A trajectory correction a satellite performs to steer clear of a collision risk detected in advance, whose frequency is climbing with megaconstellation density.
A collision avoidance maneuver is a trajectory correction a maneuverable satellite performs when a space surveillance system detects it is on track to pass another object, debris or an active satellite, at a distance judged dangerous, a process called conjunction assessment. Each maneuver burns fuel, cutting into the satellite's operational lifespan, and adds a growing operational burden as the number of active satellites rises, since each new operator mechanically raises the number of conjunctions every other operator must track. SpaceX stated, in a regulatory filing with the Federal Communications Commission in June 2024, that its Starlink constellation had performed roughly fifty thousand collision avoidance maneuvers during the first half of that single year, an order of magnitude nearly ten times higher than reported two years earlier, cited as the direct, quantified consequence of the rapid growth in the number of satellites in low Earth orbit. For insurance, the frequency of these maneuvers is a leading indicator of orbital density and hence of future collision risk, a factor space underwriters are beginning to fold into low-Earth-orbit pricing alongside conventional debris models.
In a June 2024 regulatory filing, SpaceX states that its Starlink constellation performed roughly fifty thousand collision avoidance maneuvers in the first half of the year, nearly ten times more than two years earlier.
conjunction assessment, évaluation de conjonction, collision avoidance maneuver, CAM