1. Embry-Riddle, Daytona Beach Florida.
ISODEX: STEM & STM
12 – 13 November 2015
Embry-Riddle, Daytona Beach Florida.
Dr. Mark A. Skinner
PM, Commercial GBSSA

2. “Why” a new and improved catalog
“Why” a new and improved catalog? Simply, to enhance scientific information available on space objects. Who are some of the stakeholders?
Environmental/societal concerns
Space is common heritage; 50+ years of space debris population growth
Better understanding of where debris objects are is first step in “solving” the problem
Foster international space object data sharing
Transparency & Confidence Building Measure
Existing Space Operators
More complete, more accurate source of information
Allows for better conjunction analysis
Better safety of flight
New, or “would like to be”, Actors in the Space Arena
Getting into space is still difficult and expensive
Desire in many quarters to “do something” regarding space
Ground-based observations of space objects are low barrier-to-entry
Modest technology requirements are orders of magnitude less costly than actually launching a satellite
Good cross-discipline activity/training for University and Post-Graduate students: STEM opportunity
Astronomy-Physics-Aerospace-Electrical Engineering can participate
Output/results seen as more “practical” than, e.g., “pure” Astronomy

3. What existing models do we have for this?
Proposed: International Space Object Data Exchange (ISODEX)
Existing organizations we can look to:
Minor Planet Center (MPC)
Following 120,000 natural space objects with 6 FTEs
NASA, IAU ties
Int'l GNSS Service (IGS)
Voluntary federation of >200 int'l entities to share GNS data
Participant funded
ISODEX
Crowd-sourced observations
UN COPUOS, IADC ties
Funded by participants (cash or in- kind)
Virtual, International, non-profit LLC
SSN: 1-way only
ISON: No public access to their catalog
Space Data Association
23 Commercial Operators
3 Civil Space Agencies
Participant funded
Isle of Man Limited Corp.
Minor Planet Center logo used
by permission.

4. ISODEX conceptual points
ISODEX would not be a "command and control" center
ISODEX is envisioned to be an international, virtual, cloud-based, not-for-profit data exchange
Neither run, hosted, nor financed by UN OOSA, USAF, NASA, etc.
Participant funded
Nations, state/provincial gov’t, NGOs, commercial companies, universities, …
Accredited by UN COPUOS for observer status, will deliver periodic updates on activities
Potentially set up as a “sister” LLC to Space Data Association (SDA)
Fulfills requests of some SDA member operators
But requirements for operating are very different from SDA
Allows easy exchange of orbital information on space objects
No current international public repository for space object information exists
Enhances information available on space objects (new and improved catalog)
Fulfills desire by many would-be space actors to participate in "space activities"
Ground-based observations of space objects offer a low barrier-to-entry
For existing SSA researchers: Could provide cueing information on “lost” objects
May benefit various civil aviation “space traffic management” initiatives
Crowd-sourced space object observations vetted by staff, collated, and associated
Data product (catalog of positional information) freely available over the Internet
Not just to “interested States and authorized users”

5. Next Steps Currently socializing the concept around the community
Looking for the right entity to stand up the LLC
Working with International Astronomical Union (IAU)
Office of Astronomy for Development
Planning prototype system between University of Sharjah (UOS) and University of Maryland Center for Orbital Debris Education and Research (CODER)

6. Space object data ISODEX Orbital Information
INPUT
VALIDATION, PROCESSING, COLLATION
OUTPUT
ISODEX
Operator data
Crowd-sourced
Observational data
ISODEX participants
ISODEX catalog
Catalogs of space objects