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(Classification of Launch)

Launch Conjunction Assessment Request

Date (DDMMMYYYY):
Rev:
ITEM 1 / Mission:
Booster:
Payloads:
Launch Range/Location:
ITEM 2 / Primary POC Name, Phone Number and Email Address:
Name:
Unit/Squadron:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
Secondary POC Name, Phone Number and Email Address:
Name:
Unit/Squadron:
Phone Number:
Email Address:

(Classification of Launch)

614 AOC Form 22-A, 27 August 2015

(Previous versions are obsolete and will be rejected)

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(Classification of Launch)

ITEM 3 / A) Primary Launch Date & Launch Window:
Start Time (DDD [J-Day], HH:MM:SS UTC) / Stop Time (DDD [J-Day], HH:MM:SS UTC)
J-Day: / DDD / Time: / HH:MM:SS / UTC / J-Day: / DDD / Time: / HH:MM:SS / UTC
B) Secondary Launch Date(s) & Launch Window(s):
Start Time (DDD [J-Day], HH:MM:SS UTC) / Stop Time (DDD [J-Day], HH:MM:SS UTC)
J-Day: / DDD / Time: / HH:MM:SS / UTC / J-Day: / DDD / Time: / HH:MM:SS / UTC
J-Day: / Time: / UTC / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
J-Day: / Time: / UTC / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
Note: Attach Launch Window Memo (if desired)
ITEM 4 / Launch Screening Results Delivery Instructions:
Specify the method for delivery of results (email address, website, etc.):
Desired Products:
What products would you like to receive:
Delivery Times for Primary Launch Day Results (DDD (J-Day), HH:MM:SS UTC):
A) L-X Day / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
B) L-7 Day / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
C) L-3 Day / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
D) L-2 Day / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
E) L-1 Day / J-Day: / Time: / UTC
F) Launch Day / J-Day: / DDD / Time: / HH:MM:SS / UTC
Provide Backup day screenings for each screening day
Specify desired delivery times (UTC). Launch Day is the minimum service we provide. Choose additional delivery options (if desired). Also indicate if results for a Secondary Launch Day are desired.
ITEM 5 / Trajectory File Name(s):
See Standardized Naming convention document for an explanation of the proper naming format.
Object’s Trajectory File Name
(YY_MISSION_PART_TYPE) / Unit of Measurement / RCS Value of Object
(For POC generation)
ft / m / km
ITEM 6 / Launch Opportunity Specifics:
Screen for “Launch On”:
A) Top of every minute, + or – seconds
B) Every 30 Seconds
C) Every 10 Seconds
D) Every 5 Seconds
E) Every Second
ITEM 7 / Screening Type and Criteria
For special requests not meeting the criteria below, explain in ITEM 8
Stand-Off Radius Criteria
Screening Category / Minimum Values / Customer Request
Manned spacecraft / 200 km / km
Active satellites / 25 km / km
All Others / 2.5 km / km
Probability of Collision (PoC) Criteria
Screening Category / Minimum Values / Customer Request
Manned spacecraft / N/A (200 km Radius)* / km
Active satellites / 1x10E-5 (0.00001) / km
All Others / 1x10E-5 (0.00001) / km
PoC criteria screening is not used for manned spacecraft; instead, a Stand-Off Radius must be used.
Note: When PoC cannot be computed, minimum Stand-Off Radius requirements will be used instead.
ITEM 8 / Additional Information and/or Requests:

Form 22-A Instructions

The following instructions describe how to properly fill out a 614 AOC Form 22-A, Launch Conjunction Assessment Request.

ITEM 1: Describe mission, booster, payload(s), and launch range/location. Mission name will remain standard across all documentation and serve as the identifier for that Launch.

ITEM 2: Provide a primary point of contact (POC) and list their name, phone number, unit/squadron and email address. Provide sufficient information to ensure someone is available for any necessary clarifications or problems. If possible provide a 24/7 contact number.

Provide a secondary POC and list their name, phone number, unit/squadron and email address. This person will serve as a backup in case the Primary POC cannot be reached. If possible provide a 24/7 contact number.

ITEM 3: Primary/Secondary Launch Date(s) and Launch Window(s):

Identify Julian day (J-day or Ordinal day) and time of launch in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) for the primary and secondary launch dates.

Attach a Launch Window Memorandum with a list of all backup launch dates, if desired.

ITEM 4: Launch Screening Results Delivery Instructions

Delivery Instructions: Please specify all methods of delivery you would like to receive products from. Email, Space-track.org, RTL, and Intellink are all valid options. If there are any additional emails where products need to be sent to, please list those here.

