Development and Testing of a Novel Low-Cost LEO Optical Surveillance Sensor

Optical tracking of LEO objects has been extensively studied and exercised. A novel surveillance method using an array of collocated fixed Field of View telescopes and the development of a dedicated image processing software is described. The Low-Cost Low-Earth Orbit Surveillance Sensor Array (LCLEOSEN) has been developed to target a similar market as conventional radar systems through the reduction of the cost per sensor while maintaining a similar performance. This paper briefly discusses the use cases for such a sensor, the potential site locations considered, and a method for ranking site selection. The design of the sensor and its dedicated image processing chain is also discussed and, finally, the prototype implementation is described and the results from the test campaign using the prototype are presented and analyzed.