Phasing Parameter Analysis for Satellite Collision Avoidance in Starlink and Kuiper Constellations

• Published in: 2021 IEEE 4th 5G World Forum (5GWF) pp. 493 - 498
• Main Authors: Liang, Jintao, Chaudhry, Aizaz U., Yanikomeroglu, Halim
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.10.2021
• Subjects: 5G mobile communication; Collision avoidance; FCC; Kessler syndrome; Kuiper; Orbits; phasing parameter; Satellite constellations; Satellites; Starlink
• DOI: 10.1109/5GWF52925.2021.00093

The phasing parameter F determines the relative phasing between satellites in different orbital planes and thereby affects the relative position of the satellites in a constellation. The collisions between satellites within the constellation can be avoided if the minimum distance among them is large. From among the possible values of F in a constellation, a value of F is desired that leads to the maximum value of the minimum distance between satellites. We investigate F for two biggest upcoming satellite constellations including Starlink Phase 1 Version 3 and Kuiper Shell 2. No existing work or FCC filing provides a value of F that is suitable for these two constellations. We look for the best value of F in these constellations that provides the maximum value of the minimum distance to ensure intra-constellation avoidance of collisions between satellites. To this end, we simulate each constellation for each value of F to find its best value based on ranking. Out of the 22 and 36 possible values of F for Starlink Phase 1 Version 3 and Kuiper Shell 2, respectively, it is observed that the best value of F with highest ranking is 17 and 11 that leads to the largest minimum distance between satellites of 61.83 km and 55.89 km in these constellations, respectively.