Chapter 1

Introduction
Every new frontier brings new challenges and new rewards. Regardless of the
ultimate motivation for conquering a new frontier, the process takes on a familiar
cadence. At first, recognition of the frontier and learning how to deal with its
environment lead to early exploratory missions that come at great cost and often
with great sacrifice. Next comes the attempt to reap economic or other benefits.
Finally, as the new frontier becomes more familiar, infrastructure development
provides the backbone for a continued presence that enables using its unique
characteristics and provides a springboard to the next frontiers. So it is for space.

Study Methodology
This internal project report provides the detailed results of the NASA On-Orbit
Satellite Servicing Study, which includes five major activities.

1. Conduct an industry-wide Request for Information (RFI) to notify the

satellite servicing community of an opportunity for discussion.

2. Conduct the International Workshop on On-Orbit Satellite Servicing in

March 2010 to engage the community.

3. Examine notional missions to bracket the trades involved for possible

servicing customers.

4. Examine near-term in-space hardware demonstrations to provide relevant

and immediate results.

5. Develop and validate ground simulator and test bed capabilities that can
be used to verify satellite servicing flight hardware and software.

From these, we develop implementable recommendations for a mission sequence

and identify gaps in the technology required for more ambitious future elements.
A core team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) performed the day-
to day work for the study.
Why Is Satellite Servicing Important?
At the most general level, the answer to this question is simple. In order to push
the boundaries of our ventures into space, we must advance beyond visiting
destinations in space with sophisticated systems that allow no room for failure,
and beyond bringing everything we need with us. Closer to Earth, we must be
able to “pack out our trash” and extract the most utility from expensive space
assets. All of these activities require some aspect of what satellite servicing
capabilities offer.

Chapter 2
Satellite: The Vision
The vision for satellite servicing is straightforward: to refuel, repair, or
upgrade satellites after they are launched. Most satellites are expensive
pieces of hard ware that still have much utility after some critical
resource has been expended or some critical technology has become
obsolete. Sending a servicing craft to repair or replace a broken critical
component or move the satellite into another orbit will derive additional
utility from what would have been a loss. These capabilities develop
into on-orbit assembly of large spacecraft that cannot be assembled and
tested on Earth. Such spacecraft hold the promise of opening up new
scientific vistas to reach beyond today’s observatories. They could also
provide depots for fueling spacecraft to venture to distant destinations.
These servicing capabilities can also be applied to managing orbital
debris, an area of growing concern in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as well
as Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO).
Satellite Orbit Configuration
Having already introduced the concept of GEO and non-GEO satellites,
we can now examine some of the technical particulars. Behavior of a
satellite in Earth orbit follows Kepler’s laws of planetary motion
(Figure 1.18), which can be restated for artificial satellites as follows:

1. The orbit of each satellite is an ellipse with the Earth centered at

one focus.

2. The line joining the satellite and the center of the Earth sweeps
out equal areas in equal times. The area is bounded by the arc segment
of the orbit and two lines that extend from the center of the Earth

3. The square of the period of a satellite is proportional to the cube

of its mean distance from the center of the Earth. That relationship is
plotted in Figure 1.19 to give an idea of the relationship between
altitude and orbital period.

Figure 1.20 provides three classical Earth-orbit schemes and their

basic proper ties. LEO systems employ satellites at altitudes ranging
from 500 to 1,000 km. Over that range, the orbit period is between 1.6
and 1.8 hours, the higher orbit resulting in a slightly longer period of
revolution. The reason for that small change in period is that it is the
distance from the center of the Earth that determines the period, not the
elevation above sea level. The altitude of a medium Earth orbit (MEO)
is around 10,000 km (a period of about 6 hours). Between 2,000 and
8,000 km, there is an inhospitable environment for electronic
components produced by the Van Allen radiation belt.

