Space Domain Awareness (SDA) is one of the critical functions of the Space Operations Command (SpOC) of the US Space Force. SDA is the responsibility of the SpOC group known as Delta 2, the project sponsor.
SDA involves the rapid prediction, detection, tracking, identification, warning, characterization, and attribution of threats to U.S., commercial, allied, and partner space systems. The data required to be acquired and processed for adequate SDA is vast and heterogeneous, and the Delta 2 Commander’s obligation is to exploit all possible data to fully understand threats to space systems. Understanding the windows of time in which future space vehicle launch events might safely occur can improve SDA, and terrestrial and space weather are criteria that affect safe launch conditions.