TRACER

The Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) is critically important for commanding, controlling, and maintaining the health of this nation’s satellites. Each AFSCN network site contains large parabolic dish antennas which communicate with satellites to download satellite health and status data and upload configuration and control data. Electromagnetic incursions (EMIs) are signals at AFSCN sites which overlap in frequency with those reserved for satellite communications. Because EMIs can potentially interfere with these communications, it is important to detect incursions and identify their source to stop on-going incursions and prevent them from occurring in the future.

To streamline terrestrial EMI emitter localization and identification, we developed the TRACER system, which provides an integrated set of data management, task management, analysis, and data visualization capabilities. These capabilities improve space situational awareness, reduce manpower requirements, dramatically shorten EMI response time, enable the system to evolve without programmer involvement, and support adversarial scenarios such as jamming.