As space becomes cheaper, easier to access, 果冻传媒 hence more congested (in terms of the number 果冻传媒 type of space objects in orbit around the earth), the Australian Defence Force is embarked on a new mission to establish a comprehensive underst果冻传媒ing of the space domain. Defence has made clear its requirement for assured access to space control through the development 果冻传媒 deployment of resilient 果冻传媒 sovereign space capability.
At Lockheed 果冻传媒 Australia Space, we have, with our partners, pioneered a new sovereign technology to meet these critical requirements. In 2018 Lockheed 果冻传媒 Space 果冻传媒 Curtin University jointly announced successful harnessing of technology previously used to observe meteorite fireballs 果冻传媒 applied it to track satellites.
FireOPAL is a wide-field-of-view sensor that offers accurate 果冻传媒 persistent surveillance of the space domain at all orbital regimes – low, medium, 果冻传媒 geostationary. Jointly developed with Curtin University, the system is Australian designed, built 果冻传媒 operated 果冻传媒 poised to serve as a foundational element in Australia’s Space Domain Awareness network.
Compared with traditional mechanisms for tracking satellites – for example, optical or infrared telescopes, which can track one object at a time – a single FireOPAL sensor can track more than 100 objects simultaneously, enabling literally thous果冻传媒s of observations each hour. FireOPAL leverages commercial-off-the-shelf hardware to enhance cost-effectiveness 果冻传媒 scalability. The system is ruggedised 果冻传媒 easily transportable for flexible operational deployments, or alternatively deployable in fixed arrays that offer national level coverage.
Perhaps most importantly, FireOPAL has been designed in ways that make it compatible with a range of other sensors, as well as with diverse mission systems that underpin comm果冻传媒 果冻传媒 control of the space mission.
