Hybrid Sensing for Near-Earth Space Domain Awareness: Leveraging Space-Based Assets for Augmenting Optical Ground Observations

Hybrid Sensing for Near-Earth Space Domain Awareness: Leveraging Space-Based Assets for Augmenting Optical Ground Observations | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Hybrid Sensing for Near-Earth Space Domain Awareness: Leveraging Space-Based Assets for Augmenting Optical Ground Observations Smriti Nandan Paul, Hang Woon Lee This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6491305/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Because of recent advancements in space technologies, easier and more economical access to space, and an increase in commercial interests, the near-Earth space environment has witnessed an exploding number of objects being put into orbit. In particular, the low Earth orbit (LEO) region is at an increased risk of orbital collisions from large satellite constellation projects. Thus, monitoring LEO objects for space domain awareness and space traffic management has become increasingly imperative. In this paper, we use the concept of limited-CDF (cumulative distribution function) surface and mutual information for designing sensor tasking algorithms focusing on regular observation of known catalog LEO objects (follow-up). Observations are carried out using simulated ground-based optical telescope(s). The simulations are representative of realistic observation processes. We investigate how data from passive space-based sensors can be used to improve the follow-up performance of the telescope(s). A sensor-tasking framework is developed in which we conduct a comparative study to assess how different types of satellite constellation patterns such as Walker-Delta and Walker-Star affect the overall sensor tasking performance. Several case studies are carried out to address the following points: (1) what are the appropriate characteristics of the parameters to be optimized and how does it impact the evolution of orbital state uncertainties?, (2) compare different traditional and non-traditional algorithms for sensor tasking problem, (3) investigate the effect of measurements from different constellation configurations of passive space-based sensor, and (4) what is an appropriate coordinate system for the limited-CDF surface? Sensor Tasking Optical Observation Space Sensor Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6491305","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":465478795,"identity":"b51a7f41-f75c-4a66-9a69-6017fd1b8dea","order_by":0,"name":"Smriti Nandan Paul","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAwwGICoBwuNjbwDTjA34tBxA1sLGcwBkCn4tIAVIWiQS8GuRn3b24eEPBXfkzdmTnz1g3GGX2Cb5OvnzBwYb2Q0HsGsxuJ1uAHTYM8OdPc/MDRjPJCe2SedukzjAkGaMU4t0Gsgvhxk33Egwk2BsYwZrATrscCIuLfKzIVrsN9xI/wbUUg902NnNHw4w/MepheE2REvihhs5IFsOJ7ZJ8G4AOuwATi0GIC1nDA4nbzjzpkwi8cxx4zYeoF/OGCQbz8TtMOYPFX8O2244nr5N4uOOatl+dqDDKirsZPtwOQwFJDbAbSdGOQjgj/FRMApGwSgYqQAAq8ZrOeW51SEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Missouri University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Smriti","middleName":"Nandan","lastName":"Paul","suffix":""},{"id":465478796,"identity":"d3ebbb9e-2de9-4dc4-aab1-41c8fbcb37e2","order_by":1,"name":"Hang Woon Lee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"West Virginia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hang","middleName":"Woon","lastName":"Lee","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-20 23:53:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6491305/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6491305/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40295-025-00546-y","type":"published","date":"2026-01-05T15:57:17+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":100069053,"identity":"375d1417-142c-4485-94fa-8435435bf5b5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-12 16:07:55","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":6120092,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Sensortaskingjournaljass.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6491305/v1_covered_ae109e26-1c85-406d-adb9-d88ca7178f8f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Hybrid Sensing for Near-Earth Space Domain Awareness: Leveraging Space-Based Assets for Augmenting Optical Ground Observations","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sensor Tasking, Optical Observation, Space Sensor","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6491305/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6491305/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Because of recent advancements in space technologies, easier and more economical access to space, and an increase in commercial interests, the near-Earth space environment has witnessed an exploding number of objects being put into orbit. 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