The principal advantage of LEO satellites is the shorter range that

the radio signal has to traverse, requiring less power and minimizing
propagation delay. The range of delay for a single up-down hop is
shown at the top of the right-hand graph in Figure 1.19. Their short
orbital period produces relatively brief durations when a given satellite
can serve a particular user. For altitudes in the range of 8,000 to 10,000
km, a MEO satellite has a much longer period and thus tends to “hang’’
over a given region on the Earth for a few hours. Transmission distance
and propagation delay are greater than for LEO but still significantly
less than for GEO. In the case of the latter, there are really two classes
of orbits that have a 24-hour period. A geosynchronous orbit could be
elliptical or inclined with respect to the equator (or both). The special
case of an equatorial 24-hour circular orbit, in which the satellite
appears to remain over a point on the ground (which is on the equator
at the same longitude where the satellite is maintained), is called GEO.
A24-hourcircular geosynchronous orbit that is inclined with respect to
the equator is not GEO because the satellite appears to move relative to
the fixed point on the Earth. A GEO satellite would not require ground
antennas that track the satellite, while an inclined geosynchronous orbit
satellite might. Other non-GEO orbits have been used at various times,
such as the highly elliptical Earth orbit (HEO) to allow coverage of
northern latitudes.

Chapter 3
Satellite: The Implementation
The transition from concept to reality is never straightforward,
especially for complex systems with potentially “game changing”
rewards and a non negligible cost of development. One result of this
study is an executable plan that provides satellite servicing capability
development in conservative steps. This plan is based on a systems
engineering analysis of the key challenges for satellite servicing
missions, a set of notional missions to quantitatively explore these
challenges, a mission sequence that provides immediate benefits while
validating the designs, and a technology gap assessment that identifies
how to develop future capabilities. Using the ISS as a versatile test bed,
near-term demonstrations are underway for some of these key
technologies.

System Elements
Implementation of a communication satellite system is a major
undertaking. Fortunately for the great majority of current and future
satellite users, several systems already exist and are open for business
in every part of the world. There are more than 250 operating
geostationary satellites offering satellite capacity globally. Users can
lease capacity on domestic satellites and from regional and
international operators as well.

In some cases, the requirements may be so extensive that a

dedicated satellite or constellation is justified. The purpose of this book
is to define and describe all the parts of such a system because an
understanding of satellite communication requires the development of
a feel for the breadth of the technology. This section describes the
system in terms of two major parts, the space segment and the ground
segment.
Space Segment
Figure 1.13 is an overview of the main elements of the space segment.
As can be seen from the figure, placing a satellite into orbit and
operating it for 12 or more years involves a great deal. Placement in
orbit is accomplished by contracting with a spacecraft manufacturer
and a launch agency and allowing them about three years to design,
construct, and launch the satellite. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 provide
considerable detail on the design of a communication satellite, while
Chapter 10 reviews the launch aspects.

After the spacecraft is placed in the proper orbit, it becomes the

responsibility of a satellite operator to control the satellite for the
duration of its mission (its lifetime in orbit). As discussed in Chapter
11, that is a fairly complex task and involvesbothsophisticatedground-
basedfacilitiesaswellashighlytrainedtechnical personnel. The
complexity of the problem increases for a non-GEO satellite and a
constellation because there are many more satellites that are in constant
motion relative to the surface of the Earth. The tracking, telemetry, and
command (TT&C) station (or stations) establishes a control and
monitoring link with the satellite. Precise tracking data are collected
periodically via the ground antenna to allow the pinpointing of the
satellite’s position and the planning of on-orbit position corrections.
That is because any orbit tends to distort and shift with respect to a
fixed point in space due to varying gravitational forces from the
nonspherical Earth and the pull of the sun and moon.

Eventually, the onboard liquid or molecular propellant used for

orbit correction is exhausted and the satellite must be removed from
service. Retirement of a GEO satellite usually involves using a small
reserve of propellant to increase the velocity sufficiently to raise the
orbit a few hundred kilometers. The retired satellite will remain in orbit
for eternity; with its repeater turned off, it cannot interfere or conflict
with the operation of usable satellites in GEO. Satellites in LEO are
subject to atmospheric drag, which, if not corrected, causes the orbit to
decay and the satellite to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. This is,
in fact, how LEO satellites may be removed from service.

