Technical Papers – AI for SDA Applications

A Feasibility Study on Scientific Machine Learning in Detecting and Characterising Satellite Manoeuvres (2026)
Olivia Widjaja, University of New South Wales Canberra; Melrose Brown, University of New South Wales Canberra; Michael Lachut, EOS Space Systems

Keywords: Manoeuvre detection, orbit determination, characterisation, machine learning

A Repeatable Code World Model Assistant for Orbital Debris Governance and Mitigation (2026)
Tyler Barr, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Kyah Adams, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Di Wu, Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords: orbital debris, Space Situational Awareness, Monte Carlo simulation, debris environment modeling, policy compliance, quantitative governance, explainable AI, large language models, Code World Model, decision support

A Transformer-Based Framework for Generalized Maneuver Detection and Reconstruction (2026)
Matteo Rosa, Politecnico di Milano; Gaetano Calabrò, Politecnico di Milano; Pierluigi Di Lizia, Politecnico di Milano

Keywords: Satellite maneuver detection; Space Domain Awareness (SDA); Space Situational Awareness (SSA); Transformer neural networks; Attention mechanisms; Two-Line Elements (TLE); Low Earth Orbit (LEO); Supervised learning; Orbital dynamics; Data-driven modeling.

Advancing Cislunar SSA/SDA: Autonomous Distributed Data Communication Scheduling and Link Optimization (2026)
Richard Stottler, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.; Rakshith Mandayam, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.; Brandon Liu, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.; William Lin, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.

Keywords: Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Domain Awareness (SDA), Cislunar, Routing Protocol, Link Optimization, Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN), Scheduling, Reinforcement Learning (RL), Communication Network

Argus: Satellite Streak Detection with a Frozen Vision Transformer Backbone (2026)
Zachary Phaneuf, Cloudstone Innovations; Nathan Toner, Cloudstone Innovations

Keywords: Detection, localization, machine learning, vision transformer, wide field of view, surveillance

Autonomous Satellite Maneuver Analysis Using Domain Ontology and LLM-Based Reasoning (2026)
Jaedong Seong, Korea Aerospace Research Institute; Saehan Song, Korea Aerospace Research Institute; Seo-Eun Lee, Korea Aerospace Research Institute; Okchul Jung, Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Keywords: Space Domain Awareness, Ontology, Autonomous Analysis, Maneuver Detection, Large Language Model, TLE, SGP4, Rule-Based Reasoning

Boosting On-Sky RSO Detection Performance by Optimizing Simulated Imagery for Machine Learning (2026)
David Chaparro, EO Solutions; Kevin Phan, EO Solutions; Enrique De Alba, EO Solutions; Zach Gazak, SSC/SYD 85/BI A&AS

Keywords: Fine Tuning, Simulated Datasets, Satellite Detection, Pretraining, task-informed weight initialization,

Classical to Neural: Quantitative Assessment of Detection Processing Architectures for Dim-Object Detection Across Space Surveillance and Adjacent Sensing Domains (2026)
Christopher Grant, Hyperion Vector Systems

Keywords: detection algorithms, neural networks, quantization, classical processing, DCNN, space domain awareness, edge deployment, model optimization, processing architecture comparison, infrared detection, dim-object detection

Domain-Adversarial Training to Reduce Temporal and Cross-Site Shift in GEO Classification from Unresolved Spectral Data (2026)
George Landon, Cedarville University; Timothy Giblin, i2 Strategic Services LLC; Kyle Jones, United States Air Force Academy; Francis Chun, United States Air Force Academy

Keywords: Geostationary Earth Orbit, Unresolved satellite characterization, Slitless spectroscopy, Domain-adversarial training, Feature alignment, 1D convolutional neural networks, multi-head classification

Edge-Deployable Physics-Informed and Quantum Assisted Neural Networks for Real-Time Autonomous Orbit Prediction (2026)
Alex Khan, BosonQ Psi Corp; Dhamotharan S, BosonQ Psi Corp; Divyansh Deshmukh, BosonQ Psi Corp; Aditi Lal, BosonQ Psi Corp; Jay Shah, BosonQ Psi Corp; Parth Danve, BosonQ Psi Corp; Rut Lineswala, BosonQ Psi Corp; Abhishek Chopra, BosonQ Psi Corp

Keywords: SDA, QAPINN, PINN, Propagation, AI, Edge, Autonomy, Orekit, Maneuver, Surrogate, Conjunction, Uncertainty

Enhancing Space Domain Awareness through Probabilistic Forecasting of Satellite Maneuvers (2026)
Zachary Pollmiller, CFC; Christopher Irrgang, CFC; William Jantscher, CFC; Ryan Do, CFC

Keywords: Satellite Characterization, AI for SDA, unsupervised machine learning, maneuver prediction, big data

Flow Matching for Multi-Agent Sensor Tasking: A Generative Approach to Coordinating Ground-Based Optical Sensors for Space Domain Awareness (2026)
Amit Jain, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ; Richard Linares, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Keywords: Space Domain Awareness (SDA), Multi-agent sensor tasking, Flow matching, Reinforcement learning, Policy optimization

Foresight: A Benchmark Framework for Space Computer Vision (2026)
R. Abraham Martin, Space Dynamics Laboratory; Sierra Reynolds, Space Dynamics Laboratory; Abdirahman Ali, Space Dynamics Laboratory; Alex Allgrunn, Space Dynamics Laboratory; Eric McKinney, Space Dynamics Laboratory

