Abstract:
Purpose: This article explores the estimated collision risk for earth-orbiting spacecraft; the far-reaching effects of
collisions and explosions; and the factors and challenges in obtaining timely, accurate, comprehensive, and
transparent positional and situational awareness of our space operating environment, known as Space
Situational Awareness (SSA). The practical implications of these challenges on our ability to conduct SSA and
Space Traffic Management (STM) is also examined.
Approach: To meet the goals of this paper, the findings of previous collision risk, SSA and STM research papers
were aggregated and summarized.
Findings: Overall, collision risk is not insignificant and continues to increase. While well-intentioned and typically
beneficial, measures taken by operators and SSA centers to address collision risk are insufficient. SSA and
STM are extremely challenging, and a holistic approach must be taken to address deficiencies throughout the
current enterprise.
Practical implications: Timely and substantive improvements are required across the SSA and STM enterprises in
order to maximize the effectiveness of safety-of-flight procedures and analyses.
Keywords:
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Oltrogge, D.L. and Alfano, S., “The Technical Challenges to Better Space Situational Awareness and Space Traffic Management,” Journal of Space Safety Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsse.2019.05.004, May 2019, accessible at https://comspoc.com/Resources/Content/Private/C-20220424T143907/Paper/20190521_Tech_Challenges_of_Better_SSA_and_STM_Gold_Open_Access.pdf.
