Constellation Tending: An Application of On-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal Technologies

This paper will discuss the application of on-orbit servicing to address the needs of establishing and maintaining large satellite constellations such as those currently being developed for global communications, and earth observation. These developments face many challenges, two of which are tightly intertwined: assuring reliable, global, persistent coverage, via large production lots for satellite constellations, and yet limiting the creation of orbital debris. While the regulatory environment surrounding orbital debris is still unclear, there is a strong incentive for all parties to establish adequate guidelines for protecting the Low Earth Orbit environment, and to explore achievable solutions for meeting these guidelines. In this paper, we will describe a candidate on-orbit servicing architecture, which can address orbital debris concerns in a robust and economical way, and also reduce constellation establishment costs through reduction in satellite complexity and improvements in launch and mission operations.