Improving Space Surveillance with Space-Based Visible Sensor

The Midcourse Space Experiment satellite was launched in 1996. A principal sensor on board the satellite is the Space-Based Visible (SBV) sensor, a visible-band electro-optical camera designed at Lincoln Laboratory. The program has just completed three years of Contributing Sensor operations under the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program. The SBV has transitioned to an operational sensor under Space Command sponsorship. This paper describes recent modifications, made under the ACTD program, to both spacecraft and ground systems that have increased the productivity of the sensor from 200 deep space tracks/day to over 350 tracks/day. The onboard SBV software has been modified to utilize the redundant signal processor to process information in parallel. A new mode of operations has also been implemented that exploits the geometry of geosynchronous orbits to provide a very efficient coverage of the geosynchronous belt. Details of these modifications and initial results will be provided. See Also ADM001334, Proceedings of the 2001 Space Control Conference (19th Annual) held in Lincoln Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, MA on 3-5 April 2001. The original document contains color images.