Operator Space Situation Awareness in Space Object Tracking Tasks

A space asset such as a GPS enables navigation services for many industries and its numerous benefits have permeated the lives of people. However, due to increasing number of orbiting satellites, coupled with the threat of space debris, the need to monitor and predict trajectories of the space assets and debris became an utmost priority for space-faring nations. As more satellites are launched into low earth or geostationary orbit, the occurrence of collision with either space debris, defunct, or active satellites will increase. Space situation awareness (SSA) refers to an operator’s knowing of what is going on in the space tracking and operation tasks. The responsibility to track, monitor, and protect space assets rests on the shoulder of a SSA operator. Unfortunately, contemporary literature on SSA is scant; there are limited information on the job requirements of SSA operators and how to synthesize multi-dimensional information from space. This research helps in filling the gap of knowledge by employing cognitive engineering method to elicit knowledge from SSA operators. An interview session will be held with SSA operators to document their know-hows and procedural knowledge. The findings will provide useful insights for researchers and companies involved in research and development in this field.