James A. Blake, University of Warwick; Katherine Courtney, KCourtney Business Innovation & Strategy; Ralph Dinsley, Northern Space & Security (NORSS) Ltd.; Stuart Eves, SJE Space Ltd; Jacob Geer, UK Space Agency; Theresa Harrison, University of Warwick; Robert Mann, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh; Don Pollacco, University of Warwick
Keywords: Space Sustainability, Space Domain Awareness, Network, Space Debris, Space Traffic Management, Cross-sector Collaboration, Community Engagement
Abstract:
The Global Network On Sustainability In Space (GNOSIS) is a community-driven network supported by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through their 21st Century Challenges scheme. Founded in 2019, the network has facilitated a variety of workshops, sandpit discussions, and multi-day conferences to bring academic researchers into contact with industry, government, and defence, with a shared aim of identifying, understanding, and solving problems pertaining to space sustainability. Despite operating in a predominantly virtual capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the network has amassed over three hundred members from the international space domain awareness (SDA) community.
We present an overview of GNOSIS activities and discuss key findings from the sandpit discussions that have taken place, covering a wide range of subject matter, from novel observation techniques to space-based SDA solutions, space weather effects, and SDA data management, security, and ethics. A key output from these discussions has been the identification of a series of capability gaps in current SDA knowledge and technologies, which has inspired further discourse through a recent SDA study commissioned by the UK Space Agency, with support from GNOSIS and UKspace. The study aims to understand the developments needed to progress the UKs SDA capability, by soliciting the views of academic and industrial actors.
In addition to supporting community engagement, GNOSIS also provides seed funding for short-term scoping and proof-of-concept studies, alongside part funding for PhD studentships. Moreover, a series of “Technical Challenges” have been released, aimed at deriving key performance parameters, a system CONOPS, and initial implementation cost estimates for future SDA technologies; either pre-defined by the GNOSIS management team, or proposed by members of the network. The primary aim of the GNOSIS funding streams is to foster collaboration between the academic and commercial SDA communities, by applying science, technology, and/or expertise from the STFC and other relevant UKRI-funded programmes to problems associated with space debris and traffic management. We provide examples of ongoing projects supported by GNOSIS funds, including a PhD studentship developing space dust and debris detectors, making use of the University of Kents hypervelocity impact facility, and a proof-of-concept study led by the University of Warwick investigating multispectral signatures of geosynchronous satellites by repurposing the SuperWASP-North observatory on La Palma, Canary Islands.
We conclude by exploring the future pathways for GNOSIS, both in terms of the programme content and funding of the network itself beyond the current 4.5-year grant period, focussing particularly on the opportunities for enhanced international engagement.
Date of Conference: September 27-20, 2022
Track: SSA/SDA