Session
Poster Session 2
Location
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract
The Challenge:
Sustaining The Mega-Constellation Era: LEO has shifted from a sparse domain into critical global infrastructure. With thousands of satellites on-orbit and tens of thousands more planned, sustainability is no longer guaranteed by launch activity alone; it depends on the ability to service, repair, and responsibly dispose of assets at scale.
- 7,500+ operational satellites in LEO (2024); 50,000+ projected within a decade
- 1,500+ trackable fragments from the 2021 Russian ASAT test; 1,700+ Starlink avoidance maneuvers followed
- ≥ 5 / yr large debris objects removed from LEO yearly to stabilize it (Liou & Johnson)
The Servicing Gap: MEV, OSAM-1, and ClearSpace-1 each proved key capabilities, but all are single-client, single-target architectures relying on proprietary fixtures that exclude most SmallSat platforms. No persistent, multi-client servicing infrastructure exists at constellation scale.
Document Type
Event
Paper
Included in
Micro-Servicer Swarms for Responsive SmallSat Sustainment: The SDAW Mothership Architecture
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
The Challenge:
Sustaining The Mega-Constellation Era: LEO has shifted from a sparse domain into critical global infrastructure. With thousands of satellites on-orbit and tens of thousands more planned, sustainability is no longer guaranteed by launch activity alone; it depends on the ability to service, repair, and responsibly dispose of assets at scale.
- 7,500+ operational satellites in LEO (2024); 50,000+ projected within a decade
- 1,500+ trackable fragments from the 2021 Russian ASAT test; 1,700+ Starlink avoidance maneuvers followed
- ≥ 5 / yr large debris objects removed from LEO yearly to stabilize it (Liou & Johnson)
The Servicing Gap: MEV, OSAM-1, and ClearSpace-1 each proved key capabilities, but all are single-client, single-target architectures relying on proprietary fixtures that exclude most SmallSat platforms. No persistent, multi-client servicing infrastructure exists at constellation scale.
