ISON Data Acquisition and Analysis Software

Since the first days of the ISON project, its success was strongly based on using advanced data analysis techniques and their implementation in software. Space debris studies and space surveillance in optical are very unique from the point of view of observation techniques and thus infer extremely specific requirements on sensor design and control and on initial data analysis, dictated mostly by fast apparent motion of space objects being studied. From the point of view of data acquisition and analysis software, this implies support for sophisticated scheduling, complex tracking, accurate timing, large fields of view, and undersampled CCD images with trailed sources. Here we present the historical outline, major goals and design concepts of the standard ISON data acquisition and analysis packages, and how they meet these requirements. Among these packages, the most important are: CHAOS telescope control system (TCS), its recent successor FORTE, and Apex II -- a platform for astronomical image analysis with focus on high-precision astrometry and photometry of fast-moving objects and transient phenomena. Development of these packages is supported by ISON, and they are now responsible for most of the raw data produced by the network. They are installed on nearly all sensors and are available to all participants of the ISON collaboration.