Space weather segment The main objective of the
space weather segment (SWE) was to detect and forecast of
space weather events, avoid adverse effect on European space assets and ground-based infrastructure. To achieve that, the segment focused on delivery of real-time space weather information, forecasts and warnings, supported by a data archive, applications and services. Assets available for the segment consisted of multiple ground-based and spaceborne sensors monitoring the Sun,
solar wind and Earth's
magnetosphere,
ionosphere and
thermosphere. These included the
PROBA2 satellite and the
Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory. The segment was jointly coordinated by the SWE Data Centre located at the
ESTRACK Redu Station and the SSA Space Weather Coordination Centre (SSCC), both in
Belgium.
Near-Earth object segment The
near-Earth object segment aimed to deliver monitoring and warning of potential
Earth impactors and tracking of newly discovered objects. The segment's assets consisted of a mixture of professional and amateur telescopes, including the
OGS Telescope, that were supported by tracking databases. The plans were to create a fully integrated system supporting alerts for civil authorities, including the
Flyeye (NEOSTEL) telescope planned for completion in 2020. The segment was operated by the SSA
NEO Coordination Centre located at the
ESA Centre for Earth Observation, Italy.
Space surveillance and tracking segment The SST segment's primary goal was the detection, cataloguing and orbit prediction of objects orbiting the Earth. It was part of an effort to avoid collisions between orbiting satellites and debris, provide safe reentries, detect on-orbit explosions, assist missions at launch, deployment and end-of-life and overall reduce cost of space access. The segment relied on existing European radar and optical systems. Some of its assets were existing
radio and
optical telescopes, serving a secondary role for tracking space debris. The radar-based SST assets were split into two categories: surveillance and tracking systems. SSA SST radar systems included: • Surveillance •
Northern Cross transient radio telescope located at the
Medicina Radio Observatory, serving as a receiver in
bistatic radar system •
RAF Fylingdales's three face
AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning phased array radar, serving as a monostatic system •
French Air Force bistatic radar-based
space surveillance system
GRAVES • Tracking •
CAMRa 25-meter steerable
parabolic dish S-band radar located at the
Chilbolton Observatory •
EISCAT scatter radar capable of 3D monitoring of the
atmosphere and
ionosphere •
TIRA 34-meter parabolic dish with an
L-band tracking radar and a
Ku-band imaging radar SSA SST optical surveillance and tracking assets included: • Surveillance • OLS telescope at the
Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca • Starbrook and Starbrook north located at
Troodos Station • Fabra-ROA telescope (TFRM) at
Serra del Montsec • ZimSMART
robotic telescope • Tracking •
Satellite laser ranging station Graz at Lustbühel Observatory • Matera Laser Ranging Observatory (MLRO) in Italy •
OGS Telescope at the
Teide Observatory •
TAROT and TAROT-South robotic telescope at the
La Silla Observatory • ZIMLAT telescope at the
Zimmerwald Observatory • ESA Flyeye
Telescope at Sicily, Italy As part of the SSA Programme new, dedicated surveillance radar supported by optical sensors systems were planned to be developed. The segment was coordinated by the Space Surveillance Test & Validation (SSTC) Centre located at the
ESAC in
Spain. ==See also==