SeeMe: DARPA Satellites for Battlefield Soldiers

14/03/2012 by Armed Forces International's Defence Correspondent

The US Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) is seeking to develop advanced new near real-time satellite imaging equipment for combat-engaged troops in collaboration with external partners.

The goal of DARPA's Space-Enabled Effects for Military Engagements (SeeME) programme is to bring a new capability to the battlefield - beamed images, taken from way above, to aid soldiers with operational planning.

The satellites involved in SeeMe would, typically, deploy en masse and only have a very limited lifespan of approximately three months. Launched in a ‘swarm' of about two-dozen, they'd carry out ultra-low Earth orbits and be disposable in the sense once used, they'd fall back down to earth, decomposing and fragmenting along the way.

DARPA SeeMe Satellites

In US military service, the DARPA SeeMe satellites would effectively bridge a capability gap between conventional satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), addressing the limitations of both. Conventional satellites operate at too high an altitude to provide a service like this to soldiers, while single UAVs can't yet maintain an enduring multi-month presence in the skies.

"We envision a constellation of small satellites ...that would allow deployed warfighters overseas to hit 'SeeMe' on existing handheld devices [i.e. tablets or smartphones] and, in less than 90 minutes, receive a satellite image of their precise location", DARPA's Dave Barnhart explained in a statement.

"SeeMe is a logical adjunct to UAV technology, which will continue to provide local or regional very high-resolution coverage, but which can't cover extended areas without frequent refuelling."

Satellites For Soldiers

DARPA's hoping to progress the SeeME satellites for soldiers programme through the help of experts and, so, a call's gone out, with the prospect of initial discussions taking place later this month. The aim, after that, is to rapidly assemble these satellites, each one costing in the region of half-a-million US dollars.

"To create inexpensive, easily manufacturable small satellites costing $500K apiece will require leveraging existing non-traditional aerospace off-the-shelf technologies for rapid manufacturing, such as the mobile phone industry's original design manufacturers, as well as developing advanced technologies for optics, power, propulsion and communications to keep size and weight down", Barnhard concluded.

Armed Forces International will keep track of the SeeMe programme and report further in future News coverage.