A.D.S. International - SST SYSTEMS

Space Surveillance and Tracking

Drawing on decades of experience developing high-precision optomechanical instrumentation for leading astronomical observatories worldwide, ADS has launched a new line of Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) telescope systems, applying this heritage to the detection, tracking and characterization of satellites, debris and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), with solutions tailored from single-station observatories to full network deployments.

ADS600 - SST Optimised Catadioptric Astrograph

Developed in Europe and free from US export restrictions, the Optimised Catadioptric Astrograph features a large 605mm aperture with ultra-fast f/2.2 optics , a remarkable 3-degree (70mm) field of view, sub-arcsecond astrometric precision with extended spectral response from 400 to 950 nanometers.

Clear Aperture Diameter = 605 mm
Linear Central Obstruction = 235 mm (39%)
RMS Spot Diagram Poly 400-950 nm < 10 um
Vignetting < 18% over full FoV

Encircled Energy >80% in ≤ 6.4 μm (1 arcsec) over full FoV and operational temperature range and for elevation angles from 0° to 30° from zenith.

STEERABLE TELESCOPE CLUSTER (STC)

The main feature of our multiple telescope system is that each telescope can be oriented in two angular directions independently of the others, on a common equatorial mount. Thus the array can be used at its maximum depth in magnitude by converging the four telescopes on the same 2°x2° FOV or, alternatively, fully exploiting the wider angular coverage on the sky by orienting each telescope to obtain a mosaic of four adjacent fields, covering a 16 deg2 FOV. Notably, the user can freely arrange the mosaic, for example making a 2°x8° rectangular field, and orient it in the sky maximizing the object pass coverage.

Four independently steerable telescopes on a single mount for unmatched operational flexibility through its "Depth Mode" and "Wide-Field Mode“
Proprietary control and acquisition software suite enables fully robotic operation
Quickly available and cost-effective solution for SST station and network

ADS built for INAF-OAS Bologna the Tandem instrument installed on the G.D. Cassini telescope at Loiano observatory. Tandem was conceived and designed by professor Alberto Buzzoni.

Tandem is made by four f/3 Newtonian telescopes:

350 mm aperture
FoV of 2°x2° with a 4-inch Wynne corrector
four BVR Ic filters (50 mm diameter)
Platescale = 1.75 arcsec/pixel
Pixel size = 9 um
17 Mpx imagery at 16-bit counting depth
Front-illuminated Grade 1 GSense 4040 (4096x4096 px) monochrome CMOS

Depth Mode: all four telescopes converge on the same 2° x 2° FOV

Limiting magnitude:

•V 19.2 in 120 sec exposure (data reduction process enabled)

•V 20.8 in 30 minutes (data reduction process enabled).

Wide-Field (mosaic) Mode: telescopes independently steered to cover adjacent fields

Total FOV expanded to 4° x 4°
Option to target four sparse fields up to 20° apart

Limiting magnitude:

•V 18.5 in 120 sec exposure

•V 20 in 30 minutes

Tandem's astrometric accuracy of approximately 0.2 arcsec has been proved through observations of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), Gaia-DR2 catalogue.

Wide Field Mode.
Andromeda Galaxy M31 displayed together with a full moon sketch as a reference.

COSMOS 2333 - TANDEM demonstrated its ability to track objects in LEO by arranging its four fields of view along the object's trajectory.
This technique allowed for astrometry of a 20° orbital arc in just 30-40 sec of observation time.

CLUSTER 2 - The system successfully recovered this satellite about a week before its atmospheric re-entry, using a 4-day-old TLE (latest available). This observation showcases TANDEM's ability to track objects with rapidly changing orbits.

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