Regulatory Constraints and Operational Best Practices to Ensure the Safety of Non-routine Space Operations

Abstract

Avanti is a British operator of geostationary communications spacecraft. From its inception in 2002, the company evolved into a significant regional operator (Fogg et al. [1]), which continues to be at the forefront of technological advancement in the industry. Nimbleness to relocate its satellites in order to respond to shifting business needs is part of Avanti's success story. Satellite relocations are non-routine operations that—by their own nature—raise more risks than the routine activities. Avanti has developed a framework to assess the operational and regulatory risks associated with these operations and mitigate them through careful planning and meticulous execution. In our experience, regulatory requirements often translate into operational constraints, and operational risks often require regulatory support for an effective mitigation. For this reason, safe non-routine operations require transparency, clear communications, and a cooperative mindset among all teams. Similarly, communications to third parties is crucial to ensure the safety of non-routine operations. Disseminating operational products to fellow operators, watchdogs, and service providers allows Avanti to mitigate both the risk of close approach and the risk of radio-frequency interference. Avanti happily shares its experience in order to foster collaboration among players, promote industry best practices, and contribute to the safety of the space environment.

Appendix

Acronyms and Abbreviations

18th SPCS:

18th Space Control Squadron

AER:

Azimuth, Elevation, and Ranging

ASCII:

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASI:

Adjacent Satellite Interference

CAA:

Civil Aviation Authority

CDM:

Conjunction Data Message

CIC:

Commercial Integration Cell

COVID-19:

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Eb/No:

Energy per Bit to Noise Power Spectral Density Ratio

EUSST:

Space Surveillance and Tracking Service of the European Union

FD:

Flight Dynamics

GEO:

Geostationary

GS:

Ground Systems

IADc:

Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee

IPSec:

Internet Protocol Security

ITU:

international Telecommunications Union

LEOP:

Launch and Early Orbit Phase

MCS:

Mission Control System

MTU:

Maximum Transmission Unit

NDA:

Non-Disclosure Agreement

OD:

Orbit Determination

ODR:

Orbit Data Reques

Ofcom:

Office of Communications

‘Ownship’:

Satellite to be relocated

RFI:

Radio-Frequency Interference

RPM:

RedHat Package Manager

SCT:

Spacecraft Controllers Team

SDA:

Space Data Association

SPELL:

Satellite Procedure Execution Language & Library

SoE:

Sequence of Events

SOC:

Spacecraft Operations Centre

SoE:

Sequence of Events

SOE:

Spacecraft Operations Engineering

SOM:

Satellite Operations Module

SSA:

Space Situational Awareness

SSN:

Space Surveillance Network

TC:

Telecommand

TCA:

Time of Close Approach

TCR :

Telemetry, Command and Ranging (spacecraft subsystem)

TM:

Telemetry

TLE:

Two-Line Elements

TLT:

Test Loop Translator

TTX:

Telemetry Transmitter

TT&C :

Telemetry, Tracking, and Commanding

UCS:

Union of Concerned Scientists

UNCPUOS:

United Nations Treaty on Peaceful Use of Outer Space

UKSpOC:

United Kingdom Space Operations Centre

USSTRATCOM:

US Strategic Command

VPN:

Virtual Private Network