SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
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Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#2From the twitter thread:
It is very rare to
perform collision
avoidance manoeuvres
with active
satellites. The vast
majority of ESA
avoidance manoeuvres
are the result of
dead satellites or
fragments from
previous collisions.
[ ... ]
As the number of
satellites in orbit
increases, due to
'mega constellations'
such as #Starlink
comprising hundreds
or even thousands of
satellites, today's
'manual' collision
avoidance process
will become
impossible...Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#3For anyone not familiar with aerospace terminology: LEO is not the name of the satellite but just means that it is a low flying satellite. It stands for Low Earth Orbit.
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#4How is it the case that StarLink didn't realize they were launching into orbits that would intersect with others?
I find it foreboding that the number of intersections with space debris and live constellations is to the point where ESA is moving towards non-deterministic algorithms to hopefully avoid the worst. How will Musk ever leave this planet if we make a shell of debris around ourselves?
See also: the anime "planetes"
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#5> In 2018, ESA performed 28 #collisionavoidance manoeuvres across its fleet.
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#6From the twitter thread: It is very rare to perform collision avoidance manoeuvres with active satellites. The vast majority of ESA avoidance manoeuvres are the result of dead satellites or fragments from previous collisions. [ ... ] As the number of satellites in orbit increases, due to 'mega constellations' such as #Starlink comprising hundreds or even thousands of satellites, today's 'manual' collision avoidance p…
This is unreadable on mobile due to the use of code formatting. https://i.imgur.com/562ORgL.png
EDIT: Said comment is now one full screen tall due to manual insertion of linewraps, and is very wasteful of space on desktop and landscape layouts: https://i.imgur.com/H15eCXo.png
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#7How is it the case that StarLink didn't realize they were launching into orbits that would intersect with others? I find it foreboding that the number of intersections with space debris and live constellations is to the point where ESA is moving towards non-deterministic algorithms to hopefully avoid the worst. How will Musk ever leave this planet if we make a shell of debris around ourselves? See also: the anime "pl…
They don't plan like that at all.
Since all these orbital parameters change over time due to atmospheric drag, solar pressure, gravity irregularities, etc, organizations like NORAD constantly monitor and determine the orbital parameters of every object they can find circling the Earth.
So, they watch for when the likelihood that one satellite will come within some small distance (say, 5km) of another is high. For example, if the odds that they come that close are say, 75% in the next 5 orbits, the operators are notified and alter their courses slightly to maintain separation.
Even manned spacecraft such as the ISS will perform separation maneuvers to keep themselves clear of objects that may come too close.
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#8How is it the case that StarLink didn't realize they were launching into orbits that would intersect with others? I find it foreboding that the number of intersections with space debris and live constellations is to the point where ESA is moving towards non-deterministic algorithms to hopefully avoid the worst. How will Musk ever leave this planet if we make a shell of debris around ourselves? See also: the anime "pl…
Clearly we need to invent ESA a Space-debris Hunting semi-Automomous Reconnaissance Craft, with a solar-powered infrared heating beam to shatter the frozen space material into ever-smaller bits. Or, as I like to call this class of spacecraft -
SHARCs with frackin’ laser beams
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#9I wonder if AI is really the right tool to automate the process. Couldn’t it be done more robustly with a simple algorithm that takes todays collision probability models as input?
Re: SpaceX Refused to Move Satellite at Risk of Collision with a European Satellite
#10I wonder if AI is really the right tool to automate the process. Couldn’t it be done more robustly with a simple algorithm that takes todays collision probability models as input?
I imagine we might be missing some details, but I agree. Seems like business logic would be sufficient if the collision prediction can be piped in.