Hamburg 2009 – scientific programme

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AGA: Arbeitsgruppe Physik und Abrüstung

AGA 1: Verification, Space Surveillance and Early Warning

AGA 1.1: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 14:00–15:00, VMP 9 HS

From Data Acquisition via a Common Operational Picture to Space Situational Awareness — •Guido Bartsch — FGAN-FHR, Dept. Radar Techniques for Space Reconnaissance (RWA), Neuenahrer Straße 20, D-53343 Wachtberg-Werthhoven

A widely spread misunderstanding concerning the formation of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is that its indispensable prerequisite, a common space situational picture, is already available after gathering data from different sensor and non-sensor sources. Even though assumed valuable data may already be available at this point, additional steps have to be performed.

Endsley stated in his theory of situation awareness in dynamic systems [1] that one needs three steps to form Situational Awareness (SA): Perception, comprehension, and projection. These three steps can be adopted to the process forming Space Situational Awareness (SSA). An example which underpins this statement is e.g. the analysis of potential threats which come from foreign space objects. One typical question in this context is: Has any of the foreign objects non-peaceful capabilities and will they likely be applied against me? To answer this question, one needs much more than just images of these space objects: One important follow-up process is the image analysis or, to be more precise, the space object's capability analysis based on space object imaging. Together with the outcome of additional processes, e.g. the analysis of abnormality (behavioural analysis) and the assessment of the political circumstances, one can develop a situational picture to support the formation of space situational awareness. This talk will give a survey on the SSA needs, methods as well as a review about existing and planned subsystems.

[1] M. R. Endsley, "Toward a Theory of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems", Human Factors, Vol. 37, No. 1, 1995, pp. 32-64.