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German Space Situational Awareness Centre (GSSAC): Status & Perspective Dr. Gerald Braun Civ. Head of GSSAC
German Space Situational Awareness Centre (GSSAC):
Status & Perspective
Dr. Gerald Braun
Civ. Head of GSSAC
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Agenda
• Background and GSSAC Set-up, Mission
• German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar (GESTRA)
• The Space Surveilance and Tracking Support Framework of the European Union (EU-SST)
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Agenda
• Background and GSSAC Set-up, Mission
• German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar (GESTRA)
• The Space Surveilance and Tracking Support Framework of the European Union (EU-SST)
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Setting up GSSAC
• Creation of a national capability to provide and assess the space situation
• The central contact point of Federal Government regarding Space Situational Awareness towards third parties is GSSAC
• Joint realization (of the project) “GSSAC" between German Air Force and DLR Space Administration
• Establishment of national competence for recording and assessing the space situation
• Joint efforts to ensure the security and protection of space infrastructure
Concept for a Space Surveillance System (2008)
Strategy for Space of the Federal Government (2010)
Agreement between German Ministry of Defence (BMVg) & German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
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Ministry of Defence
German Air Force Command
Centre for Air Operations
Air Force Operations Centre
Group GSSAC
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
German Aerospace Centre DLR
GSSAC =
DLR Space Administration
Project Directorate
SSA Department
The central contact point of German Federal Government for Space Situational Awareness
How GSSAC is set up
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Mission of GSSAC
Space Surveillance
Space Situation
Space Reconnaissance
Space Weather
Mission: Providing products for the … Ø support of national political decision making, Ø protection of populace and own territory, Ø support of German forces in theatre, and Ø protection of orbital systems, space infrastructure.
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Agenda
• Background and GSSAC Set-up, Mission
• German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar (GESTRA)
• The Space Surveilance and Tracking Support Framework of the European Union (EU-SST)
> Vortrag > Autor • Dokumentname > Datum DLR.de • Folie 8
GESTRA Concept for Interacting Radars
n Monostatic L-Band System with dislocated Transmitter and Receiver Shelter
n Project start 2014, deployed 2019
n Detection & Tracking of objects in LEO
n Basis future operational space surveillance activities
GESTRA – German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar - Prototype
Transmitter parameters
n Separate transmitter and receiver each in its own shelter.
n Transmitter: uniformly filled array
n Frequency: 1280 – 1380 MHz
n Bandwidth: 100 MHz
n Transmitted power (Peak): 256 kW
n Transmitted power (Mean): 64 kW
n WLAN/LAN: Connection between both shelter elements and between the
GSSAC and the receiver.
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n Dimensions of the Shelter: 18.5 m x 4 m x 4 m
n Weight of the Shelter (incl. systems): 90 tons
n Dimensions of the radiation dome: 5 m diameter, 5 m height
n Antenna mounted on a scissors lift
Transmitter
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n Aperture contains 256 transmitting elements
n Cavity resonator radiator for high power output
n 3D-Positioner with highest precision
n Ad hoc provision of 340 kW by 256 UltraCaps.
n High capacity to limit the drop of transmitted power
during the radar pulse.
Antenna frontend on 3D-Positioner
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Local coherent cluster for
high resolution and
wide field Surveillance
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Distributed coherent
Network for multistatic
tracking and surveillance Quick POD!
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Track extension for
quick POD
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Civil operational co-operation
Working together military / civil
exercises
International Co-operation
e. g. Schriever Wargame Global Sentinel
. . .
. . .
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Agenda
• Background and GSSAC Set-up, Mission
• German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar (GESTRA)
• The Space Surveilance and Tracking Support Framework of the European Union (EU-SST)
Where should Europe go?
in the EU Space Strategy: Ensuring the protection and resilience of critical European space by – Improving performance and geographical coverage of sensors – Evolving depth & breadth of services – Fostering synergies between civil and defence actors – Reinforcing EU autonomous access and utilisation of space
I. Governance of the Consortium State of play
Implementing Arrangement Consortium Agreement
European Commission DG GROW
Technical Committee
28 Member States SST
Committee SST Expert Group SST User Forum Consortium Cooperation
Security Committee
Steering Committee
Coordination Committee
Aspiring Member States (3+8)
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Common service provision
Users as per Decision 541 - All Member States - Council - Commission - EEAS - Public and private
spacecraft owners and operators
- Public authorities concerned with civil protection.
SST Consortium
SST Front Desk SST Users
EUSST Service Provision Portal
EUSST Service Provision Help Desk
https://sst.satcen.europa.eu
DE - GSSAC
ES – S3TOC
FR – COO
IT – ISOC
UK – UKSpOC
EU SatCen
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Service Provision Collision Avoidance, Fragmentation, Re-entry
Reentry Analysis
(RE)
Fragmentation Analysis (FG)
q Based on US data provided by JSPOC (mainly) and current operational national sensors within the EU SST Consortium
q National OCs: GSSAC (DE), ISOC (IT), S3TOC (ES), COO (FR), UKSpOC (UK)
q 24/7 Operational capability
q Provided through SST Front Desk (Service provision portal) under the responsibility of SatCen
q Assignment of NOCs to S/C or O/O for CA service
q Monthly rotation nominal and backup NOCs for RE and FG services
Collision Avoidance
(CA)
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