Upon This Rock: A Foundational Space Situational Awareness Technology for 2030

The use of space permeates all aspects of the American way of life. If the U.S. is to protect its space capabilities it must increase its space situational awareness (SSA) to provide the foundation for activities in space. In the year 2030 congestion will describe the space environment. Space debris will be abundant and satellite size will diminish through technology proliferation. The Air Force as the Executive Agent for Space will need to diagnose and attribute space events to meet this threat; however current radar and optical telescopes cannot resolve these small objects.