Image is everything.
In the case of military members on the
front lines, quick, reliable satellite images are important, but unfortunately
not always easy to come by. Today, the
lowest echelon members of the U.S. military deployed in remote overseas
locations are unable to obtain on-demand satellite imagery in a timely and
persistent manner for pre-mission planning.
This is due to lack of satellite
overflight opportunities, inability to receive direct satellite downlinks at
the tactical level and information flow restrictions.
DARPA ’s SeeMe program (Space Enabled
Effects for Military Engagements ) aims to give mobile individual US
warfighters access to on-demand, space-based tactical information in remote and
beyond- line-of-sight conditions.
If successful, SeeMe will provide small
squads and individual teams the ability to receive timely imagery of their
specific overseas location directly from a small satellite with the press of a
button — something that’s currently not possible from military or commercial
satellites.
“We envision a constellation of small
satellites, at a fraction of the cost of airborne systems, that would allow
deployed warfighters overseas to hit ‘see me’ on existing handheld devices and
in less than 90 minutes receive a satellite image of their precise location to
aid in mission planning,” said Dave Barnhart, DARPA program manager.
The SeeMe constellation may consist of
some two-dozen satellites, each lasting 60-90 days in a very low-earth orbit
before de-orbiting and completely burning up, leaving no space debris and
causing no re-entry hazard.
The program may leverage DARPA’s
Airborne Launch Assist Space Access
(ALASA) program, which is developing an aircraft-based satellite launch
platform for payloads on the order of 100 lbs. ALASA seeks to provide low-cost,
rapid launch of small satellites into any required orbit, a capability not possible
today from fixed ground launch sites.
“SeeMe is a logical adjunct to UAV
technology, which will continue to provide local or regional very
high-resolution coverage, but which can’t cover extended areas without frequent
refueling,” Barnhart said. “With a SeeMe constellation, we hope to directly
support warfighters in multiple deployed overseas locations simultaneously with
no logistics or maintenance costs beyond the warfighters’ handhelds.”
Information
for this article provided by DARPA.
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