On-Orbit Servicing System Architectures for Proliferated Low-Earth-Orbit Constellations

Staged Deployment of Communications Satellite Constellations in Low Earth Orbit

The “traditional” way of designing constellations of communications satellites in low Earth orbit is to optimize the design for a specified global capacity. This approach is based on a forecast of the expected number of users and their activity level, both of which are highly uncertain. This can lead to economic failure if the actual demand is significantly smaller than the one predicted. This ...

Framework for Evaluating Customer Value and the Feasibility of Servicing Architectures for On - Orbit Satellite Servicing

The question that this thesis examines is whether traditional monolithic satellite designs have limited the value that the satellite market generates for the space industry. To answer this question, this thesis focuses on the "Value" that satellites generate. By examining the value that satellites offer their operators, this thesis determines if alternative methods of satellite design offer gre...

Precise Orbit Determination for Low Earth Orbit Satellites

The precise orbit determination problem is to accurately determine the position and velocity vectors of an orbiting satellite. In this paper we review the general contents of the orbit determination process, with particular emphasis on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. The different orbit determination approaches and the different force models contained within are briefly discussed. The two mai...

Dilution of Disposal Orbit Collision Risk for the Medium Earth Orbit Constellations

Shared control for robotic on-orbit servicing

A shared control approach is proposed to reveal the synergies of visual servoing and telepresence in a robotic on-orbit servicing scenario. Both methods, visual servoing and telepresence, have their respective strengths and are subject to challenges for the task at hand. In a shared control approach, the advantages of a human operator in the loop, its ability to react and adapt to unanticipated...