Captain Paul Maskell (Department of National Defence), Lorne Oram (Department of National Defence)
Keywords: SSA, SSA Architecture
Abstract:
The Canadian Department of National Defence is in the process of developing the
Canadian Space Surveillance System (CSSS) as the main focus of the Surveillance of
Space (SofS) Project. The CSSS consists of two major elements: the Sapphire System
and the Sensor System Operations Centre (SSOC). The space segment of the Sapphire
System is comprised of the Sapphire Satellite – an autonomous spacecraft with an
electro-optical payload which will act as a contributing sensor to the United States
(US) Space Surveillance Network (SSN). It will operate in a circular, sunsynchronous
orbit at an altitude of approximately 750 kilometers and image a
minimum of 360 space objects daily in orbits ranging from 6,000 to 40,000 kilometers
in altitude. The ground segment of the Sapphire System is composed of a Spacecraft
Control Center (SCC), a Satellite Processing and Scheduling Facility (SPSF), and the
Sapphire Simulator. The SPSF will be responsible for data transmission, reception,
and processing while the SCC will serve to control and monitor the Sapphire Satellite.
Surveillance data will be received from Sapphire through two ground stations.
Following processing by the SPSF, the surveillance data will then be forwarded to the
SSOC.
The SSOC will function as the interface between the Sapphire System and the US Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC). The JSpOC coordinates input from various sensors around the world, all of which are a part of the SSN. The SSOC will task the Sapphire System daily and provide surveillance data to the JSpOC for correlation with data
from other SSN sensors. This will include orbital parameters required to predict future positions of objects to be tracked. The SSOC receives daily tasking instructions from the JSpOC to determine which objects the Sapphire spacecraft is required to observe. The advantage of this space-based sensor over ground-based telescopes is that weather and time of day are not factors affecting observation. Thus, space-based optical surveillance does not suffer outage periods of surveillance as is the case with ground-based optical sensors. This allows a space-based sensor to obtain more data and to collect it from a more flexible vantage point. The Sapphire launch is planned for July 2011. The Sapphire spacecraft is designed to operate for a minimum of five years. It will contribute considerably to establishing a significant space capability for Canada. This and other current Canadian space initiatives, will have wide-ranging benefits in the area of National Defence.
Date of Conference: September 16-19, 2008
Track: SSA & SSA Architecture