ARCA Dynamics: Mapping the Cosmos to Prevent Catastrophic Space Collisions

ARCA Dynamics is the first and only company in the world to perform space-based observation of orbiting objects. The founders are three aerospace engineers who met at university in the robotics laboratory, working together on image processing. During experimentation, they realized their technology could observe not just natural objects like stars but also satellites and debris. Observations from the ground are limited as you can only see an object when it passes overhead. But from space, a satellite is constantly moving and can change its observation direction, giving multiple chances to observe a target.

ARCA Dynamics was founded in 2016 by Marco Moriani, Dario Spiller, and Daniele Luchena. After finishing their master's degrees in aerospace engineering, the trio stayed in touch. During a lunch together in a Chinese restaurant, Marco mentioned he had been thinking about creating a company with the aim of detecting debris in space. The others said they'd been thinking the same thing and so they had been unconsciously planning to start the same project. The co-founders kept the receipt from that lunch as a memento. ARCA Dynamics has grown from a few people to a team of about 20.

At the heart of ARCA's mission lies one crucial measurement: state vectors. A state vector is the fundamental information needed to know a satellite's position in space. Put simply, it's a mathematical snapshot and a precise record of where an object is and how fast it's moving. Once you define the state vector, you can simulate the satellite's position evolution. With satellites flying fast alongside a growing number of other satellites, there's a constant risk of collision.

Satellites race through crowded orbits, creating a constant risk of collision. Unlike airplanes or cars, there’s no pilot onboard to react when something goes wrong as satellites are fully autonomous. A collision can disrupt critical services like internet access, weather forecasting, and military operations. But maneuvers are also costly, requiring the use of the onboard propellant and interrupting the mission, so operators must be certain a collision is likely before acting. ARCA delivers the precise state vectors needed to accurately assess risk, avoid unnecessary maneuvers, and keep vital services online.

The stakes go even higher when you consider debris. Two satellites that collide create thousands, even millions of debris pieces. These are high-speed bullets flying without control that can hit and destroy other satellites. If we don't put policies in place to control debris proliferation, at some point humans won't be able to exploit space. ARCA's expertise in preventing these consequences has attracted top-tier clients, including the European Space Agency.

Pulling data from objects orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth and turning it into usable information in Rome takes precision, coordination, and teamwork. ARCA team member Vittorio handles satellite tasking, deciding where and when they have the best opportunities to observe targets. Once they receive data back, Paolo performs image processing to identify if something was captured. It's not an easy task, as the small object is flying at high speed. The pictures aren't like photos we capture on our phones, instead many algorithms are used to isolate the intended target. The last step is orbital determination. They capture only a few seconds of frames from entire orbits lasting at least 90 minutes, then reconstruct the orbit to define the state vector.

ARCA is planning to launch a larger satellite capable of processing images directly in orbit, cutting out delays from transmitting data to Earth. AI implementation onboard will increase the number of targets they can observe during a single acquisition. Their vision for the next 10 to 20 years is satellites that can chart and adjust their own paths autonomously, performing maneuvers without waiting for ground instructions.

Brian Thompson from PTC explains how Creo helps companies like ARCA Dynamics optimize cable harness designs. When you're putting things into orbit, Creo is known for very high fidelity, highly robust, and accurate part geometry and assembly creation - it’s extremely accurate.