An Ontological Architecture for Orbital Debris Data
This work addresses the need for improved data-sharing in space situational awareness to support debris management and safe space travel, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing ontological approaches.
The paper tackles the orbital debris problem by proposing an ontological architecture to structure and standardize orbital debris and space situational awareness data, aiming to foster semantic interoperability and data-sharing among agencies and nations.
The orbital debris problem presents an opportunity for inter-agency and international cooperation toward the mutually beneficial goals of debris prevention, mitigation, remediation, and improved space situational awareness (SSA). Achieving these goals requires sharing orbital debris and other SSA data. Toward this, I present an ontological architecture for the orbital debris domain, taking steps in the creation of an orbital debris ontology (ODO). The purpose of this ontological system is to (I) represent general orbital debris and SSA domain knowledge, (II) structure, and standardize where needed, orbital data and terminology, and (III) foster semantic interoperability and data-sharing. In doing so I hope to (IV) contribute to solving the orbital debris problem, improving peaceful global SSA, and ensuring safe space travel for future generations.