Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA)
NPR 8079.1 is the NASA Procedural Requirement for NASA Spacecraft Conjunction Analysis and Collision Avoidance for Space Environment Protection. This NPR establishes minimum collision avoidance requirements and associated operational protocols for NASA space flight programs, projects, and spacecraft to protect the space environment by reducing the risk of collision to an acceptable level. This includes requirements for early-phase planning and documentation, on-orbit conjunction risk assessments and mitigations, and disposal.
Supported CARA Missions
CARA support is an Agency service provided via NASA Mission Directorate funding for NASA missions.
CARA Research and Development
CARA directs R & D efforts in all CA-related areas, but the principal focus is on collision risk assessment (RA), meaning determination of which events are truly risky and thus require mitigation.
Training Materials
The CARA operations process is a three-step process involving the CARA Orbital Safety Analysts.
Publicly Available CARA Software
NASA CARA works to assist other space operators in understanding responsible space operations is to make publicly available the source code and documentation for key conjunction risk assessment algorithms.
