The U.S. Department
of Defense awarded a Southwest Research Institute-led team a contract to
prototype a system to process, exploit and disseminate data from satellites for
tactical use by military units. SwRI is collaborating with Amazon Web Services
(AWS) and SciTec Inc. to support the Space and Missile Systems Center CASINO
PED ground station initiative, SWRI announced September 10.
The Commercially
Augmented Space Inter-Network Operations (CASINO) Processing, Exploitation, and
Dissemination (PED) program seeks to produce more timely combat information and
actionable intelligence to the field. Over the last decade, the military has
significantly increased the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
data it collects. Unfortunately, this data surplus has created a bottleneck in
processing and analysis. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) will facilitate this
technology demonstration and support the tempo needed to address future
tactical threats.
“This prototype
will demonstrate rapid delivery of processed satellite data to the tactical
units needing the information in areas of conflict,” said Debi Rose, SwRI
senior program manager leading the effort. “Through this demonstration project,
we will integrate a ground network supporting a constellation of satellites
with unique processing capabilities and cloud access to deliver data needed to
meet military objectives.”
The prototype
system, which must initially be capable of collecting and processing data from
up to 20 overhead satellites but have the potential to scale to hundreds, will
be delivered within 14 months. SwRI will contribute expertise in satellite
systems, software engineering and automated cloud solutions.
“As the systems engineering lead, we will integrate operational commercial ground data networks with SciTec’s processing capabilities and delivery through AWS cloud services,” Rose said. “The system will acquire raw data from the satellites and transport it through the commercial gateway to cloud-based services. The data will be processed en route, supporting rapid delivery of tactical products to in-theater users with minimal human-machine interface.”
Source: SwRI
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