Desired Products: We can provide excel files, text files, or .res files at request. However, res files require SIPR access. They cannot be provided over NIPR. If there are any special requests for the result files, do not specify them here. Please specify them in the additional comments section.

Delivery times: Provide the desired launch screening results due dates (J-Days)/times. The JSpOC will deliver these products as close as possible to the requested delivery times Identified in this section. Check a maximum of two additional Launch Product Delivery Times, as indicated in Items 5A-6E. (Note: Mission day screening results will always be provided and will include primary day and the most immediate secondary day results.) Select the box below if you would like to receive backup screening days for all screenings. If Backup days are only needed for Mission Day screenings, please specify that in the additional comments section.

ITEM 5: Trajectory Files

Please list the trajectory files here, along with unit of measurement that the file is in. If POC generation is desired, please specify the RCS values for each individual file. Additional instructions regarding RCS can be included in the additional comments section.

All provided trajectories must follow the standardized naming convention or they will not be screened. Pleased see the attached document for proper format for the trajectory files.

ITEM 6: Launch Opportunity Specifics

Check one option for desired screening time specifics. Provide additional text information as needed, e.g. “screen the top of each minute of the launch window +/- 5 seconds to compensate for uncertainty in the time for launch vehicle to lift off launch pad,” or “screen every ten seconds for the duration of the launch window.”

ITEM 7: Identify Screening Type and Criteria

Check the desired screening type(s) and provide screening criteria in the “Customer Request” column for each screening category below.

Screening Categories:

·  Manned: Consists of screenings vs. manned or habitable spacecraft. (Note: All launches will be screened against manned spacecraft.)

·  Active Satellites: Consists of screenings vs. active payload satellites

·  All Others: Consists of screenings vs. rocket bodies, inactive payloads, debris, platforms, etc.

Screening Type: Stand-off Radius Criteria – Reports the overall miss distance between the primary and secondary objects.

·  Enter the desired stand-off radius in the “Customer Request” section. Note the Minimum Required radius in each screening case. If no radius (or a smaller radius than the Minimum Required) is provided, screening will be performed with the Minimum Required stand-off radius. (Note: Stand-off Radius will be used against all manned spacecraft.)

Screening Type: Probability of Collision (PoC) Criteria – If selected uses covariance of the launch vehicle and secondary objects in order to compute and report probability of collision as well as miss distances.

·  Note 1: Covariance information for the launch vehicle (and any other launched objects for which screening is desired) must be provided in the trajectory files by the launch agency to use this screening type. The JSpOC computes covariance for secondary objects.

·  Note 2: The length of the largest physical dimension of each object to be screened must be provided in ITEM 6 to use this screening type.

ITEM 8: Additional Information and/or Requests

Enter any additional information and/or requests that you deem important in meeting your mission requirements.

SuperCOMBO/CALIPER Input File Formats

17 June 2008

(Source: Nancy Ericson, HQ AFSPC/A9)

1.0 Introduction

This document describes the input file formats available for entering launch ephemeris and position covariance data into SuperCOMBO/CALIPER. SuperCOMBO/CALIPER is the version of launch conjunction assessment software within the ASW SuperCOMBO architecture at 614 AOC/COD. This enhanced and integrated version of CALIPER replaces the previous stand-alone GP-based version of CALIPER.

SuperCOMBO/CALIPER accepts three file formats: two legacy formats and one new format. The legacy formats are used to input only ephemeris data (position and velocity), whereas the new CALIPER Trajectory Covariance V2.0 input file includes both ephemeris and position covariance. The new CALIPER Trajectory Covariance V2.0 file format is required for users who request a probability of collision (POC) metric in addition to a miss distance.

This document provides notes on input file coordinate systems and characteristics in Section 2. Legacy formats are described in Section 3, and Section 4 addresses the new CALIPER Trajectory Covariance V2.0 file format.

2.0 SuperCOMBO/CALIPER Input Files - Coordinate Systems and Characteristics

SuperCOMBO/CALIPER accepts launch vehicle position and velocity in rotating Earth-Fixed Greenwich (EFG) coordinates. In this system, E is along the line of intersection of the true equator of date and the Greenwich meridian, G is through the true North Pole (normal to the true equatorial plane) and F completes the right-handed coordinate system. SuperCOMBO/CALIPER converts the EFG ephemeris to Earth-Centered Inertial coordinates of date, a frame referred to as “ECI” in the 614 AOC/COD community. In the conversion from EFG to ECI, SuperCOMBO/CALIPER incorporates UT1-UTC corrections through a timing constants file populated with values from the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) Bulletin A.

