The collision avoidance strategy for geostationary satellites considering orbit maintenance

Abstract

This study aims to develop an effective strategy for geostationary satellites to avoid collisions with space debris satisfying various operational constraints. Recently, the number of space objects is continuously increasing to threaten operational satellites in the geostationary region. Studies on collision avoidance have been advanced for a long time, but not sufficiently considered orbit maintenance after maneuvering. Not to shorten satellite lifetime by collision avoidance, it is necessary to consider orbit maintenance after maneuvering. Besides, orbit maintenance regularly conducted differs between chemical thruster and electric thruster, so that two different avoidance strategies may be required. This study adopts a Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm to find out an optimal strategy for each thruster under various constraints on the operation. This paper also demonstrates that the optimal collision avoidance maneuvering can achieve both collision avoidance and orbit maintenance with less fuel than regular orbit control.