https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147052 2026-04-03T18:02:28Z 2026-04-03T18:02:28Z Smith, Jacqueline H. Jah, Moriba Wood, Danielle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/160030 2025-07-12T09:42:57Z 2025-06-07T00:00:00Z

Architecting a decision support system for continuing supervision of commercial in-space servicing Smith, Jacqueline H.; Jah, Moriba; Wood, Danielle The rapid development of in-space servicing technology and other novel space capabilities requires robust and transparent governance frameworks to ensure long-term space sustainability and adherence to international regulations, notably Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty. Article VI requires that signatory states provide continuing supervision over non-governmental space activities, a mandate becoming increasingly more challenging to fulfill due to the accelerating pace of commercial space innovations. In previous work published by the authors, a Systems Architecture Framework analysis investigated the governance of in-space servicing in the U.S. and the corresponding Stakeholder Need misalignments with current authorization and supervision processes. The initial research provided insights into the apparent Need for a Decision Support System addressing the practical challenges faced in the operational supervision of in-space servicing activities. In response, this paper roadmaps the application of the Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology (EVDT) systems engineering framework into the realm of space sustainability challenges, such as for authorization and supervision of commercial in-space servicing. Originally conceived by the Space Enabled research group at MIT’s Media Lab, the EVDT framework has demonstrated its effectiveness in facilitating sustainable development decision-making through analysis of complex socio-environmental-technical systems across various terrestrial applications. Historical uses of EVDT span across aiding flood resilience in Indonesia, promoting mangrove preservation in Brazil, managing invasive plant species in Benin, revitalizing cranberry wetlands in the U.S., analyzing environmental injustice in prison landscapes, and urban planning strategies during the pandemic. Most recently, the inaugural adaptation of the EVDT framework to the space domain shows potential to enhance collision avoidance operation decisions for a Stakeholder within NASA. This paper proposes the expansion of the EVDT framework to broader space sustainability challenges, focusing on continuing supervision as the primary use-case, where this prototype’s capability to model and analyze hypothetical commercial in-space satellite servicing missions under U.S. jurisdiction will demonstrate the potential of EVDT to enhance space situational awareness (SSA) and space domain awareness. These operations are critical for collision prediction and consequence, risk assessment, and the implementation of sustainable operational practices. We introduce the plan for developing the Continuing Supervision EVDT software prototype, using a MATLAB-based method characterized by a modular architecture to facilitate integration and extension of functionality. The paper also introduces terminology, key concepts, objectives, and the use of the Systems Architecture Framework method within the EVDT software development process. The software design enables Stakeholders to custom-build and adapt their models to different space sustainability scenarios, improving code reuse, reducing development time, and simplifying interactions for external users and future space-based EVDT projects. The implementation of this Decision Support System has the potential to influence the authorization and supervision of novel space missions and the evolution of supporting SSA technologies, ultimately contributing to the responsible and sustainable use of the space environment. It helps ensure compliance with international space laws and promotes sustainability by equipping Stakeholders with software toolsets capable of simulating the orbital dynamics of spacecraft through mission phases. The paper also envisions the extensive application of the EVDT framework to an array of other space sustainability challenges, such as environmental sensitivity, debris mitigation, resource utilization, and planetary protection. Ultimately, the expansion of the EVDT framework into the domain of space sustainability will empower policymakers, commercial space operators, and other Stakeholders with an adaptive simulation tool that not only conforms to the current space governance systems but also flexibly shapes to future space policies, encouraging responsible stewardship over the space environment.

2025-06-07T00:00:00Z Smith, Jacqueline H. Jah, Moriba Wood, Danielle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/159377 2025-07-09T03:14:20Z 2025-05-17T00:00:00Z

