Local Area Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Optical Sensor System for Satellites

Digital Fusion, Inc. (DFI) proposes to design a compact, lightweight space situational awareness (SSA) sensor using polarimetry as a novel sensing approach. Polarimetry has been shown to provide information on surface orientation and material classification. For SSA, it contributes to reduced data processing requirements to distinguish objects of interest from the background as well as provide important additional information about targets. The proposed effort involves improving the understanding of phenomenology of PI with respect to spacecraft materials, reviewing customer requirements and constraints relative to CONOPS, completing the development of an optical registration device to improve image quality, developing specifications, and completing a concept design for the sensor. The sensor is anticipated to use a novel off-axis parabolic reflector as the primary, significantly decreasing mass compared to a refractive objective. During Phase II, the concept design will be expanded to define the interface with the satellite bus, optimize the design for performance, and fabricate a flight-traceable prototype sensor.