Oliver Schultz, Lockheed Martin; Joseph Brink, Lockheed Martin; Mark Williams, Lockheed Martin
Keywords: Orbital State Recommender, Source Selection, Automation, Space Battle Management, Space BMC3
Abstract:
Effective Space Battle Management (SBM) in an increasingly complex space environment relies heavily on automated Space Domain Awareness (SDA) software capabilities to enable swift and decisive responses to time-sensitive events. The large quantity of available orbital data necessitates a reliable and efficient means of selecting the most pertinent information, thereby minimizing manual intervention. To address this challenge, we developed the Orbital State Recommendation (OSR) service, which leverages a standardized process integrating qualitative and quantitative analytics to rank orbital data.
Today, a decision-maker might receive multiple conflicting states for thousands of objects with no quick way of determining which states are most reliable. The OSR service’s automated ranking removes that uncertainty, allowing them to quickly determine a high confidence course of action. The primary objective of this research is to validate the effectiveness of the OSR service, ensuring it consistently delivers accurate and actionable recommendations to support informed decision-making. Additionally, we aim to enhance the scalability and effectiveness of the OSR, enabling it to handle the large volumes of data generated by numerous commercial and government data providers.
Our research methodology involves developing a process for evaluating and ranking orbital states, considering factors such as satellite patterns of life, maneuver history, and predicted maneuver activity. The service assesses the longevity of states ensuring that our recommendations are accurate and actionable.
Validating the OSR service is a critical step towards instilling operator confidence in automated SDA pipelines supporting SBM systems. The results demonstrate the OSR’s effectiveness in recommending orbital states for various resident space objects and mission scenarios. By providing operators with accurate and actionable information, our OSR service can help reduce the complexity and uncertainty associated with space operations, ultimately supporting more informed and decisive decision-making. Furthermore, our research has the potential to contribute to the development of more effective SDA systems, which are essential for ensuring the safety and security of space operations.
Date of Conference: September 16-19, 2025
Track: Astrodynamics