A Modular and Scalable Collision Avoidance System for Enhanced Satellite Autonomy

The increasing deployment of mega-constellations and the growing risk of collisions with space debris or inactive satellites necessitate a shift from traditional ground-based orbit maintenance and collision avoidance (CA) strategies to more autonomous onboard solutions. This paper presents preliminary results from two ongoing ESA-funded activities led by GMV, regarding onboard CA technologies, namely: Advanced Control Techniques for Increased On-board Autonomy (ACTIVA) and the On-board Autonomous Collision Avoidance Detection Testbed (OCAD). These projects aim to enhance autonomous CA capabilities through advanced risk assessment, manoeuvre design, and onboard sensing. In particular, a novel Modular and scalable Onboard Collision Avoidance System (mOCAS) is proposed, integrating key contributions from ACTIVA and OCAD, as well as GMV’s previous CA-related activities. The mOCAS architecture is designed to support both collaborative and non-collaborative conjunction scenarios. This encompasses a set of onboard conjunction detection, risk assessment and manoeuvre design methods that enables autonomous conjunction assessment, real-time collision risk mitigation, and coordinated manoeuvres between satellites via intersatellite links. This paper demonstrates the potential of this modular architecture to enhance satellite autonomy and contribute to sustainable space operations within a large-set of mission use-cases and operational scenarios.