The second facility shown in Figure 1.13 is the satellite control

center (SCC), which houses the operator consoles and data processing
equipment for use by satellite control personnel and supporting
engineering staff. Other common names for an SCC include operations
control center (OCC) and satellite control facility (SCF). The SCC
could be at the site of the TT&C station, but more commonly it is
located some distance away, usually at the headquarters of the satellite
operator. The actual satellite-related data can be passed between the
sites over data and voice lines (either terrestrial or satellite). Adding a
second TT&C site improves system reliability and would be required
for non-GEO satellite operations. As mentioned previously, the level
of training of the personnel at the SCC is quite high, involving such
fields as orbital mechanics, aerospace and electronic engineering and
computer system operation.

In the launch phase, the satellite must be located and tracked from
the ground as soon as it has been released from the last rocket stage.
That service normally is obtained from the spacecraft manufacturer.
The satellite operator could employ its own TT&C station to participate
in transfer orbit maneuvers (actions prior to placement in GEO), and
the station can be the point from which commands are transmitted to
the satellite to deploy its antennas and solar panels. Some non-GEO
systems can be launched directly into the operational orbit, avoiding
the transfer orbit phase entirely. Touch-up maneuvers to fine-tune the
orbit would be anticipated for GEO and non-GEO satellites alike.

Routine operations at the SCC and the TT&C station are intended
to produce continuous and nearly uniform performance from each
satellite. Actual communications services via the microwave repeater
aboard the satellite do not need to pass through the satellite operator’s
ground facilities, although any suitably located TT&C station could
serve as a communications hub for a large city. Often, the TT&C station
includes separate communications equipment to access the satellite
repeater for the purposes of testing and monitoring its performance.

One particularly nice feature of a GEO satellite is that the

communications monitoring function can be performed from anywhere
within the footprint (see Figure 1.3); for example, the SCC can have its
own independent monitoring antenna not connected with the TT&C
station. GEO and non-GEO satellites can be monitored by several
ground antennas strategically positioned around the coverage region.
Such antennas often are vital for measuring satellite repeater output and
for troubleshooting complaints and problems (users may blame the
satellite for poor or no reception when the difficulty lies with their Earth
stations).

Another problem area for which monitoring is essential is dealing

with harmful interference to communications services. Also called
double illumination, it occurs when an errant Earth station operator
activates a transmitter on the wrong frequency or even on the wrong
satellite. In the congested orbital arcs serving North America, Europe,
and eastern Asia, double illumination must be detected quickly and the
source identified so disruption of valid communications services is
minimized. While the vast majority of interference problems are
unintentional, there have been a few instances of intentional jamming
and possible piracy (e.g., unauthorized usage of satellite capacity).
Satellite operators and users are motivated to act quickly on those rare
instances. Such problems, while serious when they occur, are relatively
infrequent; satellite transmission is perhaps the most reliable means of
long-haul communications.
Ground Segment
The ground segment provides access to the satellite repeater from Earth
stations to meet communications needs of users (television viewers,
information network providers, enterprises, disaster workers, and Web
surfers). A typical ground segment is illustrated in Figure 1.14; a single
satellite is shown to indicate that the links are established through its
repeater rather than directly from Earth station to Earth station.
Incidentally, Earth station is an internationally accepted term that
includes satellite communication stations located on the ground, in the
air (on airplanes), or on the sea (on ships). Many commercial
applications are through Earth stations at fixed locations on the ground;
thus, the international designation for such an arrangement is fixed
satellite service (FSS). Related to FSS is broadcasting satellite service
(BSS), targeted to individual home reception of a variety of broadcast
information (e.g., TV, radio, and data). Mobile satellite service (MSS)
has been in operation for some time, offering interactive voice and data
services for ships, aircraft, and individuals. Fixed Earth stations have
experienced a tremendous reduction in size at the same time that
satellites have grown in size and power capability. Earth stations have
evolved from the first international FSS behemoths with 30m antennas
(Figure 1.15) to the inexpensive BSS systems, with their half-meter
fixed dishes (Figure 1.16). For the new generation of MSS Earth
stations, the requirements are being met with handheld devices about
the size of a PDA.

