Definition of Low Earth Orbit slotting architectures using 2D lattice flower constellations

This work proposes the use of 2D Lattice Flower Constellations (2D-LFCs) to facilitate the design of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) slotting system to avoid collisions between compliant satellites and to optimize the available orbital volume. Specifically, this manuscript proposes the use of concentric orb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdvances in space research Vol. 67; no. 11; pp. 3696 - 3711
Main Authors Arnas, David, Lifson, Miles, Linares, Richard, Avendaño, Martín E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.06.2021
Subjects
Orbit design
Orbital slotting
Satellite constellations
Space mechanics
Space traffic management
Satellite constellations
Space traffic management
Orbit design
Space mechanics
Orbital slotting
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Summary:This work proposes the use of 2D Lattice Flower Constellations (2D-LFCs) to facilitate the design of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) slotting system to avoid collisions between compliant satellites and to optimize the available orbital volume. Specifically, this manuscript proposes the use of concentric orbital shells of admissible “slots” with stacked intersecting orbits that preserve a minimum separation distance between satellites at all times. The problem is formulated in mathematical terms and three approaches are explored: random constellations, single 2D-LFCs, and unions of 2D-LFCs. Each approach is evaluated in terms of several metrics including capacity, Earth coverage, orbits per shell, and symmetries. Additionally, a rough estimate for the capacity of LEO is generated, subject to certain minimum separation and station-keeping assumptions, and several trade-offs are identified to guide policy-makers interested in the adoption of a LEO slotting scheme for space traffic management.
ISSN:0273-1177
1879-1948
DOI:10.1016/j.asr.2020.04.021