Scoring Capability for OPIR Ranking Evaluation (SCORE)

The US Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) along with the US Space Force (USSF), Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and Space Development Agency (SDA) are all developing next generation satellite constellations for overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) missions. SMC is also sponsoring the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) programs through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) that are designed to enable a future open architecture for OPIR ground processing. Though specific missions for these OPIR systems/programs differ by agency there is a high degree of overlap within OPIR algorithms needed to achieve mission success across programs. With so many different efforts offering competing algorithmic solutions and without any standardization between programs it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine what the best solution is for particular common applications. SMC has taken strides recently to foster open OPIR innovation through efforts like the TAP Lab. To date there is no clear way to compare competing algorithms even in such open environments. As new algorithms and new companies enter the OPIR processing arena, the need for constant comparisons between various approaches will become increasingly important. To address these needs, we propose developing a Scoring Capability for OPIR Ranking Evaluation (SCORE).