Matthew Hejduk, The Aerospace Corporation; Scott Miller, NASA Ames Research Center; David Murakami, NASA Ames Research Center; Austin Probe, Emergent Space Technologies; Graham Bryan, Emergent Space Technologies; Alex Petrov, SpaceX; David Goldstein, SpaceX; Elliott Schwartz, Space; Erik Babcock, SpaceX
Keywords: Autonomous Conjunction Assessment, Coordinated Deconfliction
Abstract:
Constellations that employ highly-automated satellite flight dynamics can, with suitable cooperation, operate safely from a collision avoidance (CA) perspective with current CA screening technology and communication paradigmsexcept when in proximity to other similarly highly-automated constellations: there is no existing arrangement and concept of operations to allow the low-latency CA screenings, exchange of information, and assignment/acceptance of mitigation responsibility that co-location of highly-automated constellations requires. However, the serendipitous co-location of the NASA Starling missionan autonomously-controlled technology demonstration constellationand the SpaceX Starlink constellation has presented an opportunity (indeed, a requirement) to develop and build out a solution for safe operations of two (or more) co-located, highly-automated satellite constellations. Such a solution has been designed and constructed, including the required ground node; and it will be exercised as a dedicated, in-flight safety experiment between the two constellations from January to September 2024. Lessons learned from this experiment are expected to feed the US Department of Commerces design of its current Tracking Control System for Space (TraCSS) space traffic coordination solution.
Date of Conference: September 19-22, 2023
Track: Conjunction/RPO