Lessons from industry can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit

Most space mission techniques traditionally have used one spacecraft designed to finish a whole mission independently. Whether or not it was a climate satellite or a human-crewed module like Apollo, practically each spacecraft was deployed and carried out its one-off mission fully by itself.

However right now, space industry organizations are exploring missions with many satellites working collectively. For instance, SpaceX’s Starlink constellations embrace 1000’s of satellites. And new spacecraft might quickly have the aptitude to hyperlink up or interact with different satellites in orbit for repairs or refueling.

A few of these spacecraft are already working and serving clients, similar to Northrop Grumman’s mission extension vehicle. This orbiting craft has extended the lives of multiple communications satellites.

These new design choices and in-orbit capabilities make space missions look extra like massive logistics operations on Earth.

We’re researchers who have studied the space industry for years. We have studied how the space sector could learn lessons from corporations like Amazon or FedEx about managing advanced fleets and coordinating operations.

Classes from the bottom transportation community

Area mission designers plan their routes with a purpose to ship their payloads to the moon or Mars, or orbit effectively inside a set of price, timeline and capability constraints. However when they should coordinate a number of space vehicles working collectively, route planning can get difficult.

Logistics corporations on the bottom remedy comparable issues each day and transport items and commodities throughout the globe. So, researchers can examine how these corporations handle their logistics to assist space corporations and businesses determine how one can efficiently plan their mission operations.

One NASA-funded study within the early 2000s had an concept for simulating space logistics operations. These researchers seen orbits or planets as cities and the trajectories connecting them as routes. In addition they seen the payload, consumables, gas and different objects to move as commodities.

This method helped them reframe the space mission downside as a commodity move downside—a kind of query that floor logistics corporations work on on a regular basis.

Classes from floor logistics infrastructure

New capabilities for refueling and repairing spacecraft in orbit create new alternatives in addition to challenges.

Particularly, space operators do not normally know which satellite would be the subsequent one to fail or when that can occur. For these new applied sciences to be helpful, space mission designers would wish to provide you with an infrastructure system. That would appear like a fleet of service automobiles and depots in space that rapidly reply to any unpredictable occasions.

Thankfully, space mission designers can study from operations on the bottom. Metropolis planners and emergency response organizations assume by way of a majority of these challenges whereas figuring out the place to find hospitals or hearth departments. In addition they think about these amenities’ capacities to answer unpredictable calls.

We will draw an analogy between a floor logistics system design and an in-space servicing system design. This manner, researchers can leverage theories developed for floor logistics to enhance the space mission design observe.

One study printed in November 2020 developed a framework for servicing spacecraft on orbit utilizing what logistics consultants name spatial queuing concept. Researchers mostly use this modeling concept to investigate the efficiency of a floor logistics system.

Classes from floor warehouse administration

Up to now, particular person spacecraft carried out their missions independently, so if a satellite failed, its mission engineers needed to develop and ship a alternative.

Now, for missions with a number of satellites, such because the Iridium satellite constellation, operators typically maintain one or more spares on orbit.

This turns into difficult for constellations made up of a whole bunch or 1000’s of spacecraft. Mission designers wish to guarantee they’ve sufficient spare satellites in orbit so they do not need to interrupt the mission if one breaks. However sending too many spare satellites will get costly.

When coping with a majority of these massive constellations, mission designers can study from the strategies Amazon and different floor corporations use to handle their warehouses. Amazon places these warehouses in particular locations and shares them with sure objects to verify the deliveries are dealt with effectively.

Stock administration theories on the bottom will help inform how space corporations deal with these challenges.

A study printed in November 2019 developed an method that space corporations might use to handle their spare methods. This method will help them resolve the place in orbit to allocate their spare satellites to fulfill their wants whereas minimizing any service interruptions.

Worldwide dimensions

Spacecraft function in a posh and quickly altering atmosphere. Operators must know the place different missions are working and what guidelines they need to comply with when refueling or repairing in space. In space, nevertheless, no person has outlined these guidelines but.

Ships, plane and floor automobiles all have clear rules of the road to comply with when interacting with different automobiles. For instance, civilian ships and plane need to share their location with different automobiles and officers to assist handle site visitors.

Some researchers are inspecting what comparable guidelines might appear like for space. One study examined how growing guidelines primarily based on a spacecraft’s measurement, age or different attributes would possibly assist future space operations run extra easily. For instance, one rule is likely to be that the spacecraft that launched most just lately ought to take duty for maneuvering when there’s one other craft in its path.

With extra satellites and spacecraft launching now than ever, corporations and government agencies will want new applied sciences and insurance policies to coordinate them. As space exercise turns into extra advanced, researchers can proceed to use what they’ve discovered on the bottom to new missions in space.

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