KBR to upgrade and maintain Air Force supercomputer and electro-optical center for space domain awareness
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – U.S. Air Force researchers needed technology upgrades and maintenance for the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS) on Maui, Hawaii. They found a solution from KBR Inc. in Houston.
Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., announced a $176 million seven-year contract to KBR last week for AMOS support.
Space domain awareness
KBR will provide operations and equipment maintenance support, site modernization, and recapitalization to the existing legacy space domain awareness capabilities at Maui.
The AMOS site helps the Air Force operate and maintain satellites in space, and helps track man-made objects in space. Site facilities maintain an awareness of the locations and capabilities of all man-made objects in space, also called space domain awareness.
Related: HPEC enables onboard data processing for persistent surveillance
The Air Force Research Lab's Directed Energy Directorate operates two major telescope sites for situational awareness: one at the AMOS site on Maui, and the other at Kirtland Air Force Base.
The AMOS site on Maui consists of two facilities: the Maui Space Surveillance System (MSSS), and the second is the Maui High Performance Computing Center (Maui High-Performance Computing Center).
Satellite identification
AMOS research includes satellite detection and identification, atmospheric compensation and resolved imaging, astrodynamics and orbital metrics, sensor development, laser propagation through the Earth’s atmosphere, database cataloging of satellite images, and high-performance computer modeling and simulation. In addition to its use as an R&D facility, AMOS has been called upon to help identify and track spacecraft payloads and communication satellites.
AMOS produces satellite imagery, space object signature data, space object positional data, advanced image post processing, data exploitation tools and techniques, laser propagation through the Earth’s atmosphere, and high performance computer modeling and simulation. Most recently Air Force Research Lab installed a sodium guidestar, which has the ability to propagate light into the sodium layer of the atmosphere and create an artificial star.
Related: The role of technology in securing the nation’s borders
The Maui Space Surveillance System electro-optical facility is at 10,000 feet above sea level and Maui’s stable climate with minimal scattered surface light provide excellent viewing conditions most days.
The Maui Space Surveillance System uses its visible and infrared sensors, adaptive optics, and telescopes to collect imaging and signature data on near-Earth and deep-space objects. Air Force Research Lab scientists and engineers analyze this data and disseminate imaging and signature products in support of space domain awareness current needs.
The Maui High-Performance Computing Center helps to evaluate and optimize early production supercomputer technology and provide breakthrough software for military research. It investigates emerging supercomputer technology, and provides supercomputer-backed solutions for high-priority defense programs.
On this contract, KBR will do the work in Maui, Hawaii, and should be finished by April 2032. For more information contact KBR online at www.kbr.com, or the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate at www.afrl.af.mil/RD.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
