Near Earth Space Object Detection Using Parallax as Multi-hypothesis Test Criterion

Authors

Joseph C. Tompkins, Air Force Institute of Technology
Stephen C. Cain, Air Force Institute of TechnologyFollow
David J. Becker, Air Force Institute of TechnologyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-18-2019

Abstract

The US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) operated Space Surveillance Network (SSN) is tasked with Space Situational Awareness (SSA) for the U.S. military. This system is made up of Electro-Optic sensors, such as the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) and RADAR based sensors, such as the Space Fence Gaps. They remain in the tracking of Resident Space Objects (RSO’s) in Geosynchronous Orbits (GEO), due to limitations of SST and GEODSS system implementation. This research explores a reliable, ground-based technique used to quickly determine an RSO’s altitude from a single or limited set of observations. Implementation of such sensors into the SSN would mitigate GEO SSA performance gaps. The research entails a method used to distinguish between the point spread function (PSF) observed by a star and the PSF observed from an RSO by using Multi-Hypothesis Testing with parallax as a test criterion. Parallax is the effect that an observed object will appear to shift when viewed from different positions. This effect is explored by generating PSFs from telescope observations of space objects at different baselines. The research has shown the PSF of an RSO can be distinguished from that of a star using single, simultaneous observations from reference and parallax sensing telescopes. This report validates these techniques with both simulations and experimental data from the SST and Naval Observatory sensors. Abstract © OSA.

Comments

© 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement, and shared on AFIT Scholar in accordance with OSA's open access policies. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserved.

Sourced from the version of record as cited below and linked in the DOI.

DOI

10.1364/OE.27.005403

Source Publication

Optics Express

Recommended Citation

Tompkins, J., Cain, S., & Becker, D. (2019). Near earth space object detection using parallax as multi-hypothesis test criterion. Optics Express, 27(4), 5403.