STO-Activities: (no title)
Activity title:
Cross-Panel Collaborative Experimentation for Improved Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
Activity Reference:
SCI-SET-355
Panel:
SCI
Security Classification:
NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Status:
Active
Activity type:
RTG
Start date:
2024-03-06T00:00:00Z
Actual End date:
2027-03-06T00:00:00Z
Keywords:
Space Common Operational Picture COP, Space Domain Awareness SDA, Space Situational Awareness SSA
Background:
As NATO and National-level defense systems and military operations become more dependent upon comprehensive awareness of all relevant facets of the space domain, the concept of a Space Common Operating Picture (COP) has evolved to encompass not only tactically-relevant awareness, but also the larger prevailing strategic-level context. Thus, the traditional, narrowly-defined tactical concept of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is evolving to become more inclusive of all facets of the space domain relevant to military and security missions. The term Space Domain Awareness (SDA), analogous to Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Cyber Domain Awareness, and Air Domain Awareness, captures the required broader operational context relevant to conducting effective space operations and preserving space capabilities from loss or degradation.
Comprehensive operational awareness of the space domain is essential to the achievement of the NATO Long Term Aspect requirement for NATO Space Capability Preservation (as identified by the SCI-238 Specialists Meeting, March 2013). To enable NATO forces, space planners and operators to optimize deployment and protection of space capabilities and services provided to the Alliance by its member Nations, a COP of the space domain is essential. Due to the multi-dimensional technical scope of the involved data and product streams, along with associated variations in data protocols, sensor attributes and other technical variables, it is necessary to evolve a common integrated environment within the NATO space planning and operations domains to ensure the timely exploitation of those data and products. Although there are no limits on what constitutes SDA data, it is commonly understood to encompass space weather and environmental reporting, space object tracking and orbit characterization, space object collision and avoidance warning, space-enabled communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), and characterization and attribution of Radio Frequency (RF) Interference (RFI) against satellite control links and communication services.
Objectives:
The objective of this cross-panel RTG (SCI and SET) is to conduct mutually agreed-upon, collaborative SDA experimentation, leveraging and extending the previous SCI-311 RTG and ongoing SET-293 and SCI-349 RTGs. This RTG will manage and direct the collaborative collection, exchange, and processing of SDA data among participating member Nations (e.g., space environment, space object flight metric information and RFI of space services and space system command and control), and build a common database of observed data, including, but not limited to:
• Sensor data, including Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR), Electro-Optical (EO), and Passive RF, will be sourced by the participants, through the use of new collections or existing archives, and posted in a common format into a shared repository.
• Payload RF data and telemetry data will be used to evaluate and analyze RFI events.
• Satellite ephemeris data will be used as truth data for targets.
• Sensor calibration data will be gathered by participants and posted in a shared repository, in a common format, for processing/analysis by participants.
• Scenarios will include one or more single target(s) with available, accurate truth data (ephemerides).
• Participants will search and draw from a common sensor data repository, compute independent solutions (orbit determination, photometric extraction, data formatting, visualization), and post results to a common repository.
• Participants will collect and post/store space weather data, which may be used to support analyses.
• Participants will gather and post/store potential RFI reports, which may be used to support analyses.
• Participants will use archived data to evaluate proposed interchange formats, and exercise processes and resources for storage, search and retrieval.
Specific details regarding potential resources, architecture concepts, and proposed use cases are covered in a separate Terms of Reference (TOR) document. Deliverables include test plans, test reports, raw and processed data, and a final RTG report that summarizes achievements and recommendations going forward.
Topics:
The following topics will be addressed by the RTG:
• Space object tracking (including satellites, debris, rocket bodies, etc.). Includes: common information exchange/storage formats, sensor models, collection strategies, bi-static and multi-static RF observations, space object classification/characterization, etc.
• Satellite RFI (with impact to space communication services and satellite command and control).
• Space environmental conditions that affect spacecraft and space operations and services.
• Other concepts relevant to SDA data and information.
Contact:
Open2Partners:
Title:
Created at 25/10/2022 17:00 by System Account
Last modified at 16/05/2024 07:00 by System Account
Go back to list
Home(NATO STO)