Radar-Based Space Situational Awareness Architecture for Colombia: Technical Integration, Feasibility, and Strategic Autonomy

Colombia currently lacks sovereign space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities despite the growing strategic importance of protecting national space assets such as the FACSAT constellation. This paper proposes a hybrid radar-enhanced SSA architecture tailored to Colombia’s geographical, climatic, and institutional constraints, integrating dual-frequency ([Formula: see text]-band) ground radars, CubeSat optical assets, and an AI-enabled multisensor fusion framework. The methodology combines analytical propagation modeling, environmental attenuation assessment, sensor-geometry analysis, and a fusion pipeline incorporating classical filtering and machine-learning–based residual estimation. Simulation results indicate that the proposed architecture can achieve high levels of LEO detection coverage—approaching 90–95% under idealized sensor geometries—and low-latency orbital updates, with performance dependent on radar siting, environmental conditions, and the deployment of edge computing nodes. The study provides an evidence-based roadmap for Colombia to develop scalable, weather-resilient SSA capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign networks. The findings highlight the feasibility of a phased implementation strategy that strengthens national autonomy while enabling future regional cooperation in Latin American space safety and surveillance.