A mobile, off-grid, robotic observatory for space domain awareness

The rapidly increasing population of Earth-orbiting debris is forcing novel ideas and new partnerships within the US Space Force (USSF). Here the US Space Force presents a concept for a mobile, off-grid, robotic observatory for rapid deployment and observational support. This 1-meter aperture, 3-degree FOV telescope employs state-of-the-art commercial instrumentation in support of both satellite orbit cataloging and closely-spaced object characterization at atmospheric seeing limits, i.e. sub-1" pixels. Its relatively large etendue, high throughput, and up to 50 deg/s slews provides for high survey speeds, be it for lost space debris or astronomical transients. We will detail the design and simulated performance of this Deployable, Attritable Optical (DAO) system. Furthermore, each system will employ USSF developed observatory control software called SensorKit, completely open-source, enabling robotic operation and, if desired for SDA purposes, communication with the Unified Data Library. Scheduling, tasking, data processing and dissemination and more are a part of the US Space Force MACHINA program, presented separately in these proceedings.