The space control mission is the capability to maintain freedom of access and use of space for the U.S. and its allies and the potential, when directed, to deny it to an adversary. Underpinning all of the space control operations is the need for situation awareness in space.

Space situation awareness (SSA) is the knowledge of all on-going activities related to space operations. This includes the location, movement, and status of forces, capabilities, and characteristics of these forces, knowledge of potential threats, either man made or natural, and the organization of this information into a format that is useful by operational decision makers.

Schafer currently supports several customers in the space control mission area with particular emphasis on SSA and defensive counterspace (DCS). Schafer supported the development of the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) Space Control Mission Area Plan for several years. Schafer presently supports the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in planning for SSA, DCS and other space control technology development and demonstration to enable improved ability to operate in space in the future.

Schafer applies its analytical and simulation capabilities to assess the potential contribution of a variety of new sensors and algorithms to support future capability. This includes the use of affordable small telescopes, the evaluation of high accuracy tracking metrics, innovative optical techniques for SSA, and other new concept developments. Schafer's participation in this area has included analysis of the effectiveness of these technologies, the development of the technologies, field experiments to validate the technology, and the assessment and development of software algorithms to be able to implement the technology into user facilities.