Rules of the Road
Rules of the Road is Satcat's coordination protocol. It assigns maneuver responsibility for each conjunction and lets operators exchange mitigation intent asynchronously, without needing to reach each other directly.
Operators signal intent by uploading ephemeris with a CONTEXT value, and can override automated assignments where necessary. The protocol follows the practices of the Space Safety Coalition.
Maneuver Responsibility
Satcat first assigns maneuver responsibility based on the maneuverability profile of each RSO involved in a conjunction. This assignment is used to guide coordination outcomes between operators.
| Responsibility category | Coordination Implication |
|---|---|
| Non-Maneuverable | Expected to stand down |
| Minimally-Maneuverable | May defer unless assigned responsibility |
| Manually-Maneuverable | Expected to coordinate and act if assigned |
| Auto-COLA Maneuvering | Executes COLA autonomously |
| Crewed | Requires coordination |
| Unknown Maneuverability | Requires coordination |
Responsibility categories are advisory. Operators unable to maneuver as assigned should coordinate directly via Satcat messaging or external channels.
Mitigation Intent
Mitigation Intent is an operator's declared intent to perform or defer a collision avoidance maneuver. It is declared by the Context on an uploaded operational ephemeris, and shown on the operator cards of every conjunction event that ephemeris affects.
Context is set in Asset Management > Ephemeris > Upload:
| Context | Upload option | Intent shown |
|---|---|---|
COLA | COLA, intending to alter orbit for collision avoidance | I am intending to mitigate |
MAINTENANCE | Maintenance, intending to alter orbit for maintenance | I am intending to mitigate |
ROUTINE | Routine, not intending to alter orbit | I am not intending to mitigate |
NOVEL | Novel, uncataloged or temporary RSO entering orbit | Intent undetermined |
DECAY | Decay, RSO expected to decay or reenter soon | Intent undetermined |
| none | Null, no Context, intention undetermined | Intent undetermined |
Selecting Null omits the field from the upload, which is not the same as ROUTINE. ROUTINE states that the operator won't maneuver; Null states that they haven't decided.
A fourth intent state, Assumed to mitigate, is never declared. Satcat infers it where the RSO is classified Auto-COLA Maneuvering, because that operator is not expected to upload an intent at all.
See Ephemeris Metadata for Context and Designation in full.
Updates and Conflicts
Intent follows the ephemeris. Every operational ephemeris upload updates intent on the conjunction events involving that RSO, based on its Context. Intent cannot be set independently of an upload, so re-declaring intent means uploading again with the Context that reflects it.
If intent metadata and ephemeris context are inconsistent, Satcat prioritizes ephemeris context to avoid coordination errors.
Auto-Generated Maneuvers and Responsibility
Organizations with Pro or Enterprise subscriptions can use auto-generated COLA maneuvers to fulfill assigned mitigation responsibilities. Satcat displays the generation status directly within each conjunction event:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| None generated | No maneuver has been started or is required based on current data. |
| Generating... | COLA maneuver generation is in progress and results will be available soon. |
| Ready | A complete maneuver plan is available for review and execution. |
| N/A (Pro) | The organization is not subscribed at a tier that supports COLA planning. |
Maneuver generation does not enforce action. It supports an assigned responsibility by providing a ready-to-use solution, which the operator reviews against mission constraints in Maneuver Designer.
For related details, see:
- Operational Data, for submitting ephemeris with a
CONTEXTvalue - Space Traffic Coordination
- Collision Avoidance