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COLA Projects

The COLA project type supports the design and evaluation of collision avoidance maneuvers using a selected Conjunction Data Message (CDM). Projects include risk analysis for both the primary conjunction and any impacted tertiary events.

Creating a COLA Project​

COLA projects are created from the data contained in Conjunction Event CDMs. Operators can open the Maneuver Designer directly from an event page or create a project manually from the Designer dashboard.

  • If a project already exists for the event, it opens automatically.
  • Otherwise, a new project is created and linked to the selected event.

Users may also manually associate or update the linked CDM from the project settings to reflect revised tracking inputs.

Automated Project Generation​

Organizations may enable auto-generation of COLA projects when Satcat receives a high-risk CDM for a maneuverable RSO.

To configure:

  • Navigate to Control Center > Group Settings
  • Define action thresholds for Pc, MD, and TCA proximity
  • Enable Auto-generation of COLA Tradespaces
note

Auto-generation applies only to RSOs marked as maneuverable in Control Center > All RSOs.

COLA Maneuver Workflow​

Each COLA project consists of three stages:

  1. Planning — Set maneuver timing, direction, and bounds
  2. Tradespace Results — View risk metrics across the maneuver grid
  3. High-Fidelity Simulation — Propagate the maneuver plan using full force model simulation

Planning​

The Plan Maneuver tab configures:

Project Settings​

  • Project and Variant name
  • CDM assignment (may be reassigned to account for updated CDMs)

Primary and Secondary RSO Settings​

  • CDM state source
  • Hard-Body Radius (HBR) selection
info

HBR values are used in all collision probability calculations and sourced from operator input, authoritative third-party datasets (e.g., NASA CARA), and CDMs. Learn more about Satcat HBR databases.

Maneuver Settings​

  • Start/end time range (≤72 hrs before TCA)
  • Ignition time density (≤8 samples per orbit)
  • Delta-V range (± 10 cm/s in selected direction)
  • Optional maneuver uncertainty (used in hi-fidelity only)

Click Save and Run to initiate a new Variant job.

tip

Default settings will auto-generate Variant 1 when launched from an event page.

Tradespace Results​

Tradespace visualizations show risk variation across ignition times and delta-V magnitudes:

Primary Metrics​

  • Collision Probability (Pc)
  • Miss Distance
  • Mahalanobis Distance

Interactive contour plots allow point-level inspection. Metrics are computed using project-defined HBRs.

Tertiary Risk Evaluation​

Satcat assesses candidate maneuvers for impact on additional events:

  • Aggregate Pc: 1 - Π(1 - Pc_n)
  • Minimum MD across other CDMs

Evaluated CDMs must:

  • Share primary source (e.g., O/O, HAC)
  • Pc ≥ 1e-8 and MD ≤ 5 km
  • Be ≤ 2 days old, with TCA ≤ 7 days from maneuver window end

High-Fidelity Propagation​

After selecting a candidate maneuver, operators may generate a refined propagation. Refining a solution will:

  • Recalculate post-maneuver risk metrics with high-fidelty Pc method
  • Create a THEORETICAL CDM output linked to the original event
  • Create a downloadable CCSDS OPM file

Generated plans appear in the Hi-Fi Maneuvers section and are also surfaced on the associated event page.