Space Operations Flashcards
What is D3SOE?
Degraded, disrupted, or denied space operational environments.
Who is the largest user of space capabilities?
U.S. Army
Space systems are integral to supportinal all of what?
The Army Warfighting Functions
What are the Army Warfighting Functions?
Mission Command, Movement and Maneuver, Intelligence, Sustainment, Fires, and Protection
What are the three main space capabilities of space enabled equipment?
Global Positioning System (GPS), Satellite Communications (SATCOM), Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR),
What is GPS used for?
provides military and civilian users with Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)
How many satellites are required for the GPS constellation?
24, but there were 31 in orbit as of 2017
What altitude do GPS satellites operate at?
12,500 miles above Earth
What are the characteristics of the GPS signal?
Very weak, equibalent to a 40 watt light bulb, and susceptible to enemy jamming and other electromagnetic interference.
What is the primary ground receiver for the Army?
Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR)
What is SATCOM used for?
provides key connectivity for all Warfighting Functions—providing both voice and data communications
What altitude do SATCOM satellites operate at?
22,300 miles above Earth
What field of view do SATCOM satellites have?
1/3 of the Earth’s surface.
What are SATCOMs susceptible to?
uplink and downlink jamming
What is uplink jamming?
Jamming of the receiver antenna on the satellite
What is downlink jamming?
Jamming of the user equpment on the ground
** How do SATCOMs operate?**
The signal is sent from the ground to the satellite, and than rebroadcast to the distant recipient.
What is ISR used for?
helps us gather information about the enemy and operational environment
Who is the key individual in your unit to access and expoit ISR satellte data?
S2
What is one of the greatest benefits of satellites?
they can access the entire globe, thus ISR can be collected in areas that would otherwise be denied to aircraft, UAS, or other types of information collection
What is one of the greatest benefits of commercial satellites?
commercial satellites provide is that the image is not classified. It can be easily shared within the organization, as well as with coalition partners
What are the four most prevalent limitations of space capabilities
Physics, terrestrial weather, solar environment, enemy actions.
How many satellites are there operating from 100 miles above the Earth to 22,300 miles into space?
1,400
What percent of operational satellites provide satellite communications all over the world (i.e. voice, internet, TV, etc.)
60%
How many pieces of debris remain in space?
21,000 pieces
How many satellites can enable Infantry squads?
115
What satellites are required to enable infantry squads?
1 or 2 out of 66 Iridium satellites (voice), 4 out of 31 GPS satelites (position fix), 1 imagery satellite (picture)
What are the main concerns for Army tactical units com from the following enemy threats:
Anti Satellite Missile (ASAT), Ground station attack, SATCOM and GPS jamming, CYBER and laser
Anti Satellite Missile (ASAT) threat
launch from the ground, or air, to space to destroy a satellite in orbit.
Ground station attack threat
physical attack against terrestrial satellite control facility, which could impact satellite Command and Control (C2).
SATCOM and GPS jamming threat
are the greatest threat to Army ground formations, as these threats directly impact the tactical Army’s ability to communicate beyond line-of-sight (BLOS), navigate, receive critical timing data, and employ precision munitions.
CYBER and laser threat
threats can impact space operations, but response and countermeasures to these threats are executed at higher levels.
Non-Enemy Factors to space systems are primarily related to the following natural or manmade interferences:
Unintentional electromagnetic interference (EMI), Space debris, Solar (space) weather, Terrestrial weather, Terrain and vegetation.
Unintentional electromagnetic interference (EMI) threat
caused by friendly or neutral forces operating on the same frequency band, thus inadvertently disrupting operations.
Space debris threat
can cause damage to satellites on orbit.
Solar (space) weather threat
can potentially temporarily disrupt certain types of SATCOM and GPS
Terrestrial weather
threats that could degrade U.S. satellite capabilities may include heavy rains for certain types of SATCOM, or high winds which would cause SATCOM dishes to be retracted/stored or destroyed.
Terrain and vegetation
refer to natural or man-made terrain (such as buildings/complex terrain/urban canyons/etc.) as well as jungle canopy and it’s effects on GPS and/or SATCOM.
