The German Space Agency at DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt / German Aerospace Center) has selected Lockheed Martin’s iSpace command and control system to boost its ability to obtain real-time awareness of the more than 300,000 objects orbiting the earth.
The iSpace system tracks thousands of objects orbiting the earth by collecting data from a worldwide network of government, commercial and scientific community surveillance sensors.
The German Space Agency at DLR is the national space agency for the Federal Republic of Germany and operates the German Space Situational Awareness Center (GSSAC) together with the German Air Force. iSpace is the newest upgrade of the experimental mission system and will interface to German sensors to include the Tracking and Imaging Radar, GSSAC Optical Sensor and German Experimental Surveillance and Tracking Radar.
Germany will use iSpace to task German sensors to support monitoring of high interest objects and space events.
“No other system offers real-time catalog maintenance, space event processing, and sensor tasking in a highly scalable processing infrastructure for such a variety of sensors,” said Amr Hussein, vice president, Lockheed Martin C4ISR Systems. “For those looking to enhance their space command and control capabilities, iSpace is a compelling solution as it can be rapidly deployed and dynamically configured to meet individual customer mission needs.”
The iSpace system provides real-time awareness on what is happening in space (e.g., collisions, maneuvers, break-ups, launches), alerts operators of anomalies, and suggests recommended courses of action.
The system has supported several US Strategic Command Global Sentinel exercises, which provide an international forum to broaden mutual understanding to enhance space cooperation.
