Publications

Using historical practices to develop safety standards for cooperative on-orbit rendezvous and proximity operations

Abstract

Cooperative on-orbit satellite servicing (OOS) and rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) have the potential to foster the next economic revolution in space. The ability to approach, inspect, grasp, manipulate, modify, repair, refuel, integrate, and build completely new platforms and spacecraft on orbit would enable new business models, innovation, and opportunities in space. However, the lack of clear, widely accepted technical and safety standards for responsible performance of OOS and RPO involving commercial satellites remains a major obstacle to satellite servicing becoming a major industry and could lead to mishaps that would put long-term sustainability of space itself at risk. The Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) is an industry-led initiative with initial seed funding provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that aims to leverage best practices from government and industry to research, develop, and publish non-binding, consensus-derived technical and operations standards for OOS and RPO. As part of the CONFERS effort, the University of Southern California’s (USC) Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) conducted initial research into existing RPO methodologies and practices through literature review and interviews with practitioners. This paper provides the results of the first year’s analysis in RPO methodologies via a database of flight executed RPO events from past missions (manned and unmanned). Based on the analysis, the paper provides initial recommended metrics to improve safety for cooperative RPO and methods to allow for safety …

Date
January 1, 1970
Authors
David A Barnhart, Rahul Rughani, Jeremy J Allam, Brian Weeden, Frederick A Slane, Ian Christensen
Journal
69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen, Germany
Pages
1-5