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An Updated Process for Automated Deepspace Conjunction AssessmentThere is currently a high level of interest in the areas of conjunction assessment and collision avoidance from organizations conducting space operations. Current conjunction assessment activity is mainly focused on spacecraft and debris in the Earth orbital environment [1]. However, collisions are possible in other orbital environments as well [2]. This paper will focus on the current operations of and recent updates to the Multimission Automated Deep Space Conjunction Assessment Process (MADCAP) used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA to perform conjunction assessment at Mars and the Moon. Various space agencies have satellites in orbit at Mars and the Moon with additional future missions planned. The consequences of collisions are catastrophically high. Intuitive notions predict low probability of collisions in these sparsely populated environments, but may be inaccurate due to several factors. Orbits of scientific interest often tend to have similar characteristics as do the orbits of spacecraft that provide a communications relay for surface missions. The MADCAP process is controlled by an automated scheduler which initializes analysis based on a set timetable or the appearance of new ephemeris files either locally or on the Deep Space Network (DSN) Portal. The process then generates and communicates reports which are used to facilitate collision avoidance decisions. The paper also describes the operational experience and utilization of the automated tool during periods of high activity and interest such as: the close approaches of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) during the LADEE mission. In addition, special consideration was required for the treatment of missions with rapidly varying orbits and less reliable long term downtrack estimates; in particular this was necessitated by perturbations to MAVEN's orbit induced by the Martian atmosphere. The application of special techniques to non-operational spacecraft with large uncertainties is also studied. Areas for future work are also described. Although the applications discussed in this paper are in the Martian and Lunar environments, the techniques are not unique to these bodies and could be applied to other orbital environments.
Document ID
20170007057
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Tarzi, Zahi B.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Berry, David S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Roncoli, Ralph B.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 1, 2017
Publication Date
October 19, 2015
Subject Category
Statistics And Probability
Space Transportation And Safety
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics (ISSFD 2015)
Location: Munich
Country: Germany
Start Date: October 19, 2015
End Date: October 23, 2015
Sponsors: Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
collision

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