New Optical Sensors Cluster for Efficient Space Surveillance and Tracking
Abstract
We present the most advanced Polish project for optical satellite tracking and survey. The new cluster of robotic sensors, under development since 2017 by the Astronomical Observatory of Adam Mickiewicz University, will be composed of 5 independent telescopes located at the same site. Two of them will be dedicated to surveys, and therefore equipped with 30cm f/1.0 prime focus optical tubes. Two additional will be dedicated to tracking and equipped with 32cm f/5.3 optical tubes. The largest 0.7m f/4.5 telescope will be dedicated to the most demanding tasks and faintest targets. Each of these telescopes will be installed on an independent direct-drive mount with satellite tracking capabilities and less than 10s allsky slewing time. The cluster will be controlled with a dedicated software capable of autonomous decision making based on priorities, current weather conditions, new object detections and observing data quality assessment. Its features will include dynamic task allocation for each telescope, automatic targets identification, immediate follow-up for new objects and local orbital catalog updated after each observation. This technology demonstration project will initially be located in Poland and is aimed at testing currently available solutions in highly demanding SST observations regime. Validation of the prototype SST sensor cluster will be the first step in creating the concept of future global network of such clusters that could potentially track all LEO satellites and space debris above 5cm. The project is based on our experience in remote and automatic SST observations with our Global Astrophysical Telescope System - an intercontinental pair of 0.5m and 0.7m optical telescopes. We present the basic concept of the SST cluster hardware and software design and the results of numerical simulations conducted to evaluate its future performance as a single cluster and a possible global network of similar clusters.
- Publication:
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The Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference
- Pub Date:
- September 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018amos.confE..48K