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Space domain awareness is the study and monitoring of satellites
United States Space Surveillance
{{Politics of outer space Space technology Surveillance Space debris
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...
ing the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
. It involves the detection, tracking, cataloging and identification of artificial objects, i.e. active/inactive satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
s, spent rocket
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
bodies, or fragmentation debris.
Aims
Space domain awareness accomplishes the following: * Predicting when and where a decaying space object will re-enter theEarth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is composed of a layer of gas mixture that surrounds the Earth's planetary surface (both lands and oceans), known collectively as air, with variable quantities of suspended aerosols and particulates (which create weathe ...
;
* Preventing a returning space object, which to radar
Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
looks like a missile, from triggering a false alarm
A false alarm, also called a nuisance alarm, is the deceptive or erroneous report of an emergency, causing unnecessary panic and/or bringing resources (such as emergency services) to a place where they are not needed. False alarms may occur with ...
in missile-attack warning sensors;
* Charting the present position of space objects and plot their anticipated orbital paths;
* Detecting new human-made objects in space;
* Producing a running catalogue of human-made space objects;
* Determining which country owns a re-entering space object;
* Informing countries whether or not objects may interfere with satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
s and International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
orbits;
* Providing data for future anti-satellite weapons systems.
Systems
Systems include: * The DEEP-Sight prototype, designed by Deepinder Uppal on behalf of the Defense Innovation Unit, this system is designed to provide space domain awareness across a broad-spectrum of SDA use cases to Space Force, the United States Navy and PSRA (Public Satellite Research and Analysis) teams. * The United States Space Surveillance Network which has detectors such as the Space Fence (replacing the now defunctAir Force Space Surveillance System
The AN/FPS-133 Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, was a U.S. government multistatic radar system built to detect orbital objects passing over America. It is a component of the U.S. space surveillance ...
) and Space Surveillance Telescope
* The Russian Centre for Outer Space Monitoring with facilities such as Okno
Okno ( meaning window) is a Russian space surveillance station located in Nurak in Tajikistan. It is run by the Russian Space Forces and is part of the Centre for Outer Space Monitoring. It is located above sea level in the Sanglok mountains, ...
and Krona and Sazhen-S, used to analyse the orbital parameters of space craft.
* The French GRAVES (Grand Réseau Adapté à la Veille Spatiale) bi-static radar-based space surveillance system deploy by French Air Force
* The European Space Situational Awareness Programme
The Space Safety Programme, formerly the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme, is the European Space Agency's (ESA) initiative to monitor hazards from space, determine their risk, make this data available to the appropriate authorities and w ...
with multiple assets in its Space Surveillance and Tracking Segment
* The Australian based Silentium Defence
Silentium is a Finland, Finnish gothic metal band. The band was formed in 1995 and it originates from Jämsänkoski, Finland. Keyboardist Sami Boman and original vocalist Matti Aikio created Silentium by adding violin player Jani Laaksonen, guita ...
Oculus passive radar
Passive radar (also referred to as parasitic radar, passive coherent location, passive surveillance, and passive covert radar) is a class of radar systems that detect and track objects by processing reflections from non-cooperative sources of illu ...
space observatory in Swan Reach, South Australia
* The American National Reconnaissance Office
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...
's Silentbarker satellites
References
External links
United States Space Surveillance
{{Politics of outer space Space technology Surveillance Space debris