An Overview of Standards Development to Support Servicing Mobility and Logistics

This paper provides an overview of ongoing standards development efforts to support servicing mobility and logistics. Space Systems Command (SSC) formed the Servicing, Mobility, and Logistics (SML) office within the Assured Access to Space (AATS) organization to develop a range of capabilities including refueling, mission life extension, servicing, repairs, space tugs for orbital transfer, and spacecraft repositioning. SSC is exploring the use of commercial capabilities to maneuver and service its constellation of satellites in various orbits, including adjusting a satellite’s inclination, refueling satellites to extend their mission life, and moving assets before or at their end of life. DARPA managed the Orbital Express mission that flew in 2007, which demonstrated autonomous technologies such as rendezvous, proximity operations and docking (RPOD), station keeping, capture, fluid transfer, and Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) transfer. Almost 20 years since that proof of concept, commercial entities are developing systems to implement SML capabilities. The United States Government is actively and strategically investing to improve enabling technologies. AATS provided funding to the commercial sector to develop a refueler prototype compatible with satellites in-space to carry and transfer hydrazine to client spacecraft. These emerging capabilities may be beneficial to future military warfighting operations or as potential requirements for developing new space programs. A coordinated roadmap of standards efforts needs to be executed to support the operationalization of these capabilities within the next decade. Companies are leading the way in developing these standards through consortia and standards development organizations (SDOs).