The Fabra-ROA Telescope at Montsec (TFRM): A Fully Robotic Wide-field
  Telescope for Space Surveillance and Tracking
  Since the beginning of the Space Age optical sensors have been one of the
main instruments for positioning and tracking known space objects. Nowadays,
the unrelenting growth of man-made objects together with the overcrowding of
the useful satellite orbits, and the real space debris and NEO hazards, has
made necessary to carry out surveys of the space looking for uncatalogued
objects. Optical telescopes play a key role in the Space Surveillance and
Tracking (SST) as a primary Space Situational Awareness element and, it is
known, that the best instrument for this task is a fully robotic wide-field
telescope with a minimum aperture of 40cm.
  The Baker-Nunn Cameras (BNCs) were produced by the Smithsonian Institution
during the late 50s as an optical tracking system for artificial satellites.
These wide-field telescopes of 50cm of aperture were manufactured by Perkin-
Elmer (optics) and Boller & Chivens (mechanics) with the highest quality
specifications. The TFRM is a fully robotic refurbished BNC that exploits the
excellent mechanical and optical original design to obtain an equatorial
telescope with a useful 4.4{\deg}x4.4{\deg} CCD field of view. TFRM is
therefore a European asset very well suited for SST (satellites and space
debris) and NEO observations. Moreover, its control system allows tracking of
all kinds of orbits, including LEOs.
