Space Force OKs ‘trial’ software to vet commercial, foreign space monitoring data

WASHINGTON — The Space Force has initiated an “operational trial” of a new software-based tool to “translate” and provide “quality control” of space monitoring data provided by commercial operators and foreign governments via the Unified Data Library — functions required to render such data machine-compatible with battle management, command, control and communications systems (BMC3) used by operators at US Space Command.

“Commercial companies who contribute data into the Unified Data Library (UDL) often provide data in multiple formats that pose compatibility challenges for operational use. In order to be compatible with U.S. Space Force (USSF) systems, the data that these companies provide must also meet specific requirements for a wide range of systems,” a Space Systems Command spokesperson explained in an email today.

“To enable compatibility, CODA pulls data from the UDL and performs both translation and quality control, so the resulting data can meet specific requirements and securely enter USSF’s operational command and control (C2) systems,” the spokesperson added.

CODA, which stands for Consolidated Operational Data Archive, was developed under a collaboration among Space Force commands, SPACECOM and L3Harris, Space Systems Command said in a July 15 press release [PDF].

Space Operations Command’s Space Delta 2 — Space Domain Awareness & Battle Management gave the thumbs up to the trial on July 8, according to a July 12 press release. Specifically, the trial will utilize data on objects in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s two Wide Area Search 1.2 meter telescopes operated by Delta 2’s 15th Space Surveillance Squadron on Maui, and commercial sky-watching firm ExoAnalytics.

Space Systems Command is the Space Force’s primary acquisition unit. Space Operations Command is the the key Space Force command in charge of organizing, training and equipping Guardians; Delta 2 is specifically responsible for space domain awareness and battle management.

“By breaking down barriers between government, coalition, and commercial space situational awareness data CODA allows us to create a tailored, operations-relevant understanding that directly informs tactical fires and maneuver decisions,” said Col. Raj Agrawal, Delta 2 commander.

The Space Systems Command spokesperson noted that while the trial is focusing on GEO monitoring data, “CODA was designed to ingest data from sensors across all regimes … so testing for specific regimes is not necessary.”

SPACECOM leaders have complained for a number of years that the lack of a standard format for space monitoring data was hampering efforts to allow machine-to-machine processing and sharing, including from the UDL.

Meanwhile, the Space Force has for several years been struggling to overhaul the UDL, initiated in 2018, to enable data stored there to be directly injected into SPACECOM’s BMC3 networks. As first reported by Breaking Defense, the Department of the Air Force space acquisition czar, Frank Calvelli, late last month issued a report to Congress outlining the plans to ensure the UDL’s contents can be more easily integrated with operational systems.

The Space Force’s FY25 budget request asked for $35 million in research, development, test and evaluation funding for the UDL, down from last year’s request of $187.4 million. The budget justification documents show plans for steady funding at just about FY25 levels through FY29.

One long-standing problem, however, is that the computer systems that gather, process, integrate, and disseminate space domain awareness data for SPACECOM analysts and operators are seriously outdated — and the Pentagon has spent decades trying to bring them into the modern world.

Most recently, Space Systems Command has been developing the Advanced Tracking and Launch Analysis System (ATLAS) under a contract with L3Harris, which is supposed to serve as the Space Force’s primary space domain awareness command and control system, replacing the ancient Space Defense Operations Center computer system. ATLAS, however, also has faced delays and technology issues.