To better understand the space operational environment, the United States Space Force has traditionally relied on military-operated constellations like the Space Based Space Surveillance system (SBSS) and the Geosynchrnous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), both of which provide space situational awareness (SSA) data that simply identifies and tracks man-made objects in orbit. But SSA is vital to a broader Space Force imperative known as space domain awareness (SDA), which goes another step further in not only identifying and tracking man-made objects in space, but understanding their intent and behavior, as well.

Now, the Space Force wants commercial space companies to provide their own SSA data to the SDA mission, through a new program, currently known as Geosynchronous Reconnaissance & Surveillance Constellation (or RG-XX).

In this episode of "The Elara Edge," Col (Ret) Ken Bowling breaks down the opportunities and challenges of bringing SSA data to the SDA mission. A retired Colonel with the United States Air Force, Ken commanded units at both Group and Squadron levels, and brings with him over 25 years of satellite research and development experience, and space situational awareness expertise.

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.