SSA, SST and the Swedish Space Corporation's AWARE Project

The modern world relies heavily on the use of data from ever increasing number of satellites in space. As space becomes more and more crowded, but remains largely unregulated, the chances of events causing serious threats to existing space assets increase. In worst case scenario, such events can leading to danger to humans in space and on ground, or even to preventing access to space altogether.

However, these events can be predicted and often prevented thanks to the accurate characterization of space environment, often referred to as SSA (Space Situational Awareness), achieved through SST (Space Surveillance and Tracking).

The Swedish Space Corporation is developing its own SSA capabilities through the AWARE project - establishing an Optical SST Station in Western Australia. This station will be used to deliver high quality SST data to satellite operators, partners and institutions, aiming at contributing to safer and more sustainable space operations.