Preliminary analysis of in-space servicing governance and the challenge of continuing supervision Smith, Jacqueline H.; Jah, Moriba; Wood, Danielle The emergence and proliferation of In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) technology holds far-reaching implications, particularly considering the current era of rapid advancements in space technology, escalating commercialization of space activities, and novel utilization of the space domain including in cislunar space. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a multi-year research study undertaking a comprehensive analysis of commercial in-space servicing governance employing the Systems Architecture Framework (SAF) methodology. The focal points of investigation for this study are on understanding the various dimensions that shape the policy and regulation of the commercial in-space servicing ecosystem, encompassing environmental factors and sociopolitical considerations, from the perspective of U.S. Government Stakeholders. Governance of commercial in-space servicing is a complex system in the sense that it is composed of interacting components whose collective behavior and properties emerge from the relationships between these entities. Through the use of SAF, the analysis of this complex socio-environmental-technical system spans these elements: understanding system Context, analyzing Stakeholders and their Needs and Objectives, identifying system Forms and Functions, proposing new Forms and Functions, and Monitor and Evaluate the system. From the SAF analysis, several major findings and recommendations emerge. First, shortcomings currently exist in achieving meaningful continuing supervision by the Stakeholders of commercial in-space servicing activities. Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 mandates the continuing supervision of all non-governmental space activities by the authorizing nation yet lacks a clear definition for the term continuing supervision. Based on analysis from SAF, this paper introduces tools for addressing ambiguity by providing an interpretation of continuing supervision that can be applied into the operational environment, metrics for evaluating the outcomes, and technical challenges and recommendations for continuing supervision in cislunar. This paper also introduces a recommendation for a Decision Support System (DSS) for aiding U.S. Government Stakeholders in authorizing and supervising commercial in-space servicing activity based on findings from expert interviews. The authors propose that the Environment-Vulnerability-Decision-Technology (EVDT) systems engineering framework developed by the Space Enabled Research Group offers a promising methodology for developing such a DSS as future work. The framework allows system designers to confirm they are addressing Stakeholder Needs identified via the Systems Architecture Framework and combining a variety of sources of information to shape policy. Notably, the EVDT framework has been previously demonstrated as a tool for decision-making in space traffic management applications for a U.S. Stakeholder. Future work of this research study will investigate prototyping a new space-based EVDT model for specific use-cases and exploring a sensitivity analysis of the space environment to certain in-space servicing activities. Ultimately, this research lays a robust foundation for a deeper understanding of the current and future U.S. governance of commercial in-space servicing, resonating with the ongoing discourse concerning the long-term sustainability, mission authorization, and continuing supervision of novel space activities. The insights derived from this multi-year analysis contribute valuable guidance for policymakers, industry leaders, and academic researchers, offering a Stakeholder-focused perspective informing strategic decisions with socio-environmental-technical implications at the forefront.

2025-05-17T00:00:00Z Smith, Jacqueline H. Rathnasabapathy, Minoo Wood, Danielle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/156705 2024-09-13T03:17:13Z 2024-09-03T00:00:00Z

The political and legal landscape of space debris mitigation in emerging space nations Smith, Jacqueline H.; Rathnasabapathy, Minoo; Wood, Danielle The issue of space debris and its impact on space sustainability is a growing concern that requires collective action from all nations. Over the past decade, the number of spacefaring nations has increased, as evidenced by the number of satellites launched by emerging space nations and by an increase in the number of applications for United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) membership from emerging member states. More recently, there has been an increase in emerging space nations stating their commitment to join the COPUOS Long-term Sustainability (LTS) 2.0 Working Group, as well as nations who have opted to join as signatories to initiatives such as “Net Zero Space” (e.g., Azercosmos, EgSA, GISTDA), and the Artemis Accords (e.g., Nigeria, Rwanda, and Angola). These initiatives share a common goal of promoting the sustainable and responsible use of space to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities, including: 1) the recognition of the need for sustainable practices; 2) the importance of promoting cooperation in long-term sustainability between all nations; 3) the support of international guidelines and best practices; and 4) the recognition of the increasing role and contribution of emerging space nations. Given the rapid diversification of the space sector, and in accordance with Part C International Cooperation, Capacity-Building and Awareness of the 2019 COPUOS Long Term Sustainability guidelines, many emerging nations continue to face challenges in implementing space debris mitigation and removal measures. The aim of this paper is threefold: 1) showcase examples of emerging space nations who are actively supporting the sustained use of space at a national, regional, and international level, which includes complying with existing binding requirements concerning space debris within national laws; 2) discuss how the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) provides opportunities for emerging space nations to progress in their efforts to participate in seeking space sustainability; and 3) provide an analysis using the SSR for several missions launched by emerging space nations including recommended steps for increased sustainability in both the design phase and during operations. The study aims to identify potential challenges and opportunities in the adoption of the SSR by emerging space nations, and dispel the perception that sustainable design, operations, and implementation of the LTS guidelines is a barrier for emerging space nations. The selection of nations chosen for the analysis of this paper aims to ensure a representative sample of diverse space market sizes and maturity, with particular consideration given to geographic diversity.

