Mark A. Skinner (Boeing LTS) Thomas M. Kelecy, Stephen A. Gregory, Joseph P. Toth, and Dennis Liang (Boeing LTS) Dean Yamanaka, Stan Kent, (Boeing Satellite Systems), Customer Operations Support Center, Rodney Tjoelker and Dragos Margineantu, (Boeing Research & Technology) Audrey L. Allison, (Boeing Frequency Management Services) Christopher Heiberg, (Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems)
Keywords: commercial SSA
Abstract:
The geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite belt is a unique place above the earth affording a continuous line-of-sight to satellite uplink and downlink stations. The volume defined by this belt is large, but available slots are limited. During the course of the space age, this volume has become more crowded, as humankind has launched more and more satellites into this particular orbital regime, and satellites that suffered incapacitating anomalies and space debris have remained in the belt. The latter pose a hazard since they are uncontrolled, and with no capability for debris removal, the only way for satellite operators to avoid collisions with space objects is to maneuver. Knowing when and where to maneuver requires space situational awareness (SSA). Discussions with commercial satellite operators have led us to see the need for a new targeted source of observations of both active satellites, as well as space debris and inactive satellites, in this orbital regime. This presentation reports on an investigation of the applicability of well-established SSA approaches to support the interests of commercial GEO satellite owner-operators. We identify prominent issues and concerns of the commercial satellite community and explore ground-based SSA methods to address these interests.
Date of Conference: September 10-13, 2013
Track: Orbital Debris