Space Situational Awareness in the Joint Space Operations Center

Abstract : Flight safety of orbiting resident space objects is critical to our national interest and defense. United States Strategic Command has assigned the responsibility for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) to its Joint Functional Component Command Space (JFCC SPACE) at Vandenberg Air Force Base. This paper will describe current SSA imperatives, new developments in SSA tools, and developments in Defensive Operations. Current SSA processes are being examined to capture, and possibly improve, tasking of SSN sensors and new space-based sensors, common conjunction assessment methodology, and SSA sharing due to the growth seen over the last two years. The stand-up of a Defensive Ops Branch will highlight the need for advanced analysis and collaboration across space, weather, intelligence, and cyber specialties. New developments in SSA tools will be a description of computing hardware/software upgrades planned as well as the use of User-Defined Operating Pictures and visualization applications.