EFG differs from the crust-fixed Earth-Centered Rotating (ECR) frame in that EFG does not incorporate polar motion. Differences between the EFG and ECR frames are small, on the order of 15 meters or less. Note that EFG is used interchangeably with the NASA “TDR” coordinate system. ECR is terminology used within 614 AOC/COD614 AOC/COD; it is equivalent to the Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ECEF) and Earth-Centered Fixed (ECF) frames.

Position covariance is entered in a launch vehicle-centered frame, in either UVW or PTW coordinates. In the UVW frame, U (“radial”) is the unit vector in the radial direction, W (“cross-track”) is the unit vector normal to the launch vehicle’s inertial orbit plane, and V (“in-track”) is the unit vector which completes the right-handed coordinate system. (Despite the “in-track” descriptor, V is only coincident with the velocity when the launch trajectory is circular.)

In the PTW covariance frame, T is the unit vector along the launch vehicle’s velocity vector, W is again the unit vector normal to the launch vehicle’s inertial orbit plane, and P is the unit vector that completes the right-handed coordinate system. PTW is the most easily visualized covariance frame for elliptical launch vehicle trajectories because the T direction is aligned with the launch vehicle’s velocity.

The SuperCOMBO/CALIPER launch trajectory input file should have ephemeris/covariance points provided at sufficiently frequent time points that interpolation may be used with negligible error. For boosting launch trajectories, an ephemeris/covariance point spacing of 10 seconds is recommended – although less than 10 second spacing could be needed if the trajectory contains large maneuvers. For non-boosting, non-maneuvering phases of a launch trajectory profile, larger ephemeris/covariance point spacing can be used. Note that SuperCOMBO/CALIPER can accept launch trajectory files with variable ephemeris/covariance point spacing.

Because launch vehicle velocity is used for both interpolation and for identifying potential conjunctions, SuperCOMBO/CALIPER requires that the launch vehicle velocity be realistic such that the EFG velocity represents the derivative of the EFG position. Also, the position and velocity ephemeris points should be relatively smooth and continuous (e.g., real world delta-Vs for maneuvers are acceptable but large deviations particularly those that are discontinuous step functions are not).

For meaningful POC calculations, the launching agency must provide realistic launch trajectory covariance. For responsible decision making based on POC, the launching authority must be knowledgeable on the POC metric and its use/limitations.

3.0 Legacy File Formats for Ephemeris Data Only

There are two file formats for entering only ephemeris (position and velocity). They are legacy formats from the previous stand-alone CALIPER. One is the standard CALIPER trajectory file format. The other is a more concise, space-delimited, free-format that had to be processed before being input into the previous version of CALIPER, but can now be input directly into SuperCOMBO/CALIPER. Both formats are described in the following paragraphs.

1) CALIPER Trajectory File

In the CALIPER Trajectory file, one or more launch times/trajectories can be represented in a single file. In the previous version of CALIPER, all launch times in a launch window had to be represented in a single file.

Now, you can input a single trajectory and either run it as is in SuperCOMBO/CALIPER or you can override the launch time and input launch window start/stop/time steps. Since most launch profiles maintain the same earth-fixed trajectory throughout the launch window, this approach is desirable as it requires less I/O processing time. However, if the earth-fixed trajectories do differ with each new launch time (e.g., launch azimuth varies for interplanetary launch opportunities), then all launch times/trajectories will have to be submitted within a single file.

In the example below, two launch times are represented.

LAUNCH TIME: 2004 001 1520 3.000 LAUNCH AZIMUTH: 0.000 DISPERSION FILE:

0.000 -3048.065 -1597.441 5352.179

0.000000 0.000000 0.000000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

10.000 -3048.246 -1597.518 5352.450

-0.053000 -0.018000 0.067000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

20.000 -3049.416 -1597.747 5353.492

-0.196000 -0.026000 0.141000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

30.000 -3052.425 -1598.001 5355.278

-0.417000 -0.023000 0.217000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

40.000 -3057.928 -1598.172 5357.776

-0.690000 -0.009000 0.280000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

LAUNCH TIME: 2004 001 1521 3.000 LAUNCH AZIMUTH: 0.000 DISPERSION FILE:

0.000 -3048.065 -1597.441 5352.179

0.000000 0.000000 0.000000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

10.000 -3048.246 -1597.518 5352.450

-0.053000 -0.018000 0.067000

0.000000000 0.000000000 0.000000000

20.000 -3049.416 -1597.747 5353.492