2024-09-03T00:00:00Z Slavin, Maya https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145098 2022-08-30T03:59:47Z 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z

Incentivizing Collaboration on Space Sustainability: Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability of Space Missions Slavin, Maya The world has increasingly come to rely on satellites to provide services such as navigation, global communications, banking, national security, and weather forecasting. However, as satellites are launched into space at increasing rates, the risk of collision between active payloads or with pieces of debris rises exponentially. One of the initiatives to combat congestion is the Space Sustainability Rating. The Space Sustainability Rating is a rating system commissioned by the World Economic Forum in 2018 that scores a space mission on how sustainable it is for the long-term usability of the space environment, particularly in regards to debris mitigation and collision avoidance. It aims to incentivize more responsible design decisions by satellite operators and encourage the acceleration and establishment of sustainable norms of behavior. One of the six scoring modules in the Space Sustainability Rating is the Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability (DIT) module. This thesis builds on the earlier work that was done to develop the first version of the DIT module and makes three primary contributions to it. First, it investigates using the previously proposed concept of orbital zip codes for the Identifiability scoring process and then suggests an alternative scoring methodology based on constructing Cypher queries that count the number of similar space objects that could make identifying a given object more difficult. Second, this thesis demonstrates how ASTRIAGraph, a knowledge-graph database that combines data from multiple space data sources, can be used to facilitate parts of the DIT analysis. Finally, it conducts a multi-case study to examine how missions from regions outside of the United States and Europe score in the DIT module and whether there are factors related to the national contexts in which they were developed that impact their scores.

2022-05-01T00:00:00Z Rathnasabapathy, Minoo Wood, Danielle Letizia, F Lemmens, S Jah, M Schiller, A Christensen, C Potter, S Khlystov, N Soshkin, M Acuff, K Lifson, Miles(Miles Thelonius Keylor) Steindl, Riley M. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131216 2022-09-27T18:31:58Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Space sustainability rating: Designing a composite indicator to incentivise satellite operators to pursue long-term sustainability of the space environment Rathnasabapathy, Minoo; Wood, Danielle; Letizia, F; Lemmens, S; Jah, M; Schiller, A; Christensen, C; Potter, S; Khlystov, N; Soshkin, M; Acuff, K; Lifson, Miles(Miles Thelonius Keylor); Steindl, Riley M. The Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) was first conceptualised within the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space Technologies, and is being designed by an international and transdisciplinary consortia including the World Economic Forum, Space Enabled Research Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, European Space Agency, University of Texas at Austin, and Bryce Space and Technology. With the increasing awareness of the rapidly growing number of objects in space, the implementation of a rating system, such as the SSR, provides an innovative way to address the orbital challenge by incentivising industry to design missions compatible with sustainable and responsible operations, and operate missions considering potential harm to the orbital environment and impact on other operators in addition to mission objectives and service quality. This paper builds upon the SSR concept introduced at the IAC in 2019, and provides in-depth description into the methodology used to design the SSR, based on successful rating systems in other industries such as LEED (green building energy and environmental design). This method seeks to provide a practice tool that governments, satellite operators and insurers can reference. The process also seeks to build capability among emerging space actors as they seek to understand how to design responsible space missions. The SSR is a composite indicator that is a function of the Space Traffic Footprint, measured through a mission index and compared to the so-called Environment Capacity and other measures of the responsibility shown by operator actions. The components of the SSR take into account mission aspects including on-orbit fragmentation risk, collision avoidance capabilities, detectability, identification, trackability, data sharing, on-orbit servicing, collision avoidance, debris mitigation, and adoption of international standards. The paper further explores key questions including; (i) what factors are most important to influence whether an operator seeks to reduce the potential for debris creation, (ii) how can the SSR can contribute to existing mechanisms (eg. UN Long-term Sustainability Guidelines, IADC) in supporting long-term space sustainability, and (iii) how can the SSR educate policy makers regarding manufacturers' and operators' motivations in choosing specific criteria and certifications in designing their mission to achieve a high rating or improve their existing rating.

