Game Changing U.S. Space Domain Awareness (SDA) at Space Systems Command Published April 22, 2024 By SSC Public Affairs EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Space Systems Command’s (SSC), Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Tools Applications and Processing (TAP) Lab recently collaborated with commercial and academic partners to achieve mission success for Apollo Accelerator Cohort 2 on March 4, 2024. In the context of the SDA TAP Lab, cohorts like the Apollo Accelerator serve as structured programs fostering collaboration and innovation among U.S. companies, academia, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), industry experts, and Guardians to solve critical challenges. Cohorts bring these groups together for a limited duration, offering mentorship, resources, and opportunities to accelerate growth. Through stages like application, screening, deal negotiation, acceleration program, and demo day, participants refine their solutions to address critical SDA challenges, exemplifying SSC's commitment to nurturing innovation in space domain awareness. For example, True Anomaly, a startup that develops spacecraft for satellite inspection and other proximity operations, participated in SDA TAP Lab’s Apollo Accelerator Cohort 2 and worked with their industry partners through the Lab to design an experiment to track the deployment of payloads and then acquire them by cueing a radar downstream. The SDA TAP Lab had access to data from the recent Transporter-10 mission, which they used as truth to grade the performance of the experiment. This mission included two Jackal spacecraft from True Anomaly, and carried 53 payloads as a rideshare. During the launch, Intrack Radar Technologies, another participant in the Cohort 2, accurately predicted the Transporter-10’s rocket ascent trajectory without prior knowledge of the launch data. Intrack Radar Technologies specializes in ground-based radar technologies supporting Space Domain Awareness (SDA), Missile Warning (MW), and Missile Defense (MD) missions. When the payloads crossed into the southern hemisphere, Intrack Radar cued LeoLabs to track the satellites. According to LeoLabs, Federal President Vic Gardner, "We value the opportunity to partner with other industry participants within our cohort and look forward to collectively improving the timeliness of threat defense kill chains in Low Earth Orbit." A few hours after the initial loss of payloads, the SDA TAP Lab team was able to successfully retrieve them with the help of LeoLabs. They were able to produce an orbit (two-line element set) almost a day quicker than the standard process provided by space-track.org. This was achieved by deliberately capturing their processes' data, which allowed them to identify areas that could be automated and improved. "The SDA TAP Lab executed an integrated test with multiple companies to detect a launch, search, and reacquire,” said Major Sean Allen, SSC’s Chief of the SDA TAP Lab. “This is such an important activity to practice during peacetime. When there is conflict, we won't have the luxury of time…or truth data from our launch provider.” Looking ahead, the SDA TAP Lab remains poised to showcase further advancements during the upcoming Cohort 2 demo day, signaling continued progress in space domain awareness and operational readiness. The collaborative efforts between the SDA TAP Lab and industry partners exemplify SSC's commitment to fostering innovation in space technology. By providing a conducive environment for experimentation and collaboration, SSC aims to bridge the gap between emerging technologies and operational deployment, ensuring the nation's space superiority in a competitive landscape. Facilitated by the Unified Data Library (UDL), the SDA TAP Lab ensures access to comprehensive data sets, essential for validating and refining innovative solutions. By centralizing diverse data sources, including commercially acquired data, the UDL empowers USSF and allied partners to make informed decisions and enhance situational awareness in the space domain. The partnership between SSC’s Cross Mission Data organization and the SDA TAP Lab represents a paradigm shift in how the Space Force is forming organic partnerships to cultivated to advance space domain awareness. With a mission to rapidly onboard transformative applications and close capability gaps, the lab's proactive approach streamlines the integration of cutting-edge technologies into operational frameworks, bolstering national security and resilience in space. The SDA TAP Lab was created in 2023 and tasked with rapidly fielding software into operations supplying mission critical capability. Thus, “Apps to Close Gaps” was born and matured through technology adoption and onboarding of mature software packages as well as the Apollo Accelerator that takes cohort members on a guided path to deliver space operations warfighter capability. The cohort members receive a digital environment and data to build applications and tools, expert advice from domain leaders to refine concepts, and active engagement from the Operations community to help tailor fit the technology to operational needs. Located at the Innovation Hub provided by Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation, the Lab is on its second cohort with members: LeoLabs, ExoAnalytic Solutions, Katalyst Space Technologies, Intrack Radar Technologies, HEO, Space Security and Defense Programs, Kayhan Space, Cloudstone Innovations, OurSky, Hypergame ai, Lockheed Martin, True Anomaly, Blue Halo, Digital Arsenal, Aerospace Corporation, MITRE Corporation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, National Security Innovation Network, CU Boulder, University of Southern California, and University of Pittsburgh.