Dodgeball -- Can a Satellite Avoid Being Hit by Debris?

TL;DR

This paper explores the feasibility of satellites actively avoiding collisions with space debris using radar detection and maneuver strategies, aiming to improve collision avoidance in low Earth orbit.

Contribution

It proposes a radar-based method for distinguishing collision threats from near misses and discusses the potential for a constellation of radars to track small debris.

Findings

Radar can identify actual collision threats based on constant bearing.

A large radar constellation could track cm-sized debris in LEO.

Active avoidance maneuvers may reduce collision risk.

Abstract

Can a satellite dodge a collision with untracked orbiting debris? Can a satellite dodge collision with a tracked object, making only the avoidance man{\oe}uvers actually required to avoid collision, despite the uncertainties of predicted conjunctions? Satellite-borne radar may distinguish actual collision threats from the much greater number of near misses because an object on a collision course has constant bearing, which may be determined by interferometric detection of the radar return. A large constellation of such radars may enable the determination of the ephemerides of all cm-sized debris in LEO.