Safe Trajectory Design For Close Proximity Operations

This work addresses the design of safe relative trajectories to enable satellite close proximity operations for a variety of multi-satellite missions. With regard to active debris removal and on-orbit servicing applications, first the key aspects driving the different operational concepts are identified. Afterwards, these are translated into requirements for the trajectory design, carried out in the relative orbital elements framework. As a result, the paper provides guidelines and methodologies to compute relative trajectories applicable to different mission scenarios, considering the optimality in the location of the maneuvers and safety considerations.