Tuesday

The field of Space Domain Awareness (also sometimes called Space Situational Awareness) is often divided into three sub-disciplines: Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST), space weather and surveillance and tracking of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). While the last of these is more like a branch of planetary astronomy, the first two share several common linkages. SST comprises the monitoring and prediction of the locations of satellites and space debris objects, whose orbits are in turn affected by the modulations in upper atmospheric drag caused by space weather. Other space weather effects, for instance those concerned with radiation dosage and trans-ionospheric signal propagation, can also influence the choice of suitable satellite orbits and thus impact the ultimate goal of sustainable Space Traffic Management, for which Space Situational Awareness is essential. This talk reviews some of these linkages between space weather and SST and suggests how operational programmes in both areas should be coupled together to help build greater understanding and resilience.