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z Steindl, Riley M. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130865 2021-07-05T14:03:20Z 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z

Developing the detectability, identifiability, and trackability analysis for the space sustainability rating Steindl, Riley M. Three of the core activities in maintaining Space Situational Awareness (SSA) efforts are the Detection, Identification, and Tracking of Anthropogenic Space Objects (ASOs). For much of the space age, the onus for improving global SSA has fallen primarily on the ground-based satellite surveillance and tracking community, leading to more technically advanced and powerful sensing systems. With the focus on improving sensor design for SSA purposes, designers of surveillance and tracking systems have been able to push the envelope of observing increasingly smaller ASOs. Meanwhile, ventures in the use of nanosatellite and picosatellite architectures for commercial business models have become increasingly popular due to their lower material and launch costs. The proliferation of these small ASOs has made it easier than ever to add to the orbital population while also stretching thin the increasingly taxed ground-based sensing systems on which the world depends for SSA.; With the number of ASOs in orbit increasing rapidly, effort is required from both the sensing and satellite communities to ensure that humans can maintain adequate SSA for the foreseeable future. To aid in these efforts, the Detectability, Identifiability, and Trackability (DIT) analyses have been developed through this thesis work to quantitatively assess how difficult it is to detect, identify, and track ASOs from the Earth as a function of orbital and spacecraft characteristics. The DIT analysis first assumes a fictional network of medium quality ground-based sensors with optical and radar observation capabilities that are distributed in geographic locations around the world providing excellent coverage in high, middle and low latitudes.; The Detectability analysis utilizes geometric approximations of the shape of an ASO, along with its orbital parameters, to produce estimates of its visual magnitude and probability of detection by radar, in order to determine whether or not an ASO is likely to be detectable by the assumed ground sensor network. The Trackability analysis characterizes how the ASO's orbit interacts with the generically defined ground sensor network over time. Utilizing access statistics for both optical and radar sensing modes, the Trackability analysis calculates the percentage of the orbit that is tracked by the network, average time between ground sensor access and the duration of the access. These metrics inform how much information is available to improve state estimation for the ASO. Finally, for the Identifiability analysis, the vision is to describe how difficult it would be for an uninformed observer to determine if a given ASO can be matched to a known record in a catalog of space objects.; The author has been exploring an approach proposed by Professor Moriba Jah of the University of Texas at Austin based on clustering analysis of ASO orbital angular momentum data. Currently this analysis is limited to the population size data for each cluster, but work is underway to incorporate ASO characteristic data. The goal of including characteristic data is to consider groups of satellites that share common characteristics as sharing a so-called "orbital zip code". The analysis asks how many objects within a given orbital zip code are indistinguishable from the ASO based on data that can be observed by a ground observer with no prior information about the ASO. This paper delves into the specifics of the analysis and discusses the current plans for its implementation. While still a work-in-progress, work is underway to address the limitations of the analysis and improve its functionality.; The author has also been working closely with the developers of the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR), an initiative to create an incentive system to reward operators of satellites that take actions to reduce space debris and collision risk. The methods from the DIT analysis will be used as one of the scoring inputs for the Space Sustainability Rating. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, February, 2021; Cataloged from the official PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-120).

2021-01-01T00:00:00Z Lifson, Miles(Miles Thelonius Keylor) https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129198 2022-02-01T18:57:20Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

A study of emerging space nation and commercial satellite operator stakeholder preferences for space traffic management Lifson, Miles(Miles Thelonius Keylor) The near-Earth space environment is a finite, shared resource. Trends including reduced launch costs, electronics miniaturization, and preference for resilient, disaggregated architectures are driving significant growth in the orbital population. Existing systems to coordinate and manage space traffic do not scale to this higher level of utilization or promote the efficient and equitable use of space. There is growing need for both new technical space traffic management (STM) systems and policy regimes to coordinate activities going to, in, and returning from space. This thesis describes several contributions to developing this integrated corpus. A literature review of proposed STM architectures highlights gaps in understandings of emerging space nation STM perspectives and commercial operator attitudes on data sharing. Based on United Nations documents and interviews with emerging space nation representatives, a set of four recommendations is developed for future international STM development efforts. These recommendations stress affordability, achievable technical requirements for participation, inclusive system design, and careful consideration of satellite control allocation. Through a review of operator U.S. regulatory filings and new interviews with operators and experts, operator attitudes are traced successively through 1) potential STM domains and functions; 2) per function data requirements; 3) concerns about data sharing; 4) attitudes towards data protection mechanisms; and 5) influence on potential STM system design. Key insights include the importance of operator perceived self-benefit from data sharing, and significant heterogeneity in operator data sharing attitudes. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, September, 2020; Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Technology and Policy Program, September, 2020; Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-213).

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z