ASTRODYNAMICS RESEARCH WITH THE AIR FORCE MAUI OPTICAL AND SUPERCOMPUTING SITE

摘要

Recently, the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate has made a commitment to develop more in-house research and development capability within the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing (AMOS) branch. With the arrival of qualified personnel, astrodynamics is now an area of expertise which, when coupled with the unique resources of AMOS, provides incredible capability to pursue a variety of research areas. Topics include space surveillance (general studies and satellite catalog accuracy assessment), space object characterization, satellite mission support (orbit design, lifetime prediction, orbit determination, close approach and formation flying analysis, and anomaly resolution), and other interesting astrodynamics activities. Resources available on Maui encompass a suite of telescopes including AEOS and Ravens, infrared sensors, the HI-CLASS laser radar system, the Maui High Performance Computing Center, support from Oahu's Kaena Point radar, and qualified support personnel for all aspects of space surveillance operations. This paper provides an overview of these research areas and the supporting role of the AMOS.