The Space Surveillance Telescope program (SST) is DARPA's ground based, advanced, optical system for detection and tracking of faint objects in space such as asteroids. It is also to be employed for space defense missions. The program is designed to advance, or expand, space situational awareness, and be able to quickly provide wide area search capability.
The large curved focal surface array sensors are considered to be an innovative design. It encompasses improvements in detection sensitivity, has short focal length, wide field of view, and improvements in step-and-settle abilities. SST detects, tracks, and can discern small, obscure objects, in deep space with a "wide field of view system". It is a single telescope with the dual abilities. First the telescope is sensitive enough to allow for detection, also, of small, dimly lit objects (low reflectivity). Second it is capable of quickly searching the visible sky. This combination is a difficult achievement in a single telescope design.
Tags:
Additional Info
- Lead Nation: USA
- Project Website: page on DARPA website
- Project Wikipedia Page: United_States_Space_Surveillance_Network#Space_Surveillance_Telescope_program
Latest from Copernical Team
- AI digital twins aim to protect astronaut mobility on deep space missions
- Space Station study maps hurdles for microbial manufacturing in orbit
- In-space manufacturing, quantum projects part of all-Boilermaker suborbital spaceflight
- Sidus Space advances LizzieSat-4 payload integration with Maris-Tech edge computing system
- ESA member states back SWISSto12 HummingSat with fresh funding round
- Bright streaks reveal Mercury still geologically active
- Northrop Grumman Boosters Set For First Crewed Lunar Voyage Of Artemis Era
- Autophage rocket concept wins EU prize for debris free launch technology
- Runaway massive stars mapped across the Milky Way
- AI tool mines Hubble archive for hundreds of strange cosmic objects
