Image Processing Techniques for Space Situational Awareness

With a renewed interest in space, it is paramount to understand the space environment; an act commonly referred to as Space Situational Awareness (SSA). Tracking and performing measurements on nearby orbiting objects; known as RSOs helps us better understand SSA. Image processing is a significant step in improving SSA capabilities, aiding in space object detection, tracking, and characterization. This thesis addresses gaps in RSO image processing, with a focus placed on developing specialized pipelines for the production of photometric measurements of Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO) RSOs and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Despite challenges like the unique Earth-Sun L2 Orbit of JWST and high noise issues, this study successfully produced calibrated photometric light curves of three targeted RSOs, advancing our understanding of photometric SSA methodologies.