Space Situational Awareness
Guetlein: improved space domain awareness essential for national security
With space essential to military operations, better understanding of what objects are in orbit and the threats they may pose is “foundational” for space security, a Space Force general said.
Commerce and Defense Departments sign agreement on space traffic management cooperation
The Departments of Commerce and Defense have signed an agreement to cooperate on transferring responsibility for civil and commercial space traffic management.
Getting SSA off the ground
Investors are funding orbital solutions for tracking space objects.
U.S., South Korea agree to cooperate on space situational awareness for military purposes
The SSA pact is part of a broader space security agreement reached between John D. Hill, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, and Cho Yong-geun, the South Korean defense ministry’s director of North Korea policy, during the April 25 session of the Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG) in Washington
SES to work with NorthStar on space situational awareness
Satellite operator SES announced March 31 it is working with Canadian startup NorthStar Earth & Space on developing space situational awareness (SSA) data products to support its fleet of communications satellites.
Spire to build space situational awareness satellites for NorthStar
NorthStar Earth & Space, a company planning a satellite constellation to collect space situational awareness (SSA) data, is working with Spire to field an initial fleet of spacecraft.
Chinese official calls for protection of space assets, international coordination mechanisms
China needs to accelerate the development of space asset protection policies and related international coordination mechanisms, according to a space industry official.
Slingshot Aerospace closes $25 million fundraising round
Slingshot Aerospace, a company that develops technologies for space situational awareness, announced March 10 it has raised $25 million in Series A-1 funds.
Privateer unveils technology for improved tracking of space objects
A new venture that emerged from stealth this week promises better information about objects in orbit and more tailored space situational awareness services for satellite operators.
NOAA seeking information on commercial space situational awareness data
The Commerce Department is seeking information on commercial sources of space situational awareness (SSA) data to augment its own space traffic management capabilities.
Russian ASAT debris creating “squalls” of close approaches with satellites
Debris from a Russian antisatellite weapon demonstration in November are creating surges of close approaches, in some cases tens of thousands in a week, with active satellites in low Earth orbit.
Space Force eyes lower-cost sensors to monitor geostationary orbit
GEOST won two U.S. Space Force contracts worth $38 million to develop an optical sensor payload that could be hosted on government or commercial satellites.
LeoLabs to construct radars in Western Australia
LeoLabs announced plans Oct. 19 to construct two phased-array radars in Western Australia, the sixth site for the Silicon Valley startup’s global space-tracking network.
Op-ed | Is International Collaboration for Space Situational Awareness Possible?
When it comes to collecting and interpreting a multitude of satellite orbit observations from numerous observations throughout the world, there are at least three impediments: diverse observation standards and calibrations, competition and secrecy, and differences in orbit determination schemes.
Satellite operators need more accurate SSA data
Space situational awareness data used by satellite operators isn’t accurate enough to support the decisions they need to make on whether and how to maneuver their spacecraft to avoid potential collisions.
Numerica upgrades telescope network to track objects in LEO
Space data provider Numerica is upgrading its network of ground-based telescopes so they can track objects both in low Earth orbit and beyond.
United Kingdom a potential site for future U.S. space surveillance radar
U.S. Space Force officials have begun discussions with the U.K. government about the possibility of building a deep-space radar site in the United Kingdom.
Op-ed | NOAA is stalling U.S. space traffic management
Rather than move forward with efforts to work with industry on space traffic management solutions, the Commerce Department is funding studies of topics that in some cases were addressed in a report last year by NAPA, risking both U.S. leadership in the field and space safety generally.
LeoLabs raises $65 million in Series B funding round
LeoLabs plans to accelerate deployment of its global radar network and expand space situational awareness services with $65 million raised in a Series B financing round announced June 3.
Arecibo replacement could support space situational awareness
A proposal to replace the giant radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico with a new facility suggests it could be used for tracking space objects as well as for scientific research.
