Space Domain Awareness
Space Domain Awareness (SDA) is the study and monitoring of the situation in the space domain. This includes, inter alia, estimating the trajectories of objects in Earth orbit (and beyond), and predicting changes in those trajectories resulting from intentional and unintentional events. Our active topics of research in this area include, but are not limited to:
- Space Object (SO) Detection, Tracking, Identification, and Characterization (DTIC)
- SO catalog prediction (with uncertainties), estimation and maintenance
- Sensor tasking for catalog maintenance and SO characterization
- Initial orbit determination
New and Ongoing Projects
Stay tuned! This page is being updated.
Uncertainty Propagation for Maneuvering Objects in Chaotic Systems
Sponsor: Air Force Office of Scientific Research
State-of-the-art Anthropogenic Space Object (ASO) tracking algorithms cannot robustly maintain custody of objects in cislunar space. One principal challenge is propagating uncertainty through multiple orbit regimes, each with different dynamic signatures and possible chaos. The goal of this project is to develop a computationally tractable and accurate method of uncertainty propagation for maneuvering objects that accounts for chaotic dynamics. In this collaboration with Prof. Ryan Russell, we will combine novel descriptions of a satellite’s possible maneuver profile and efficient orbit propagation routines to generate a predicted uncertainty for Bayesian multiple target tracking.
Information Theoretic Detection and Tracking for Rapid IOD
Sponsor: Universities Space Research Association (USRA), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), United States Space Force (USSF)
In this project, we are developing novel methods of initial orbit determination (IOD) to reduce the latency between initial detection and producing a trajectory estimate with uncertainty small enough for follow-up observation. This is part of the USRA’s University Consortium Research Opportunity 1.0 (UCRO) sponsored by the USSF and AFRL (announcement). In addition to the technical elements, this project includes a workforce development component by introducing undergraduate students to research topics of interested to the USSF. [1]
STARLIT: univerSiTy spAce stRategic technoLogy InitiaTive
Information to be added soon!
[1] Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Public Affairs release approval #AFRL-2024-5534