The Center for Space Standards and Innovation's SOCRATES-GEO service reached a milestone June 26 when the 100th GEO satellite was added to its system.
CSSI, the research arm of Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), provides Satellite Orbital Conjunction Reports Assessing Threatening Encounters in Space (SOCRATES), a service for satellite owner/operators that lists the top 10 pending potential satellite collisions each week.
In early 2008, CSSI began offering SOCRATES-GEO, an enhanced version of the service that monitors satellites in geostationary (GEO) orbit. SOCRATES-GEO uses a variety of improved orbital data sources to provide improved conjunction monitoring for participants.
Using this information can significantly reduce the number of false alarms, particularly with conjunctions between two operational satellites. As of June 2008, SOCRATES has six global participants in its system: Intelsat, Inmarsat, EchoStar, SES (Astra, New Skies, and Americom), NOAA, and Star One.
CSSI's T.S. Kelso, SOCRATES creator and operator, is pleased to see success for the service. "SOCRATES now covers more than 25 percent of all active payloads in GEO. With the increase in space debris and operational satellites, we trust our service's success will continue to assist the satellite owner/operator community."
