Re:Starlink lost 40 satellites to a geomagnetic storm
by spuz on Wednesday February 09, 2022 @01:56AM
(#30269761)
> Next gen space traffic control
Do you have more info on that? What can the people who track satellites do that they aren't already doing?
Re:Starlink lost 40 satellites to a geomagnetic storm
by jessriedel on Wednesday February 09, 2022 @06:25AM
(#30271439)
It's still up in the air right now. There is a Space Force squadron that does one-way tracking and issues collision alerts, but no transponder standard or centralized traffic control. Companies, once alerted, coordinate individual collision avoidance maneuvers over email. It's ludicrous.
The govt still hasn't decided what agency will take the helm or what the system will look like. It hasn't been worth it to invest more until recently.
https://spacenews.com/from-space-traffic-awareness-to-space-...
Proposal for GPS-based sat transponders, analogous to radio-based aircraft transponders:
https://aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/GPS_Transp...
The fact that "near misses" are too frequent is largely a result of inaccurate tracking and poor communication. (Next gen space traffic control will allow vastly higher densities.) And the fact that actual collisions are occuring too frequently is due to old uncontrolled junk, not a literal lack of room or inability to maneuver by modern sats.