Over the summer, GMV successfully delivered key components of its SST COTS software suite (FocusSST) to the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), the signatory of authority for EU SST partnership and national SST coordinating body. FocusSST components were installed in both the Greek National Operations Center (GRNOC) and the network of affiliated observatories hosting Greek optical telescopes and participating in the EU SST Partnership.

The following FocusSST components were installed at the GRNOC: Senplanner, Sstod, Closeap, and Reenpred. With this software, the GRNOC will be able to perform skillfully the  SST operations, namely optical sensor planning and tasking, orbit determination and sensor calibration, conjunction detection and collision risk assessment and avoidance, and re-entry prediction. In addition, most of these operations run automatically as part of routine operations.

Gendared, which is also part of FocusSST and is responsible for the astrometric reduction of the images taken by the optical sensors, was installed at four optical observatories for the following telescopes: GR-Kryoneri (NOA), GR-Skinakas 1 (FORTH), GR-Thessaloniki 1 (AUTH), and the Baker Nunn camera (NTUA).

All these software components, adequately integrated and adapted in collaboration with the skilled personnel of the GR-SST team, work together and in a fully automatic manner on a daily basis. This  enables the Greek SST system to respond to tasking requests and provide routine measurements in near real time to the EU SST Database as a Greek contribution to the EU SST Partnership. It will also enable NOA to provide collision avoidance and re-entry analysis services to  users in EU and non-EU territories. It will further support the advancement of the relevant research and service upgrade of the country in the domain, and in collaboration with national and international stakeholders and satellite operators from the private and public sector. It is worth noting that Greece keeps investing large funds into the development of new SST/SSA assets as the on-going installation of a tracking radar system and new optical/camera sensors. .

With this project, GMV in collaboration with the GR-SST system demonstrate the ability to provide a fully integrated and operational SST system based on FocusSST components that meets EU SST requirements and additional national needs.

For more information about the GR-SST system and the experience gained after the collaboration of GR-SST with GMV you could contact the national delegate in STC and GR-SST program coordinator Dr Haris KONTOES ([email protected])