The majority of user fixed Earth stations (see Figure 1.17) are
customer-premise equipment that the user can employ directly with a
personal computer (PC), a telephone, or other terminal device. They
are inexpensive enough to justify their placement at points of low
traffic demand such as small towns, branch offices, or suppliers. Figure
1.17 shows an example of a very small aperture terminal (VSAT),
which is a compact and inexpensive Earth station intended for that
purpose.

The ground segment, therefore, is not a single, homogeneous entity

but rather a diverse collection of facilities, users, and applications. It is
constantly changing and evolving, providing service when and where
needed. Some networks, such as those used for BSS or MSS
applications, may be homogeneous in the sense that a common air
interface (CAI) is used for all links over the satellite. Satellites used in
an FSS, on the other hand, can support a variety of applications within
the common bandwidth of several megahertz. The CAI concept still
might apply to a subnetwork of VSATs used by a large bank in China
or for telephone services to rural villages in Brazil.

One of the four large stations shown in Figure 1.14 is a control point
for a portion of the network or perhaps even the entire network.
Implemented as an automated network management center, the control
Earth station is critical in networks in which traffic flows are dynamic
(i.e., changing with time) and in which remote sites are unmanned.
Using modern network management workstations and remote
microprocessor technology, the network management center can
measure and maintain service quality by remote control. Remote
control is a particular feature of a satellite network because the satellite
provides a common relay point for control messages and other
management data. Realizing that type of management integration is a
much more difficult problem in large terrestrial telecommunication
networks.
Overall System
Providing a telecommunication service via satellite involves more than
launching a satellite and installing Earth stations. The process of
converting the idea of a particular service, like TV broadcasting or
Internet service to airplanes, is one of engineering a complete system.
In systems engineering (detailed in Chapter 12), the planners begin
with the objectives in mind, identify alternative approaches to meeting
this object, and then optimize the design of the system that ultimately
meets those objectives.

Some of the original satellite communication applications were

engineered using this process. For example, FSS satellites used to
connect major cities across oceans needed to meet critical constraints
that resulted from what could be placed in orbit with current rockets
and provide an adequate relay between currently available Earth station
antennas. The process of systems engineering produced the Intelsat 4
satellite with 12 transponders at 36-MHz bandwidth each. In a more
detailed manner, the first BSS satellite system was optimized through
systems engineering by trading off the cost of the user terminal (which
had to be affordable and still attractive to a large consumer base)
against the cost of the broadcast center where hundreds of TV channels
would be processed and delivered through the satellites.

A number of satellite communications systems are discussed in

Chapter 12 as a means to illustrate how systems engineering is applied
to the creation of optimized space and ground segments. The important
point is that the system must be evaluated as one overall entity rather
than focusing attention on either making the best satellite or the
smallest possible user device.
Chapter 3
Satellite: The Benefits
Ever since the first artificial satellite was launched, we have faced a
consistent and familiar set of constraints on mission success. Almost
any improvement in mission capability involves more mass. Mission
capability and robustness are thus limited by launch technology. The
launch process itself is one of the most risky phases for a space mission,
potentially affecting hardware integrity and function. Unintended
mechanical interferences or deployment failures may result. Access is
limited or impossible after launch, causing even small failures or
oversights to lead to serious consequences. The space environment is
very harsh and often unsupportive of equipment reliability.
Expendables limit operational life, and their quantities need to be
carefully managed. These are the unavoidable ramifications and
challenges of spaceflight. What is not unavoidable are the
consequences of these constraints. As we venture beyond our
immediate environment, we have the tools to create robust mission
profiles that dramatically improve the chances of mission success.
Satellite servicing holds the promise of altering current paradigms of
satellite construction, operation, and maintenance to enable reaching
this goal. In particular, it is a tool that provides the reliability
improvements that will be required to meet the upcoming challenges
in space exploration.
Commercial Benefits
Commercial space applications pervade many aspects of modern life.
We have live news coverage from almost every corner of the globe.
Television networks also distribute entertainment programs
internationally and instantaneously. Telephone networks connect
distant locations, and where there are no networks, one can connect
“direct to satellite.” We can also include the transforming nature of
satellite positioning systems and satellite imagery. The impacts of these
satellite-enabled technologies cannot be overstated and affect our
quality of life as well as our safety. The cost of these services, however,
is based on existing models of satellite operation. Satellite servicing
offers a mechanism for deriving more utility from existing assets, thus
strengthening the commercial bottom line. In this arena, the
applications of satellite servicing would most likely be in the areas of
refueling and orbital modification.

