TRUSTED SPACE INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: SF222-D009

Description

The United States Space Force (USSF) needs information generation techniques to enable Space Domain Awareness (SDA) throughout the expanded Area of Regard beyond the Geosynchronous (xGEO) regime. Here we define xGEO as the 4pi steradian volume encompassing the space out to and beyond lunar distances from Earth, and Non-Standard Threat Vectors (NSTVs) as the trajectories of the spacecraft transiting the xGEO domain. This xGEO regime provides a safe haven where threats can hide, reconfigure, and return to Earth with no attribution. Due to the combined gravity of the Earth and Moon, the xGEO domain enables low-cost options for spacecraft to rapidly alter course to unexpectedly threaten terrestrial- and space-based assets. Existing SDA architectures were not designed for xGEO domain awareness resulting in limited capabilities for 24/7/365 custody. Low target signal (due to poor illumination conditions for long periods of time) and vast distances (up to an order of magnitude larger than GEO distance from Earth) limit the ability of observation systems at GEO altitudes and below to detect such objects. Trusted Space, Inc., proposes to perform Modeling and Simulation (M&S) of three Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) for generating actionable information on NSTV threats to: quantify the Technology Readiness Levels of, develop a maturation plan for, and demonstrate each of the KETs. The developed solution will answer the following questions: What object(s) are in the domain? Where are they? Where did they come from (i.e., who put it there and from where)? Where are they going? Our Phase II objective is to design, develop, and demonstrate information generation techniques to observe and deter hostile actions from NSTVs in xGEO. We will also develop and mature methods, algorithms, and processes for: xGEO Concepts of Operations (CONOPs) optimization; low SNR object detection in dense star clutter; and object Initial Orbit Determination (IOD) and tracking (i.e., Orbit Determination (OD)) using a framework that combines the Probabilistic Admissible Region (PAR, for IOD) and the Particle Gaussian Mixture Filter (PGMF, for OD). Trusted Space is an ideal partner to carry out this effort. Our team has completed multiple efforts that qualify us for a Direct-to-Phase-II project. We have developed and matured xGEO M&S capabilities, along with thousands of NSTV models that we can leverage in this effort. Moreover, the algorithms proposed for this effort are uniquely suited for the xGEO regime since they are derived from three-body dynamics. We have extensive experience with operational missions in xGEO and with tasking, scheduling, and CONOPs optimization. We have deep technical expertise in electro-optical Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination, along with the IOD/OD processing needed for it. Finally, our team has a long experience with civil, commercial, DoD and Intelligence Community missions spanning unclassified and classified efforts.