Lt Col Hans Thatcher, Air Force Space Command
Keywords: SSA
Abstract:
With the signing of the National Space Policy in June of 2010 and the National Security Space Strategy in January of this year, the Department of Defense and the Air Force have clear direction to preserve vital national security capabilities in space. The ever-growing population of resident space objects necessitates improved Space Situational Awareness (SSA) to ensure safety of flight and enable defensive actions when necessary. The Air Force, through Air Force Space Command, has placed a particular emphasis on increasing National SSA capabilities in the Deep Space environment by fielding technologically advanced systems, seeking partnership opportunities, and identifying areas where data exploitation and technology advancements are needed. This presentation will discuss space and groundbased optical SSA sensor capabilities recently fielded to close key SSA capability gaps, describe how these sensors are being used to develop new tactics, techniques and procedures for conducting SSA and discuss activities underway to further exploit these new capabilities. The presentation will also discuss areas ripe for partnership with industry and other government agencies to tap into non-traditional SSA data sources to improve SSA capabilities while reducing overall cost. This could include opportunities to exploit inherent capabilities of existing systems or to enhance SSA capabilities through system modification. Finally, the presentation will identify where Air Force Space Command sees potential for capability advancement such as self aware SSA technologies and potential exploitation of space-based infrared collections. The presentation will close by challenging the audience to help meet National SSA objectives by developing new, innovative capabilities and techniques for SSA.
Date of Conference: September 13-16, 2011
Track: Space Situational Awareness