Orbital dynamics and characterization of space debris via optical observations

Abstract

Studying the long-term dynamical evolution of space debris and the development of optical measurements help us to avoid collision risks caused by these objects. In this work we studied the long-term evolution of space debris orbits, in GEO and MEO regions, under the effect of natural perturbations. The perturbations considered are the Earth’s gravitational field, luni-solar attraction and solar radiation pressure as well. To characterize and track the space debris we used the optical space surveillance system (OSTS) constructed by the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysical (NRIAG). To better understanding the long-period dynamics we carried out several numerical explorations on space debris with small area-to-mass ratio (between 0.009𝑚𝑚2/𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 and 0.09𝑚𝑚2/𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘). We found that zonal potential and solar radiation pressure play an important role in the dynamics of the problem.

Keywords

• space debris
• optical measurements
• long-term dynamics
• collision
• perturbation