Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Prospects for spacecraft traffic control in cis-lunar orbits

As the number of LEO satellites is undergoing a huge increase, the issue of debris in the near-Earth environment is becoming more important. Agencies (both commercial and governmental) are now looking to utilize the cis-lunar environment to reach a quieter environment. Currently, there are few spacecraft in cis-lunar orbits but this is likely to change significantly over the next few years. Observationally these are challenging orbits to monitor with optical equipment. However, given their distance, these observations maybe the most cost effective. We here at the Centre for Space Domain AwarenessLink opens in a new window would like to start a study of how to optimize the monitoring of these orbits and the space traffic problem that will follow. This will involve observational work as well as simulations.