Scientific and Technological Benefits

Scientific and technology development missions are the most likely
missions to “push the envelope” for some aspect of mission
performance. For these types of missions, satellite servicing provides
the means to update components to take advantage of newly developed
capabilities. Compared to the 5- or 10-year technology “lag” commonly
experienced by major scientific missions, a 2- to 3-year lag to launch a
new technology could significantly improve the scientific return from
a mission. This is particularly true for technologies that are rapidly
developing, such as imaging sensors, especially if the refreshment
occurs on a regular basis. This ability to refresh technology could also
drive a different mission model—phased capabilities that are based on
previous discoveries or otherwise expand mission capability in some
new way. We can avoid the “all eggs in one basket” problem that
accompanies a large mission by flying a series of smaller ones instead.
The repair, refurbishment, and assembly aspects of satellite servicing
would be most applicable in this arena.

Strategic Benefits
While strategic interests have not been the focus of this study, a
discussion of using satellite servicing capabilities for these applications
cannot be avoided. Indeed, defense organizations have provided some
of the most exciting demonstrations of satellite servicing technologies
to date (e.g., Orbital Express). There is a large defense infrastructure
for communication and surveillance that is based on many similar
spacecraft. An ability to maintain this infrastructure is key to
maintaining national security. Conversely, the ability of other agents to
“maintain” these space craft could be deemed a threat (Figure 3.4).
Since strategic assets span a wide range of complexity, the full
spectrum of satellite servicing capabilities (refueling, repair,
refurbishment, orbit modification, and perhaps assembly) would apply.

Outreach Benefits
Human presence, breathtaking images, and groundbreaking science are
a powerful combination that captures the imagination of the public and
gives relevance to NASA’s missions. So far, such a mix has only been
possible in the context of servicing missions. The marriage between
human spaceflight and orbital maintenance of a major scientific
research instrument is a unique highlight in NASA’s history. It brings
with it a wide range of challenges. The solutions to these challenges
cross multiple disciplines and connect with an equally diverse range of
public interest. In the future, we expect that this interest will carry over
to robotic and human/robotic servicing activities in space.

Chapter 5
Satellite: The Challenges
This study has summarized the case for, and charted a path towards, a
future that provides the benefits of an advanced satellite-servicing
infrastructure. While there are challenges to face, a key finding of this
study is that very few of these are technical. We have the technologies
in-hand to perform very sophisticated tasks on worthwhile satellite
servicing missions. Further technological development is always
desirable, but is not required to take the first steps in the plan. The
challenges lie in several different realms, but with perhaps a common
theme: insufficient credibility. Our recommended path attempts to
further strengthen this credibility through sequential demonstrated
steps so that the achieved benefits will become more commonly
accepted (e.g., by satellite builders, insurance companies, fleet
operators). Reducing the perceived and actual risk will increase
demand and help to further validate the specific business cases.

Technological Challenges
On-orbit servicing of satellites that are designed to be serviced, as well
as those not designed to be serviced, requires relatively little new
technology development. However, it does require a disciplined
systems approach in order to use existing technologies successfully and
effectively.
Economic Challenges
Satellite systems may be the only complex systems without a routine
maintenance, repair, or upgrade program. Typically, maintenance or
upgrade means launching a new satellite to replace something that may
have a fully functional set of subsystems. To recoup this high cost, the
design lifetimes of satellites are made longer, which drives up their
cost.

Chapter 6
Conclusion
This study has surveyed the international community, studied the
literature, and examined the historical precedent on the vision, benefits,
and challenges of on-orbit satellite servicing. During the months in
which this work was carried out, the most common question—and one
repeatedly echoed by the Satellite Servicing Workshop participants—
has been, “Why are we not already doing this?”