RF Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Solutions

What is RF Powered Space Domain Awareness?

Radio Frequency (RF) Space Domain Awareness fills key gaps in traditional radar and electro-optical systems. By capturing native RF signals, RF sensing can locate, identify and track objects in space, analyze satellite missions and operations, and support responses to threats in the space domain.

How RF Sensing Works

RF data is the electromagnetic spectrum used by space systems to communicate. RF sensors passively collect a satellite’s transmitted signals, providing information across the orbital, link and terrestrial segments that is absent from other sensors.

RF does not replace other sensors; it completes the SDA picture.

Passive RF offers:

Tracking of closely spaced objects
Persistent operation in all conditions
Accuracy at all orbital regimes
Limitation: cannot track inactive objects

Radar offers:

Motion tracking
Limitation: struggles with closely spaced objects and beyond LEO

Electro-optical offers:

Visual confirmation
Limitations: daylight only, weather restrictions, limited discrimination of closely spaced objects

Global RF Sensor Network

190+ RF sensors worldwide
20 Sites, 360° GEO belt coverage
24/7 Network Operations Center, Colorado Springs

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Futuristic dark blue digital world map with glowing HUD reticles highlighting 4 sites in the Americas, 6 sites in Europe and Africa, and 10 sites in Asia-Pacific.

Filling the Gaps in SDA

KnownSpace provides persistent 360° RF coverage of geosynchronous orbit with best-in-class satellite tracking and signal measurement. All-weather, day-and-night RF sensing complements radar and optical systems, enabling more accurate and resilient SDA. Signal surveillance provides deeper understanding of ground transmitters, allowing measurement, attribution and assessment of behaviors and intent.

Orbital Segment

Includes position and movement of space objects. Captures orbital slot verification, maneuver detection, signal characterization and RPOs.

Link Segment

Focuses on communication signals between space systems and ground. Enables interference detection, mission characterization, anomaly detection, pattern-of-life analysis and more.

Terrestrial Segment

Covers ground infrastructure such as terminals and launch facilities. Supports terminal mapping, interference detection, attribution and emitter tracking.

Commercial Solutions and Services

KnownSpace provides high precision tracking services for active objects and maintains a signal survey catalog updated every four hours. Customers can subscribe to or purchase the catalog to augment their positional data with KnownSpace RF data.

Data Sources and SDA Sensor Network

The KnownSpace Network provides persistent GEO coverage across multiple continents with high revisit rates, accurate ephemeris and continuous day/night monitoring. KnownSpace software products and services are rooted primarily in proprietary RF data, while enabling integration of third-party sources for broader mission environments.