The effects of any budget/program decisions made since the information was collected during 1997-98 are NOT reflected in the National Security Space Road Map (NSSRM).
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(U) Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) at Diego Garcia

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Overview (U):

(U) The Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) site at Diego Garcia is one of three operational sites performing ground-based optical tracking of space objects. The Socorro (New Mexico, USA), Choe Jong San (South Korea) and Maui (Hawaii, USA) sites were operational by 1983. A fourth site, Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean), was completed in 1987, and a fifth site was planned but later cancelled for Portugal. The South Korean site was closed in 1993 due to weather and cost concerns.

(U) This system supersedes the global network of Baker-Nunn film camera sites which had been in place since 1958 and were finally closed in April 1992 (the St Margarets, New Brunswick, Canada site being the last). The GEODSS system can track space objects as small as a basketball between 5,500-37,000 km. The MIT/Lincoln Labs Experimental Test Site is also located in Socorro, NM where it conducts research and development of electro-optical surveillance systems for deep space sensing utilizing conventional telescopes with highly sensitive detectors. The original GEODSS prototype for R&D continues to operate at this facility. The Air Force has interest in flying a similar system in space which would reduce the impacts of weather (e.g., cloud cover), and be cost-competitve with respect to an international ground system.

Description (U):

(U) The Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) site at Diego Garcia is one of three sites performing ground-based optical tracking of space objects. To perform its mission, GEODSS brings together the telescope, low-light level television cameras, and computers -- three proven technologies. The Diego Garcia site has three Cassegrain telescopes (no Schmidts are present). The main telescope (a Cassegrains) has a 102 cm aperture and a two-degree field of view and is used primarily to search the deep sky for faint (+16 magnitude), slow-moving objects. The auxiliary telescope (a Schmidt) has a 38 cm aperture and six-degree field of view, and does wide area searches of lower altitudes where objects travel at higher relative speeds. The telescopes are able to "see" objects 10,000 times dimmer than the human eye can detect.

(U) The telescopes scan the sky at the same rate as the stars appear to move. This keeps the distant stars in the same positions in the field of view. As the telescopes slowly move, the GEODSS cameras take very rapid electronic snapshots of the field of view. Four computers then take these snapshots and overlay them on each other. Star images, which remain fixed, are electronically erased. Man-made space objects, however, do not remain fixed and their movements show up as tiny streaks which can be viewed on a console screen. Computers measure these streaks and use the data to figure the positions of objects such as satellites in orbits from 5,500-37,000 km. This information is used to update the list of orbiting objects and sent nearly instantaneously from the sites to Cheyenne Mountain AFB. Since GEODSS is an optical system, the system only operates at night, and cloud cover and local weather conditions influence its effectiveness.

User Impact (U):

(U) Any sustained loss of a GEODSS sensor would have dramatic impact on the deep space surveillance mission and maintenance of the space catalogue.

Programmatics (U):

(U) Operational.

(U) Organizations and Funding:

Images (U):

NameTitle
Diego GarciaDiego Garcia
This Table Is Unclassified.

Related Initiatives (U):
NameTitle
CSOCConsolidated Space Operations Centers (CSOC)
Diego Garcia GEODSS UpgradesGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) Upgrades at Diego Garcia
GEODSSGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS)
MauiGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) at Maui
Maui GEODSS UpgradesGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) Upgrades at Maui
NCMC-TW/AANORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex (NCMC) Threat Warning/Attack Assessment
Optical C3 FacilityOptical C3 Facility
SocorroGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) at Socorro
Socorro GEODSS UpgradesGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) Upgrades at Socorro
This Table Is Unclassified.

Related Requirements (U): None.

Related Categories (U):
NameTitle
Dedicated SensorsDedicated Sensors
This Table Is Unclassified.

Road Map Placements (U):

NameTitle
National Security Space Road MapIntegrated System Road Map
SPACE CONTROL: S.S. NETWORKSPACE CONTROL: SPACE SURVEILLANCE NETWORK
This Table Is Unclassified.

Requirements, Funding and Additional Hotlinks (U):

(U) None.

Lead Office (U):

Air Force.

Point of Contact (U):

(U) National Security Space Road Map Team, NSSA, Open Phone: (703) 808-6040, DSN 898-6040.

Date Of Information (U):

(U) 27 August 1998


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(U) For comments/suggestions contact: Office of the National Security Space Architect (NSSA), 571-432-1300.

(U) Road Map Production Date: 23 June 2001

The effects of any budget/program decisions made since the information was collected during 1997-98 are NOT reflected in the National Security Space Road Map (NSSRM).