COLLISION RISK ASSESSMENT WITH A 'SMART SIEVE' METHOD

摘要

GMV is currently developing a software tool for ESOC, ESA's Space Operations Centre, which will forecast close conjunctions of several spacecraft with several or all objects of the USSPACECOM catalog population of over 8,000 objects. The Collision Risk Assessment Tool (CRASS) will generate collision risk estimates and collision warnings for a time span on the order of one week.rnWithin this framework, GMV has devised and implemented a novel "smart sieve" algorithm for close conjunction detection and collision risk assessment. Several different methods have been developed in the past that can be used to quantify the hazard from space debris, but preliminary tests show that "smart sieve" outperforms traditional filtering and "brute sieve" techniques, both in terms of computing time and number of detected conjunctions.rnAs an example of an operational case, the new algorithm is applied to the detection of conjunctions for Shuttle and ISS. The paper shows that the risk of collision due to undetected conjunctions is reduced with the new tool.