Keywords: Machine Learning, AI, Synthetic Data, MLOPs, Benchmarking, SDA, RPO, Foresight

Improving Low-SNR RSO Learned Detection Through Detectability-Aware Sampling and Loss Scaling (2026)
Kevin Phan, EO Solutions; David Chaparro, EO Solutions; Zach Gazak, Space Systems Command A&AS

Keywords: Space Domain Awareness, Space Situational Awareness, Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio Detection, SNR-Aware Training, Detectability Modeling, Optical Space Object Detection, Imbalanced Training Dynamics, Loss Reweighting

Infrared Dim-Object Detection Training Data from NASA Archival Imagery: A Multi-Domain Framework with Initial SSA Results ?? (2026)
Christopher Grant, Hyperion Vector Systems; Geoffrey Lake, Icebox Engineering

Keywords: infrared detection, training dataset, WISE, machine learning, space domain awareness, thermal emission, labeled data, dim-object detection, multi-domain, NEO Surveyor, coast-phase tracking

Joint Radon–Image Reasoning for Faint Streak Detection in Optical Space Surveillance (2026)
Chee-Kheng Chng, Adelaide University; Timothy Payne, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Tat-Jun Chin, Adelaide University

Keywords: Streak detection, Radon Transform, Deep Learning, SDA

Learning to Coordinate: Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Tasking of GEO Sensor Constellations (2026)
Trier Mortlock, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Nathan Golovich, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Alex Geringer-Sameth, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Robert Armstrong, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Kshitij Bhardwaj, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Peter McGill, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Keywords: Autonomous tasking, space situational awareness, reinforcement learning, object tracking, sensor scheduling

Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Balancing SDA Task Execution and On-Orbit Constellation Management (2026)
Ryan Herchig, IERUS Technologies, Inc; Ted Green, Lockheed Martin Corporation; John Burger, IERUS Technologies, Inc; Mary Stewart, IERUS Technologies, Inc

Keywords: multi-agent reinforcement learning, space domain awareness, dynamic tasking, satellite constellation operations, satellite maintenance planning, multi-objective reinforcement learning, autonomous space operations

Physics-Informed Representation Learning for Satellite Behavior Characterization Across the Geosynchronous Regime (2026)
David Beskow, United States Military Academy; Christopher Gramling, United States Military Academy; Madison Oliver, United States Military Academy

Keywords: Space Domain Awareness, Satellite Behavior Characterization, Geosynchronous Earth Orbit, Behavioral Embeddings, Maneuver Detection, Long Short Term Memory, Representation Learning, Pattern of Life, Behavioral Clustering

Pointing the Way: Deep Reinforcement Learning on Unordered Sets for Boresight Tasking (2026)
Collin Phillips, Virginia Tech

Keywords: Reinforcement Learning, Space Domain Awareness, Autonomous Sensor Tasking, Continuous Boresight Tasking, Deep Neural Networks

Proactive Satellite Threat Detection Through Physics-Informed Pattern of Life Analysis Across All Orbital Regimes (2026)
Ingo Waldmann, Spaceflux; Marco Rocchetto, Spaceflux; Kerri Mertz, Spaceflux; Joshua Williamson, Spaceflux; Fiorenzo Stoppa, Spaceflux

Keywords: Pattern of Life, Space Domain Awareness, Space Situational Awareness, Anomaly Detection, Physics-Informed Machine Learning, Orbital Behaviour Analysis, Satellite Characterisation, Proactive Threat Detection, Autonomous Sensor Tasking

Rashomon in Orbit: When Do Satellite Light Curves Tell the Same Story? (2026)
Kimmy De Alba, U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command; Enrique De Alba, EO Solutions; Alexander Cabello, EO Solutions; Zach Gazak, U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command; Justin Fletcher, U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command

Keywords: Aperture photometry, astronomical image processing, robust magnitude estimation, feature fusion, sim-to-real transfer, interpretable machine learning, satellite photometry, domain adaptation.

Responsive Autonomous Resident Space Object Imaging and Catalog Maintenance Using Reinforcement Learning Across Orbital Regimes (2026)
Daniel Huterer Prats, University of Colorado Boulder; Hanspeter Schaub, University of Colorado Boulder

Keywords: Space Situational Awareness, Space Domain Awareness, Reinforcement Learning, Autonomous Satellite Operations, Space-to-Space Surveillance, Resident Space Objects, Multi-Orbit Imaging, Onboard Autonomy

Robust EO/IR Glint Estimation Using Deep Neural Networks (2026)
Micajah Schweikert, Modern Technology Solutions, Inc.; Nathan Highsmith, Modern Technology Solutions, Inc.; Jorge O'farrill, Modern Technology Solutions, Inc.

Keywords: Electro-optical, Infrared, Glint Estimation, AI, ML,

The AI Librarian: Building a Modern Data Library with an Agentic AI Data Broker (2026)
Devon Messecar, United States Space Force

Keywords: agentic, AI, data broker, data federation, agents, large language model, data feeds, data access, data discoverability, UDL

Transformer Networks for Spaceborne Detection of Temporarily Bound Objects (2026)
Widy Wang, University of Toronto; Sean Wolfe, University of Toronto; M. Reza Emami, University of Toronto

Keywords: Temporarily bound objects, Near-Earth asteroids, Spaceborne object detection, transformer network, Machine learning, Cislunar space domain awareness