space Situational Awareness

Transcription

1 DARPA Perspective on Space Situational Awareness Lt Col Travis Blake, Ph.D, Program Manager, Tactical Technology Office International Symposium on Sustainable Space Development and Space Situational Awareness 2015 February 26-27, 2015 Approved for Public Release (DISTAR 24158), Distribution Unlimited.

2 DARPA First orbiting satellite. The satellite was not a threat, but the level of technology indicated that the Soviet Union possessed superior capability for intercontinental reconnaissance and bombing th President of the United States Coined the term military-industrial complex and warned against its unwarranted influence. Created DARPA in response to Sputnik. Sputnik Dwight D. Eisenhower 2

3 Mission The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was established in 1958 to prevent strategic surprise from negatively affecting U.S. national security and create strategic surprise for U.S. adversaries by maintaining the technological superiority of the U.S. military. To fulfill its mission, the Agency relies on diverse performers to apply multi-disciplinary approaches to both advance knowledge through basic research and create innovative technologies that address current practical problems through applied research. As the DoD s primary innovation engine, DARPA undertakes projects that are finite in duration but that create lasting revolutionary change. 3

4 DARPA Vision for Robust Space Launch: Flexible, affordable access to include augmentation and reconstitution Aircraft-like space access to lower cost and increase capabilities New advances in propellants and rocket design Satellite: Changing the paradigm of satellite operations Rapid small satellite constellation capability GEO space robotics Repair and assembly capabilities could help create new architectures such as propellant depots Space Domain Awareness (SDA): Real-time space domain awareness Real-time detection, tracking, and attribution versus catalog maintenance and days to weeks of forensics Enhance the safety of space operations 4

5 Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Today ~16,000+ objects in km 3 (240,000 oceans) GEO Can t detect & track Can detect & track Known objects in GEO orbit 1,840 Can characterize KEY Cannot detect, track and characterize every object simultaneously U.S. satellites International satellites U.S. debris International debris Size of Objects (RCS m 2 ) MEO Number of Objects Can t detect & track Can detect & track Known objects in MEO orbit 1,890 Can characterize Can t detect & track Can detect & track Can characterize LEO Known objects in LEO orbit 12,020 SWISSCUBE RCS: m 2 Vanguard 1 RCS: 0.11 m 2 COSMOS 2080 RCS: 1.0 m 2 NAVSTAR 64 RCS: 6.3 m 2 ISS RCS: m 2 *data as of

6 Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Goals Real-time Space Domain Awareness (SDA) versus current practice of orbital catalog maintenance Detect / Track / ID: Search, discover, and maintain custody of ~15,000+ space objects, and activity in km 3 of orbital space Characterization: Distinguish between space objects, their type and use Differentiate between traffic, debris, space system anomalies and space weather effects Recognize routine activity and maneuvers and warn about dangerous or malicious activity Data Integration and Exploitation: Fuse all available multi-source data, automated algorithms, and other decision tools Provide actionable decision information for space operations 6

7 Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) SST offers ground-based capability for rapid uncued search, detection, and tracking of small objects in deep space Searches an area in space the size of the United States in seconds, and can survey ¼ GEO region of the sky multiple times in a single night Large 3.5m aperture for high sensitivity Optically fast (f/1) telescope for wide FOV and high search rate Advanced curved focal surface array for high sensitivity, accuracy, and rapid readout The United States and Australia plan to jointly operate the telescope beginning in 2016 to track space assets and debris, contribute to the safety and security of space-based systems, and increase the coverage of space objects from the Southern Hemisphere Location of Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt, Northwest Cape, Western Australia 7

8 SST Technical Achievements First large curved charge-coupled device (CCD) focal plane array First large three-mirror Mersenne-Schmidt telescope Steepest primary mirror ever polished One of the largest secondary mirrors Fast, agile telescope mount enables rapid sky survey 10 times faster SST Stats Weight 180,000 lbs Height 16.4 m Rotation Rate 17 deg/s Aperture 3.5 m Focal Length 3.49 m FOV 2 x 3 deg/s CCD Array 8192 x pixels Telescope Design Complete Camera Complete First Light Letter of Intent signed with Australia MOU signed with Australia Enclosure Construction Complete First Light Australia *Planned schedule Sep 2003 Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Oct 2011 Nov 2012 Feb 2013 Nov 2013 June 2016 March 2017 Aug 2017 Oct 2017 Dec 2017 Telescope Mount Assembled Telescope Assembled DARPA System Demonstration Australia Site Visits Enclosure Construction Commences Telescope Assembled in Australia Demonstration Begins in Australia 8

9 SST - Ibex Demonstration of tools to provide rapid identification and characterization of objects Demonstrated dynamic sensor tasking tip and cue between sensors Artist s Concept Using light curves, rapidly determine type of object (debris, active satellite, etc.) Update Joint Space Operations Center mission displays to incorporate those tools 9

10 OrbitOutlook Goal: Leverage hundreds of available, low-cost assets to increase coverage and persistence of tracking space objects Space Situational Awareness (SSA) currently uses sophisticated and exquisite certified government sensors Space object Government space based sensors Government ground based sensors With this model, greater coverage can only come at a significant cost Joint Space Operations Center Artist Concept Artist s Concept 10

11 OrbitOutlook Goal: Leverage hundreds of available, low-cost assets to increase coverage and persistence of tracking space objects OrbitOutlook aims to: Integrate space surveillance data from non-traditional DoD sources Commercial Academia International partners Space object Government space based sensors Government ground based sensors Establish processes to verify information assurance and data quality Commercial RF tracking Commercial optical tracking Joint Space Operations Center Data gathering and analysis International partner data Develop characterization and Indications and Warning (I&W) techniques University optical tracking Artist s Concept 11

12 OrbitOutlook Architecture Data Sources What data can be gleaned from site/sensor observations? Raw images are processed/reduced to obtain metrics (position and brightness); initial data association (group observations into tracks) DARPA OrbitOutlook Program Database What is the quality of the data? Metrics are assembled for quality: data integrity monitoring, bias estimation, and ID verification; sensor-site combo graded Algorithms Visualizations What can we learn from the data? Information is deduced/inferred from quality-weighted data-orbit determination, conjunction analysis, catalog correlation, UCT resolution, object characterization, and change detection All images Artist s Concepts 12

13 ATV-5 Re-entry International Observing Collaboration Global observation Global SSA Global collaboration Astroblogs Seti World Wide Web Jerry Lodriguss Study physics of shallow re-entry flight path Entry Phase - DARPA Ballistic Phase - NASA Maximize observers around the world Demonstrate international data sharing capability 13

14 Proposed Program for Real-time Space Domain Awareness Perform real-time information fusion, including course of action (COA) generation and execution support Ingest source-agnostic information Use automation algorithms as decision aids to meet specific timelines Develop 3D visualization containing intuitive commander operating picture Provide U.S. senior leadership the tools needed for real-time understanding and evaluation of the space environment Artist s Concept 14

15 Creating the Future Tactical space traffic control DARPA space programs could help enable breakthrough future technologies in many areas, including: Tactical space traffic control GEO robotic servicing Routine access to space DARPA seeks to fuel and leverage commercial capabilities, and partner with other agencies to augment national and economic security Artist s concept GEO robotic servicing Routine access to space Artist s concept Artist s concept 15

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