Constellation Launch , Deployment , Replacement and End - of - Life Strategies

The considerable surge in satellite constellations has brought to the fore the imperative need for an efficient satellite constellation management plan. To address this emerging need, GMV has analyzed the possible strategies for constellation launch, set-up, replacement of failed satellites and end-of-life policy. The constellation launch and deployment has been divided into the launch site and launcher selection, the evaluation of the injection and the transfer strategies, and the set-up phase. The main replacement strategies investigated are based on in-orbit spares, spare satellites in parking orbits and spare satellites on the ground. Finally, end-of-life policies for LEO, MEO and GEO satellites are presented. As such, the analysis accomplished encompasses most of the fundamental phases of constellation life cycle. A representative constellation of small satellites has been taken into account to assess the effectiveness and the commercial viability of the strategies outlined. This study case has been handled using in-house software tools and algorithms.