Low Latency Space Object Maneuver Detection

The space domain is becoming more crowded, placing a greater burden on the USSFÆs Space Domain Awareness (SDA) operations. Current observation efforts cannot monitor all near-Earth space in real-time, but only as objects pass by ground- or space-based sensors. As a result, organizations like the 19th Space Defense Squadron (SDS) occasionally detect an object in an orbit that did not appear in a previous observation. The challenge for 19th SDS operators, upon detecting an unexpected track, is to determine if they are observing a new spacecraft or an existing spacecraft in the catalog that may have changed orbits. The proposed maneuver detection approach adds the needed data-driven context to inform SDA operators how to make sense of what they see when new orbital tracks appear.Ā In response to the DoD SBIR 2024.1 Solicitation for the Space Force Phase I Program, topic SF241-0023 ōLow Latency Space Object Maneuver Detectionö Advanced Space, LLC (Advanced Space) proposes an automated maneuver detection pipeline. This solution is driven by the observation that the most challenging aspect of detecting spacecraft maneuvers is determining which tracked object in a catalog, if any, produced a given measurement track. The problem is compounded by the fact that measurement tracks may be sparse in time and likely do not have enough information to determine an orbit completely without first being associated to other tracks. Starting from this measurement-centric point of view, the maneuver detection pipeline proposed here will solve the underlying association problems by developing robust track association toolsĀ Dr. Matthew Givens is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the proposed project, functioning as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in SDA. Dr. Givens earned his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder where he studied and researched novel relative navigation and mapping algorithms applied to space situational awareness and spacecraft rendezvous and proximity operations. Dr. Givens is an SME in statistical estimation techniques applied to spacecraft astrodynamics, navigation, attitude determination, and computer vision. Dr. Givens is a Senior Navigation Engineer at Advanced Space. He is supported primarily by Dr. Jeffrey Parker, CTO of Advanced Space, who is an SME in mission design and navigation of spacecraft in cislunar space, including Advanced SpaceÆs CAPSTONETM mission currently at the Moon. Dr. Parker has led 7 government-sponsored projects as PI, totaling more than $4.2M in value.Ā