Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
Project Type
individual
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Lucas Bottero, Graduate student
Lead Presenter's Name
Lucas Bottero
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Surabhi Bhadauria
Abstract
MULTI-SENSOR DATA FUSION FOR ENHANCED CISLUNAR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS USING RADAR AND OPTICAL OBSERVATIONS As operations extend into cislunar space, maintaining Space Domain Awareness (SDA) becomes increasingly challenging due to the vast distances, sparse infrastructure, and complex gravitational dynamics between Earth and the Moon. Radar and optical sensors are the primary modalities used for space surveillance, each with its strengths and limitations. Radar offers continuous observation capabilities regardless of lighting conditions but is limited by power and range at cislunar distances. Optical sensors provide high angular precision but depend on favorable illumination and line-of-sight geometry. However, there has been limited research on how these sensors interact and complement each other in the Earth-Moon system. This work advances the state of the art by developing a simulation-based framework to evaluate the combined visibility of radar and optical sensors across various cislunar orbits. The Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) is used to model the gravitational dynamics and generate representative trajectories in the Earth-Moon system. Radar and optical visibility constraints are assessed for each trajectory, considering factors like resolution, range, illumination, and geometric visibility. Preliminary results show that combining radar and optical sensors significantly improves visibility coverage in cislunar space, reducing observation gaps and increasing total observation time. This research contributes to Space Domain Awareness by providing a structured approach for evaluating multi-sensor coverage, which is critical for future operational planning and system design as activity in the Earth-Moon system grows.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
N31 MULTI-SENSOR DATA FUSION FOR ENHANCED CISLUNAR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS USING RADAR AND OPTICAL OBSERVATIONS
MULTI-SENSOR DATA FUSION FOR ENHANCED CISLUNAR SPACE DOMAIN AWARENESS USING RADAR AND OPTICAL OBSERVATIONS As operations extend into cislunar space, maintaining Space Domain Awareness (SDA) becomes increasingly challenging due to the vast distances, sparse infrastructure, and complex gravitational dynamics between Earth and the Moon. Radar and optical sensors are the primary modalities used for space surveillance, each with its strengths and limitations. Radar offers continuous observation capabilities regardless of lighting conditions but is limited by power and range at cislunar distances. Optical sensors provide high angular precision but depend on favorable illumination and line-of-sight geometry. However, there has been limited research on how these sensors interact and complement each other in the Earth-Moon system. This work advances the state of the art by developing a simulation-based framework to evaluate the combined visibility of radar and optical sensors across various cislunar orbits. The Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) is used to model the gravitational dynamics and generate representative trajectories in the Earth-Moon system. Radar and optical visibility constraints are assessed for each trajectory, considering factors like resolution, range, illumination, and geometric visibility. Preliminary results show that combining radar and optical sensors significantly improves visibility coverage in cislunar space, reducing observation gaps and increasing total observation time. This research contributes to Space Domain Awareness by providing a structured approach for evaluating multi-sensor coverage, which is critical for future operational planning and system design as activity in the Earth-Moon system grows.