Analysis of Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Architectures for Multi-Plane On-Orbit Refueling

As many satellite constellations are proposed, deployed, and operated, their maintenance becomes increasingly important to provide satisfactory services; therefore, on-orbit refueling to spacecraft has become one of the most promising technologies for realizing more sustainable space development. This paper develops an analytical model to examine two types of mission architectures for multi-target on-orbit refueling missions: a non-cooperative architecture and a cooperative architecture. In the (rather conventional) non-cooperative refueling architecture, a servicer spacecraft visits passive targets one by one, whereas, in the cooperative refueling architecture, both the servicer and the targets can actively maneuver to complete refueling cooperatively. This paper analytically compares the fuel mass required in each architecture to support the decision-making process of mission architects. Furthermore, the condition under which the cooperative architecture becomes more efficient than the non-cooperative architecture is analytically derived. The sensitivities of this condition against key mission parameters, such as the number of targets and their inclination, are also analyzed through a case study of multi-plane multi-target on-orbit refueling in low Earth orbits.