National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC): Optical Sovereign Sensor Software (OSSS)

Description

UKSA has recently begun the hardware deployment of our Space Domain Awareness optical tracking stations. To operate these effectively, we require software that will enable the autonomous, remote and safe tasking of the sensors and their supporting hardware, with calibrated and corrected high-quality data returned to the central NSpOC wide C2 system (BOREALIS) via an API. Suppliers will be required to deliver three high level elements whose architecture and interfaces must be appropriately documents - a Microsoft Azure based sensor network C2 system, an on-premises C2 and hardware safety system and a separate optical processing pipeline that will generate the tracking/pointing and hardware instructions to execute the sensor sessions and return calibrated and corrected satellite tracklets. UKSA will require the successful supplier to utilise the existing hardware manufacturer provided software interfaces and to use existing commercially available/open-source plate-solving software packages. This is to preserve hardware warranties and minimise assurance activities.