// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Orbital Maneuver
Any planned change to a spacecraft's orbit, typically involving firing its engines to adjust its speed or direction.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
An Orbital Maneuver is a controlled propulsive action performed by a spacecraft to alter its orbital parameters (e.g., altitude, inclination, eccentricity), typically involving a delta-v burn to achieve a desired trajectory change for mission objectives or station-keeping.
BACKGROUND
Outer space, or simply space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth's atmosphere and between celestial bodies. It contains ultra-low levels of particle densities, constituting a near-perfect vacuum of predominantly hydrogen and helium plasma, permeated by electromagnetic radiation, cosmic rays, neutrinos, magnetic fields and dust. The baseline temperature of outer space, as set by the background radiation from the Big Bang, is 2.7 kelvins.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Orbit adjustment
- delta-v burn
- trajectory correction maneuver (TCM)
- station-keeping
USAGE NOTE
Essential for maintaining satellite positions, avoiding collisions, and transferring between orbits.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Orbital Maneuver.
Designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. Their Starlink constellation, Dragon capsules, and other missions perform numerous complex orbital maneuvers for deployment, station-keeping, and re-entry.
Develops advanced space systems, including satellites and spacecraft servicing vehicles like the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), which performs precise orbital maneuvers to rendezvous and dock with client satellites for life extension.
Specializes in on-orbit servicing and active debris removal, developing technologies that rely heavily on sophisticated orbital maneuvering capabilities to inspect, capture, and deorbit defunct satellites and space debris.
A leading provider of space technology, manufacturing satellites with advanced propulsion systems for orbital maintenance, repositioning, and deorbiting, performing various forms of orbital maneuvers. Also involved in robotic on-orbit servicing.
Provides in-space transportation and infrastructure services, using water plasma propulsion to perform orbital transfers and last-mile delivery for satellites, directly enabling efficient orbital maneuvers.
Develops orbital maneuvering vehicles and in-space transportation services for a range of orbital altitudes, focusing on efficient propulsion and precise maneuver capabilities to deliver payloads to their final destinations.
Designs and manufactures high-performance satellite propulsion systems, including green propellants, that enable satellites to perform critical orbital maneuvers such as station-keeping, orbit changes, and deorbiting.
As a major space agency, ESA conducts numerous missions involving sophisticated orbital maneuvers, from launch and deployment to deep space exploration, station-keeping for Earth observation, and research into active debris removal.