Daiki Mori, NEC Aerospace Systems, Ltd.; Masatoshi Ebara, NEC Corporation; Takahiro Okada, NEC Corporation; Hideki Kimura, NEC Corporation;
Keywords: SSA, STM, Commercial,
Abstract:
While the dependence on space expands in our normal life, the risks for space systems are also increasing, caused by congested Space Debris, and contesting, challenging space activities. Reflecting these backgrounds, the Japanese government designated the JMOD(Japan Ministry of Defense) under the Basic Plan on Space Policy to develop an own operative SSA system, which is now planned to operate from the year 2023.
Apart from the government plans, when we pay attention to out coming events, we find the mission assurance of the Japanese space systems may not be enough(in terms of surveillance), especially before 2023. For example, the Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympics auto-mobility events deeply rely on the newly operating positioning system, and JMOD communication satellites are absolutely imperative to the self-defense forces of Japan.
As a responsibility from the commercial sector, starting from April 2018, NEC has started developed a commercial, independent SSA capability, which we call the NEC ComSpOC, in our satellite operation center in Tokyo, and has built a prototype system for our own operation based on commercial products provided by Analytical Graphics, Inc. NEC also being a satellite operator, we find SSA important to support the following operations.
Orbit analysis of NEC owing satellites, and failure analysis for anomaly situations.
Issuing CDMs and supporting detailed assessments for collision avoiding operations.
Accumulating capabilities for more complex future SSA operations.
NEC also understands that contributing to the STM(Space Traffic Management) to partially cover and support future space operation activities, is an important role for the commercial sector. Since Japanese operators are relatively new and untrained enough in the SSA operations, NEC has also developed an evaluation and TTX(Table Top Exercise) environment in the system, independent to the NEC ComSpOC operations, which will reinforce the mission assurance of the Japanese space systems.
In this paper, we will share the current status of Japanese commercial SSA capabilities, and update any progress we have achieved from SSA information utilization.
Date of Conference: September 17-20, 2019
Track: Space Situational Awareness