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Phase 3 - GEO Tracker

The design process of the new Geostationary Orbit (GEO) Tracker: A live, continuous picture of the GEO belt: where Canadian satellites and adversary satellites are, and what's moving too close to something that matters. This phase will gave analysts real-time orbital awareness inside Space C.O.P for the first time.

Discovery

A structured discovery workshop was run with operators and stakeholders to understand what GEO tracking actually meant to the people who needed it. Three questions anchored the session

What is it?

GEO definition from SDA's povs

The needs?

In what scenarios SDA needs this tracker

What first?

Which features should be prioritized first?

Workflow Mapping

Current flow

Multiple tools and manual scripts

Ideal flow

One page. Capture, compare, track, report. Done.

Usability Testing

Mid-fi prototypes were created based on Ui elements from implemented pages. Then two rounds of usability testing were run with SDA operators across the GEO features, with sessions focused on task completion, information findability, and whether the interface matched how analysts actually reasoned about satellite proximity.

What was tested?

  • Satellite detail retrieval without guidance

  • "Needs Attention" flagging flow end to end

  • Filter panel against operator mental models

  • Search by name, country, and CAT ID

  • Comparison panel for briefing sufficiency

  • Notifications panel order and relevance

Key Findings

Operators anchored to the map first, not the sidebar

  • "Needs Attention" flag was clear but operators wanted visibility on who else could see it

  • "Favourites" filter was immediately understood as a way to surface Canadian and allied assets

  • CAT ID search was missing, operators often had the ID before the name

  • Comparison panel was the most valued feature but needed real-time distance updates

  • Notifications needed filtering by event type: conjunctions, status changes, and re-entries carry different urgency

GEO Tracker Deliverables

GEO Map and satellite details, "Needs Attention" satellite flagging flow, sat filters, search, compare, and notifications features.

Sat Details

"Needs Attention" Sat Flag

Sat Filters

Search Sat

Sats Comparison

Notifcations

Success Metrics

30%

Increase reporting efficiency

40%

Reporting time reduction

85%

Operator adoption rate

“ Emily F@#4ing Nailed it :) Everyone is very impressed.

Captain Steve Bergeron, CD

7OSS, SEO, RCAF

Next Phase: Commander Dashboard

Discovery

Phase 4 brought commanders into the room. A quick workshop mapped out what leadership actually needed: a global map of alerts, attention items at a glance, and a big-picture view across LEO, GEO, and MEO. Ground station awareness surfaced as a key gap. When a Canadian asset relies on a ground station, any disruption becomes a command-level problem.

Discovery

Phase 4 brought commanders into the room. A quick workshop mapped out what leadership actually needed: a global map of alerts, attention items at a glance, and a big-picture view across LEO, GEO, and MEO. Ground station awareness surfaced as a key gap. When a Canadian asset relies on a ground station, any disruption becomes a command-level problem.

WIP Commander Dashboard Design

Conclusion

Satellites. Collision alerts. A General's command dashboard. Military analysts making real-time decisions in a control room. Live data in orbital intelligence. National security stakes. Not a typical engagement at all. In fact, it was the COOLEST project I've ever worked on!

Main project

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