[Korea-Canada Open Seminar] Space Domain Awareness

Space Domain Awareness – Resident Space Object (RSO) Detection and Identification - Prof. Regina S. K. Lee

Space Domain Awareness – Resident Space Object (RSO) Detection and Identification

• Overview of recent development in space technologies

• Space systems - an important and integral role in every facet of our daily lives

• Rapidly growing numbers of RSOs impose a significant concern worldwide.

• A novel approach to use commercial grade star‐trackers for space–based detection, tracking, identification and characterization of RSOs

Space systems play an important and integral role in every facet of our daily lives, including national security and resource management. Therefore, it is critical to protect our valuable assets in space and build resiliency in space systems. In recent years, the growing numbers of RSOs have become a significant concern worldwide. In the last few years, we have examined a novel approach to build space resiliency through space domain awareness (SDA‐continuous monitoring of conditions and threats in space) in partnership with various government and industry partners. In order to realize the benefits of a low‐cost, large networks of small satellites, we are examining key areas of technologies specifically to enhance SDA capabilities. In particular, we propose to use commercial grade star‐trackers for space–based detection, tracking, identification and characterization of RSOs, including natural/artificial, friendly/adversarial space assets, debris, near‐Earth asteroids, space‐related threats, and space hazards.

Regina Lee, PhD, PEng is Professor at the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada. Prof. Lee received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2000. From 2000 to 2007 she worked at Dynacon Inc. as a (NSERC) industry post-doctoral fellow, and later as a Research Scientist. Prof. Lee’s research interests center on nanosatellite technology development. It has been a focus of Prof. Lee’s research to develop a series of space technologies that will lead to scientific nanosatellite missions. Currently, she’s investigating several areas including MEMS based attitude sensors and actuators to incorporate their low-grade characteristics; and optical payloads including a star tracker for Resident Space Object (RSO) detection, identification and characterization with light curve analysis.