In the context of OSINT, intelligence refers to the extraction and analysis of public data to gain insights, which are then used to improve decision making and inform activity. Traditionally, OSINT was a technique used by the national security and law enforcement communities. However, in recent years it has also become a foundational capability for asset tracking (ships, planes, cargo, supply chain, and space vehicle launches). Open source integration also requires intelligence stream integration and a flexible platform designed to enrich the threat landscape and help inform organizations of known risks.

Leveraging open source tracking of assets requires an intelligent (multi- INT) fusion engine for core fusion of data sets, decluttering real-time intelligence feeds, tasking major categories, prediction and alerting on targets of key interest. The platform needs to be flexible enough to detect hidden movement states (“encamped” or “exploratory”) dependent on multiple external influences (distance to last cluster, distance to shore, shipping lanes, etc.). Enrichment of AIS-S2A analytics is also key by way of satellites telemetry from systems such as Sentinel-2 mission feeds, to detect and deconflict target ships in littoral regions despite large target swaths with high revisit time.

Not knowing the exact location of a spacecraft is a major problem for operators. If satellites cannot be detected, liability, and transparency concerns aside, satellites in pLEO risk a Kessler Event. The greatest success of understanding the what and where comes from understanding the who: who launched the satellite in real-time. By leveraging open source data curated from NOTOM's, public observation sites, launch track technologies, environmental impact and social media, a story can be told in real-time leading up to launch analysis. Retroactively, launch vehicles and transport can be analyzed to deconstruct payload, and potential impact to pLEO, ongoing space missions and beyond.