Temporal Spectrum Analysis for Multi-Constellation Space Domain Awareness

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Temporal Spectrum Analysis method to understand and quantify the dynamic structure of multi-constellation space networks, considering real-world satellite movements and interactions.

Contribution

It presents a novel TSA scheme that incorporates real-world space object dynamics to analyze space network structures and interactions.

Findings

Temporal spectrum influences network connectivity

Real-world dynamics reveal network structure complexities

Simulations quantify inter-constellation interactions

Abstract

Space Domain Awareness (SDA) system has different major aspects including continues and robust awareness from the network that is crucial for an efficient control over all actors in space. The observability of the space assets on the other hand requires efficient analysis on when and how observed space objects can be controlled. This becomes crucial when real-world spatial dynamics are taken into account as it introduces complexities into the system. The real-world dynamics can reveal the structure of the network including isolated and dominant stations. We propose a Temporal Spectrum Analysis (TSA) scheme that takes into account a set of real-world parameters including actual dynamics of the objects in space to analyze the structure of a ground-space network that inherits temporal spectrum as the key element of design. We study the potential interactions between multiple constellations using TSA and conduct a comprehensive real-world simulations to quantify the structure of the network. Numerical results show how the temporal spectrum of each satellite affects the intra- and inter-constellation network structure including interactions between ground stations and constellations.