Orbital congestion is an indisputable fact. Simply by looking at the mega-constellation plans, everyone can recognize the need for governance of space traffic. Governance comes in many forms: the Zero Debris Charter, the Artemis Accords, the UN Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities Guidelines, or the Best Practices for the Sustainability of Space Operations.

But how to streamline in-orbit coordination between two or more active satellites?

The "rules of the road” and coordination agreements are turned into operational practice with OKAPI:Astrolabe.

OKAPI:Astrolabe facilitates critical event coordination between satellite operators through streamlined rule-setting, maneuver execution, and an in-platform chat. Astrolabe takes a step forward and offers protocols that specify which spacecraft is supposed to maneuver under which circumstances, thereby eliminating the need for case-by-case negotiations.

This tailored type of rule-setting is done through three types of protocols, is customized, and can be used quite flexibly.

Here’s a quick overview of Astrolabe’s protocol system:

Bilateral protocols are created by direct agreement between the operators. They only apply to conjunctions between those operators and can thus include very spacecraft- and orbit-specific rules.This means you can craft bilateral protocols specifically tailored to the conjunctions you have with someone else, possibly automating already existing formal and informal agreements.

Here are a few examples (that we made up): 

• If the calculated collision probability is between 1e-6 and 1e-5, you maneuver. If it is higher, then I maneuver.
• In a conjunction between TurboSat andSnailSat, TurboSat always maneuvers.
• The satellite that is not part of a constellation maneuvers. If both are in a constellation, then the satellite with the lower cross-section maneuvers.
• If TCA is less than 36 hours in the future, we negotiate. Otherwise, we take turns.

Global protocols have a wider scope by making your rules available for everyone else to follow. This is especially useful for operators with larger constellations, who want to agree on a coordination strategy with everyone they have frequent conjunctions with.

Baseline protocols are more generic. They are pre-defined based on recommendations by authorities and the community. They are designed to apply to most conjunction events and are available for all operators to subscribe to. They can thus serve as a fallback for all cases in which no specific bilateral or global protocols are in place.

Here are two baseline protocols we already implemented, based on best practices put forward by the Space Safety Coalition:

• Assignment based on maneuvering capabilities: The spacecraft with the better maneuvering capabilities maneuvers. This means that a vehicle with automated collision avoidance (that can maneuver without human confirmation or intervention) maneuvers first. Vehicles that can easily change orbit at relatively short notice maneuver before vehicles that can alter their orbit only to a very small degree (for example through drag perturbations).
• Assignment based on mission phase: If both spacecraft have the same maneuvering capabilities, but one is in the nominal mission phase while the other is not, then the spacecraft that is not in the nominal mission phase maneuvers. This captures the idea that satellites passing through an orbit should not disturb the missions of resident satellites.

Since there cannot be one single protocol that works for all vehicles in your fleet, OKAPI:Astrolabe allows you to use different protocols for different satellites, based on their properties and their orbits.

Curious to see protocols in action and what else they have to offer? Don't wait— get in touch with our team today and schedule a demo!