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> SpaceX’s automated system for avoiding satellite collisions has sparked controversy, raising concerns from other satellite operators who say they have no way

by cesarb 6y ago

> SpaceX’s automated system for avoiding satellite collisions has sparked controversy, raising concerns from other satellite operators who say they have no way of knowing which way the system will move a Starlink satellite in the event of a close approach. For aircraft, we have TCAS RA, which tells each pilot in which direction they should move, with the knowledge that the other aircraft has been told to move in the opposite direction. It might be time to consider something like that for satellites.

cptskippy 6y ago
SpaceX has an automated system, that can be overridden to coordinate with others, which is exactly what they did in this case. I don't see why that's bad? If they refused to override and coordinate maneuvers, that's one thing, but they didn't. Having a system that can maneuver itself in the absence of outside intervention seems like a good thing when time to respond is measured in milliseconds under certain circumstances. This seems like collision avoidance systems in cars, easily overridden but functioning when the driver isn't paying attention.
nickik 6y ago
Yes, something like this should exist, but its very tricky to do as this is a global resource. There are few enough sats that it often still works as 'I know the guy who does operations at XY company or government and how to call them'. Unfortunately there is not even a global index of all sats with an easy way to reach the operator. Such a list exists but the phone numbers are often simply the public number of the space agency of that country. And getting from the China Space Agency to the person that can actually move the Sat it can be tricky. Not to mention that there are dead objects that simply can not be moved. The state of the art is moving forward slowly, both in monitoring and avoidance.
mlindner 6y ago
It turns out OneWeb as lying to to the press. https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1384694830643679239 https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1384694830643679239

by cesarb 6y ago

cptskippy 6y ago

SpaceX has an automated system, that can be overridden to coordinate with others, which is exactly what they did in this case. I don't see why that's bad? If they refused to override and coordinate maneuvers, that's one thing, but they didn't. Having a system that can maneuver itself in the absence of outside intervention seems like a good thing when time to respond is measured in milliseconds under certain circumstances. This seems like collision avoidance systems in cars, easily overridden but functioning when the driver isn't paying attention.

nickik 6y ago

Yes, something like this should exist, but its very tricky to do as this is a global resource. There are few enough sats that it often still works as 'I know the guy who does operations at XY company or government and how to call them'. Unfortunately there is not even a global index of all sats with an easy way to reach the operator. Such a list exists but the phone numbers are often simply the public number of the space agency of that country. And getting from the China Space Agency to the person that can actually move the Sat it can be tricky. Not to mention that there are dead objects that simply can not be moved. The state of the art is moving forward slowly, both in monitoring and avoidance.

mlindner 6y ago

It turns out OneWeb as lying to to the press. https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1384694830643679239 https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1384694830643679239