Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Ecosystem
Tracking · Predicting · Assessing · Protecting Earth's Orbital Environment
01 — FOUNDATION
What is Space Situational Awareness?
SSA is the science and operational tradecraft of tracking, cataloguing, characterizing, and predicting the behavior of every object in Earth's orbital environment — enabling collision avoidance, mission safety, and long-term orbital sustainability.
27,000+
24/7
4 shells
02 — SENSOR NETWORK
Global observation network
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03 — TLE PIPELINE
Two-line element data flow
1 25544 U 98067A 24100.50000000 .00002182 00000-0 40768-4 0 99902 25544 51.6416 247.4627 0006703 130.5360 325.0288 15.50377890 418514
Inclination 51.64°
RAAN 247.46°
Mean motion 15.50 rev/day
Authority sources: Space-Track.org · US Space Force · 18th SDS · LeoLabs
HEO
GEO
MEO
LEO
LEO <2000 km
MEO
GEO 35,786 km
HEO elliptical
04 — DATA SOURCES
Space-Track vs LeoLabs
05 — PROPAGATION ENGINE
SGP4 orbit prediction model
TLE epoch data
Bstar drag term
Inclination + RAAN
Mean motion
SGP4
Simplified General Perturbations
J2–J4 gravity
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Future position (ECI)
Future velocity
Predicted orbit track
Ground pass predictions
ORBITIQ Explorer v2 uses satellite.js for browser-based SGP4 propagation · TLE + SGP4 = industry standard pair
06 — CONJUNCTION ASSESSMENT
Proximity screening
Two objects flagged when projected closest approach drops below threshold distance.
Distance < 5 km → Flag conjunction event
ORBITIQ Explorer v2 — distance threshold screening active
07 — COLLISION PROBABILITY
Probability of collision (Pc) methods
Encounter plane geometry with covariance ellipse integration. Most widely used operational method.
Pc = 1 × 10⁻⁴
Conservative upper-bound probability when covariance quality is uncertain or degraded.
Pc ≤ upper bound
Covariance matrices required
Uncertainty models required
Relative error statistics required
08 — CCSDS CDM
Conjunction Data Message fields
Covariance matrices unlock real probability of collision calculations — the critical upgrade beyond simple distance screening
09 — DECISION CHAIN
Operational workflow
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10 — ORBITIQ POSITIONING
ORBITIQ Explorer v2 · Roadmap