SATCAST-Space Awareness Toolkit for Calculating Anomalies to Satellite Tasking

The potentially catastrophic impact of enemy attacks on U.S. space assets, hence military missions, has led to recent efforts to improve Defensive Counter Space (DCS) workflow capabilities by increasing Space Situational Awareness (SSA). Critical for enhanced SSA, and therefore DCS workflow, is the ability to (a) distinguish natural space weather effects from enemy attacks on satellites and (b) assess satellite functionality and its impact on mission capability. Aptima proposes to develop a proof-of-concept of a Space Awareness Toolkit for Calculating Anomalies to Satellite Tasking (SATCAST). In Phase I, the Aptima team proposes a two-pronged approach to develop a system to augment Space Situational Awareness (SSA). First, we believe a dynamic interface is needed to support the range of users and variety of tasks supported by SSA. Second, we propose to utilize historical space weather data and associated platform effects as a way to devise decision support algorithms and models. The algorithms and database will be designed to aid in discriminating natural phenomena from hostile acts, predict potential impact on current and future missions for planning, contribute to the Single Integrated Space Picture (SISP), and preserve Space Superiority for our nation.