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Operational Data

Operators use Satcat Operations to upload ephemeris for their RSOs, enabling real-time conjunction screening, mitigation planning, and intent signaling. When shared with appropriate metadata, this operational data forms the foundation for high-confidence collision risk assessments and coordination with other operators.

Operational Ephemeris​

An ephemeris becomes Operational when it is designated as the official, predicted ephemeris an operator intends to follow. Satcat uses this data to:

  • Update conjunction event risk metrics
  • Surface mitigation intent to other operators
  • Inform autonomous or manual maneuver planning

Operational ephemeris can also be held for an object that is not yet cataloged, under a temporary identifier; see Uncorrelated Objects. Ephemeris files are managed in Asset Management.

Metadata Fields​

Every upload carries a Context, stating what the ephemeris represents operationally, and a Designation, stating how it was produced. Together they determine how Satcat uses the data and what is shared. See Ephemeris Metadata for the values, their defaults, and the upload rate limits.

Mitigation Intent Signaling​

When ephemeris with appropriate metadata is uploaded, Satcat automatically infers the RSO's intent and updates the corresponding conjunction event with a status of:

  • Intending to mitigate
  • Not intending to mitigate
  • Intent undetermined

This intent status helps operators asynchronously align on maneuver responsibility without needing to coordinate in real time.

Intent status is visible to other operators only when both organizations have Participate in conjunction event coordination enabled. See Data Privacy for the full set of sharing rules.

CDM Types and Risk Assessment​

Satcat groups CDMs into two categories:

  • Operational CDMs
    Generated using OPERATIONAL ephemeris uploaded by operators, published under the originator KAYHAN. Satcat recomputes Probability of Collision, miss distance and directional uncertainty, and Mahalanobis distance and risk trend data, which appear in the conjunction event timeline and geometry tools. See Data Privacy for when one is visible to the other organization.

  • Theoretical CDMs
    Generated using non-operational ephemeris or simulation scenarios such as maneuver plans. These are used for what-if analysis and are never shared with another organization. To share the result, upload the underlying ephemeris with an OPERATIONAL designation, which produces an Operational CDM.

Best CDM​

A conjunction event accumulates CDMs from several originators and data sources, each a different solution for the same close approach. Satcat marks one the Best CDM, shown on the CDM key and in the event timeline: the solution it treats as the most trustworthy, and the one the default risk level evaluation mode measures.

Satcat sets aside any CDM that has gone stale, unless every CDM in the event is stale, then compares what remains in this order, stopping at the first difference:

  1. Covariance on both objects. A CDM carrying covariance for the primary and the secondary produces a Pc, and outranks one that does not, including a newer CDM built on operator ephemeris for both objects.
  2. Robust over diluted. A CDM whose Pc falls in the dilution region loses to one whose Pc does not.
  3. Operator data over catalog data. An O/O solution outranks a catalog state solution such as HAC. The primary's solution type decides first, and the secondary's breaks the tie.
  4. Most recent. Where nothing above separates them, the newer CDM wins.

Satcat compares the data behind each CDM, not the originator that issued it.

Mitigation Plans​

A mitigation plan is a planned ephemeris that may change how a conjunction event resolves, whether through a dedicated collision avoidance (COLA) maneuver, a preplanned orbit maintenance maneuver, or a fresh orbit determination solution. Satcat screens each plan against a selected CDM and returns the result as a theoretical CDM, so a plan carries the same risk metrics as the operational data it is measured against.

A plan can be uploaded as an OPM or OEM, or generated in Maneuver Designer. Because its result is a theoretical CDM, a plan stays private to the originating organization until the underlying ephemeris is uploaded with an OPERATIONAL designation. Weighing plans against a conjunction event's current risk is covered in CDM Comparison.

For more, see: