Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capabilities

Jena-Optronik offers quasi event-based Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capabilities for its ASTRO optical head star tracker family. This innovative architecture identifies non-star objects dynamically, moving beyond traditional frame-by-frame image processing. This approach significantly reduces data overhead by delivering only relevant object metadata, achieving up to a million-fold efficiency improvement compared to traditional SSA sensors that flood data buses with raw imagery. The upgraded ASTRO CL provides a dual-purpose solution, functioning as a precision star tracker for attitude determination while simultaneously acting as an always-on SSA sensor, enhancing orbital safety without incurring a ‘data tax’.