Satellite Mega Constellations are the pivotal concept of the “New Space Economy”. They consist of hundreds or thousands of small satellites in a low earth orbit, which is comparable to the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS).
The satellites form an information network to deliver new services to end users on the ground including also airborne applications like in-flight entertainment. The by far most important service category of such networks is telecommunications, in particular the delivery of broadband internet services and the connection of sensors and actors in the Internet-of-Things (IoT).
In this way, mega constellations are among the key elements of the next generation of telecommunication networks, which is frequently called “6G”. Space borne telecommunication networks are based on an unprecedented variety of technological innovations including radio equipment and signal processing as well as new manufacturing strategies and operational concepts.
Moreover, data handling and resource management requires unmatched amounts of automation that is achieved via novel concepts of artificial intelligence. As a consequence, the needed funds to invest into mega constellations are significant and their economic success has not been proven yet.
Nonetheless, such constellations offer manifold opportunities for the space industry along the entire value chain, and also end users might benefit from new services such as broadband internet in remote locations or remote autonomous driving.
Therefore, on behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center (DLR RfM) has awarded a contract to our team to investigate the trends and challenges as well as the opportunities and financial viability of satellite mega constellations for Germany.
Mega-constellations comprising hundreds to thousands of satellites have to be carefully designed in order to guarantee effective debris management and mitigation techniques.
Under the United Nations Space Debris Compendium agreement, standards for Space Debris Mitigation (SDM) have been set and were signed by several states and international organisations, including the European Space Agency.
ESA’s Clean Space Initiative has been promoting several engineering activities and technological developments within the agency as well as supporting external partners to comply with SDM requirements.
Considering mega-constellations, a number of mitigation techniques are currently under study in the framework of GSP activities. The objective is to reduce the number of failures and to actively find adequate end-of-life disposal options.
Active removal of inactive satellites could, for instance, be more beneficial than complicated collision avoidance manoeuvres to maintain a constellation, thus avoiding the risk of creating more debris.
The reliability of active satellites of course also needs to be ensured. The invitation to tender for the “Feasibility study of Active Debris Mitigation for Mega Constellations” has recently been closed and the start of the activity is envisioned for the second half of 2017.
To ensure that an inactive satellite does not cause problems on Earth or for the remaining satellites in orbit, a number of options are available and their implications for mega-constellations are currently being evaluated.
De-orbiting strategies, whereby the inactive satellite moves itself from its operational orbit into a non-protected low-Earth orbit (LEO) region or even re-enters into Earth’s atmosphere, may well be the answer for certain cases. The GSP activity “End of Life operations for disposal of mega-constellations” is about to kick-off in the coming weeks and will analyse these operational questions.