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The Australian Space Agency partnered with HEO by bringing on non-Earth imaging (NEI) technology to support space situational awareness initiatives and identify unknown satellites in space.
Note: NEI imagery shown is for illustrative purposes only and does not depict the imagery collected under the collaboration.
On March 4, 2024, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 53 satellites as part of its Transporter-10 mission. However, one month later, 17 satellites remained unidentified, raising serious concerns about operational status, potential collisions, and liability risks. To address this, the Australian Space Agency partnered with HEO to deploy non-Earth imaging (NEI) technology for enhanced space situational awareness and satellite identification.
Following the Transporter-10 launch, ground-based observations confirmed the successful deployment of all 53 satellites. However, satellite identification remained a significant challenge. While many satellites were correctly identified, some remained unaccounted for, and others were operating normally but not yet updated in public catalogues. These factors created difficulties for operators struggling to locate their satellites. A key part of the problem was the difficulty in troubleshooting communication issues. When satellite operators experience problems establishing reliable communications with their satellite, they often face a complex diagnostic challenge. They can't easily determine if the issue stems from tracking the wrong satellite, a malfunction within their own satellite, or a combination of both. From the ground, communicating with the wrong satellite and communicating with a malfunctioning satellite can present very similar symptoms.
For satellite operators, delays in identification could impact financial investments, technological demonstrations, and mission success. Civil governments, responsible for satellite licensing, also face liability risks for unidentified satellites under their jurisdiction. The problem extends beyond newly launched satellites, with over 500 unidentified objects in orbit at any given time, and thousands more expected in the coming years, highlighting the need for a scalable and reliable solution.
The Australian Space Agency turned to HEO’s NEI technology for a solution to address this challenge. By leveraging HEO’s network of in-orbit sensors and automated tasking and delivery platform, the Australian Space Agency was able to gather data on the unknown satellites. HEO’s proprietary tools then analysed the visual data, focusing on distinctive features such as size, antenna structures, and solar panel configurations. From space, NEI simplified the problem by confirming the identity of the satellite that ground operators were attempting to contact.
HEO’s solution also integrated in-orbit imagery with open-source data, synthesising visual data with available manifests and satellite specifications. This provided additional context to confirm each object’s identity, bridging information gaps and enabling accurate identification.
With verified imagery and satellite feature confirmation, the Australian Space Agency established a reliable framework for satellite identification. This allowed for the accurate cataloguing and tracking of satellites, improving space situational awareness and reducing risks.
“This has been the perfect opportunity to workshop what a monitoring capability should and could do with the resources available internally to the Agency and those in the industry,” said Ed Betar, Assistant Director of Civil Space Monitoring at the Australian Space Agency.
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