Related papers: Analytical model for collision probability assessm…
Continuous habitability of a planet is a critical condition for advanced forms of life to appear, but it can be endangered by astronomical events such as stellar encounters. The purpose of this study is to analyze close stellar encounters…
The development of large constellations of satellites (i.e., so-called megaconstellations or satcons) is poised to increase the number of LEO satellites by more than an order of magnitude in the coming decades. Such a rapid growth of…
This paper presents an analysis of optimal impact strategies to deflect potentially dangerous asteroids. To compute the increase in the minimum orbit intersection distance of the asteroid due to an impact with a spacecraft, simple…
Recent observational missions have uncovered a significant number of compact multi-exoplanet systems. The tight orbital spacing of these systems has led to much effort being applied to the understanding of their stability; however, a key…
The increase in space activities has increased the risks of space debris generation, affecting space safety and sustainability. Traditional space situational awareness (SSA) relies on single star trackers and ground-based tracking…
We develop a formalism for calculating probabilities for the outcomes of stellar dynamical interactions, based on results from $N$-body scattering experiments. We focus here on encounters involving up to six particles and calculate…
The risk of collision between resident space objects has significantly increased in recent years. As a result, spacecraft collision avoidance procedures have become an essential part of satellite operations. To ensure safe and effective…
The probability that two satellites overlap in space at a specified instant of time is called their instantaneous collision probability. Assuming Gaussian uncertainties and spherical satellites, this probability is the integral of a…
Collision avoidance is a topic of growing importance for any satellite orbiting Earth. Especially those satellites without thrusting capabilities face the problem of not being able to perform impulsive collision avoidance manoeuvres. For…
This paper introduces a novel Monte Carlo (MC) method to simulate the evolution of the low-earth orbit environment, enhancing the MIT Orbital Capacity Analysis Tool (MOCAT). In recent decades, numerous space environment models have been…
Direct collisions between finite-sized particles occur commonly in many areas of astrophysics. Such collisions are typically mediated by chaotic, bound gravitational interactions involving small numbers of particles. An important…
As emerging massive constellations are intended to provide seamless connectivity for remote areas using hundreds of small low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, new methodologies have great importance to study the performance of these networks.…
We report on a very large set of simulations of collisions between two main sequence (MS) stars. These computations were done with the ``Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics'' method. Realistic stellar structure models for evolved MS stars were…
Context. Rotational instability of rubble-pile asteroids can trigger mass shedding, forming transient debris clouds that may provide the initial conditions for secondary formation in binary systems. Aims. We investigate the dynamical and…
Starlink has rapidly emerged as the world's largest satellite constellation and the de facto reference system for low Earth orbit (LEO) networking research. Existing literature predominantly models Starlink as a static, symmetric, and fully…
This Engineering Note addresses the challenge of estimating the probability of collision for tethered spacecraft during close encounters with other space objects. Standard probability of collision methods, based on spherical hard-body…
An increasingly salient public policy challenge is how to manage the growing number of satellites in orbit, including large constellations. Many policy initiatives have been proposed that attempt to address the problem from different…
Orbital debris poses an escalating threat to space missions and the long-term sustainability of Earth's orbital environment. The literature proposes various approaches for orbital debris remediation, including the use of multiple…
Observations and cosmological simulations indicate that the early Universe hosted numerous compact, high-density stellar systems, where close encounters and physical collisions between stars were likely common. We develop a bottom-up…
The vast majority of the orbital population today is unobservable and untracked because of their small size. These lethal non-trackable objects will only become more numerous as more payloads and debris are launched into orbit and increase…