SATELLITE SERVICING STATION (SSS)

• BACKGROUND
• OBJECTIVE
• ASSEMBLY
• CONFIGURATION
• COVERAGE
• OPERATIONS

A USC SPACE ARCHITECTURE CONCEPT

Pete Kurzhals

peter.r.kurzhals@boeing.com

December 17, 2002

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OBJECTIVE

• Reboost
• Refuel
• Repair
• Refurbish

• Provide an unmanned ISS-Companion-Free flyer platform capable of storing, maintaining and outfitting multiple SSVs

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• Provide the resources (fuel, ORUs, etc.) needed for satellite servicing

• Provide the capability for both man-tended and autonomous platform operation

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BACKGROUND

• Almost a trillion dollars will be spent worldwide on development, launch and operations of earth satellites over the next 30 years¹
• A significant percentage of these satellites will be lost prematurely
• ~ 5% will fail to reach their operational orbit²
• ~ 30% will experience critical component failures � or require fuel and reactant replenishment²
• An orbital depot, such as the satellite servicing station (SSS), coupled with one or two reusable Satellite Servicing Vehicles (SSVs) constitutes the optimal servicing architecture³

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• Kurzhals, Peter R.: Modular Spacecraft Missions. USC mid-term Space Architecture Project, October 2002.
• SIA/Futron: Satellite Industry Indicators Survey, 2001.
• Reynerson, Charles M.: Spacecraft Servicing—First Order Model for Feasibility and Cost Effectiveness, November 2001.

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ASSEMBLY

• SSS will be launched via the Space Shuttle
• Prepackaged elements will be used to minimize assembly requirements in orbit
• Basic platform and subsystems
• Solar panel arrays
• S-Band antenna
• Robotic arm
• Initial assembly will utilize the Shuttle robotic arm and two EVAs
• Sea Launch will be used to deliver servicing propellants and ORUs which will be installed using the SSS robotic arm and ISS EVAs

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CONFIGURATION CONCEPT

• 25,000 LBS OUTFITTED

• 25-YR LIFE

• 20’ X 10’ X 6’ PLATFORM
• FUEL AND ORU STORAGE

• 10KW PV ARRAY

• 3-SEGMENT ARM WITH DEXTROUS MANIPULATOR

• CMG CONTROL SYSTEMS PLUS HYDRAZINE THRUSTERS

• S-BAND�COMMUNICATIONS

DOCKING

PORT

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COVERAGE

• Most effective deployment of SSS after assembly and outfitting can be obtained by pre-positioning it in the orbital plane of the constellation to be serviced via Hohman transfer
• Significant transfer times (100-500 days) may be required for this maneuver depending on the target orbit plane
• Some satellites could, however, be serviced directly from ISS
• ORBCOM
• GEMNET
• GLOBAL STAR
• AMSC

• ICO
• STARSYS
• USA
• ODYSSEY

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OPERATIONS

• SSS will use operational Orbital Express vehicles (i.e. ASTRO) to perform its satellite servicing functions⁴
• Most of these will rely on autonomous pre-programmed functions
• Orbital transfer and rendezvous
• Satellite capture/docking
• Satellite reboost (where required)
• Satellite refueling
• ORU replacement and validation
• Ground-based teleoperations will be used to back up and augment the autonomous operations

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4. DARPA: Orbital Express, a Comprehensive Architecture for the 21^st Century, February 2002.

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SERVICING VEHICLE

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