USEUCOM Science & Technology Steve Spehn Deputy Science Advisor ECJ8-C, S&T Branch
USEUCOM S&T Challenges Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) / Communications (PNT/C) Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Anti-Access / Area-Denial (A2/AD) Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR) Electromagnetic Spectrum Management (ESM) Cyber Command and Control (C2) Interoperability Space Resiliency Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) Joint Reception, Staging, Onward-movement, and Integration (JRSOI) Maritime Surface and Subsurface Operations Arctic-related
USEUCOM Arctic Challenges Awareness Environmental Intelligence Arctic Domain Awareness Accessibility Presence Response Connectivity Command, Control, Communications Data Exfiltration
Solution Domains Space Layer Stratosphere Troposphere Land-Based Maritime Surface Maritime Sub-Surface
The Stratosphere Defined (roughly) The layer of the Earth’s atmosphere in which the air temperature rises with altitude as a result of absorption of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer. Lower boundary is approximately: 18 km at the Equator; 10–13 km at mid-latitudes; and 8 km at the poles. Upper boundary is approximately 50 km. Layers of the atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. Credit: Randy Russell, UCAR
Potential Stratospheric Solutions S&T Challenge Example Solutions PNT/C GPS augmentation; Cooperative, tiered, alternate PNT; Distributive timing; Communications gateway IAMD Sensing; Tracking A2/AD See PNT/C; Regional data connectivity; IoT gateway ISR UGS gateway; IoT gateway Cyber TBD ESM C2 Interoperability Communications gateway; IoT gateway Space Resiliency Rapid augmentation; Interim reconstitution C-UAS Detection and tracking; C2 interdiction JRSOI Maritime Operations Communications gateway
Stratospheric Ground Footprints For a minimum elevation angle of 0° (i.e., the platform is above the observer’s horizon), the radius of the ground footprint increases by about 10 km for every 1 km increase in altitude, up to a maximum radius of about 800 km at 50 km altitude.
Stratospheric Ground Footprints Altitude 50 km 40 km 30 km 20 km Footprints for a Stratospheric platform over the Beaufort Sea with: elevation = 0° and altitude = {20, 30, 40, 50} km
Stratospheric Ground Footprints For an altitude of 50 km, the radius of the ground footprint decreases rapidly as the elevation angle (i.e., the apparent position of the platform above the observer’s horizon) increases from 0° to 20°.
Stratospheric Ground Footprints Elevation 0 ° 5 ° 10 ° 15 ° 20 ° Footprints for a Stratospheric platform over the Beaufort Sea with: elevation (el) = {0, 5, 10, 15, 20}° and altitude = 50 km
Stratospheric Compared to LEO LEO (500 km) LEO (200 km) Strat (50 km) Footprints for platforms over the Beaufort Sea with elevation = 0°
Stratosphere as a LEO Connector Using a stratospheric platform at 50 km altitude to connect to a satellite in LEO extends the effective ground footprint in a way that, for LEO altitudes, mimics the ground footprint of a satellite at much higher altitude.
Stratospheric Combined with LEO LEO (500 km) Strat (50 km) Footprints for platforms (Strat, LEO, and Combined) over the Beaufort Sea with elevation = 0°
Stratospheric Mesh Network Footprints for seven Stratospheric platforms at altitude = 50 km and with elevation = 0°
The Stratosphere as a Solution Domain Leverage small satellite technologies Potential solution technologies: GPS augmentation Cooperative, tiered, alternate PNT Distributive timing Communications gateway IAMD sensing and tracking Regional data connectivity, to include unattended sensors Rapid augmentation and interim reconstitution of space-based capabilities