"Cat's eye" effect for satellite laser ranging based on the optical system of remote sensing satellite SiCH-2

Abstract

Remote sensing satellite SiCH-2 from Ukraine was launched in 2011. At present, it has stopped working and is out of control, and it has been forecasted to become space debris by a two-line root (TLE) from the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). Here, the "cat's eye" effect of the optical system is analyzed, and the satellite laser ranging (SLR) system at Shanghai Observatory is used to measure the echo intensity of satellite SiCH-2, which is very strong, and the ranging accuracy, which is better than 10 cm. The analysis of the measurement capability results shows that the laser reflection echo from satellite SiCH-2 reaches the laser ranging level of the satellite with the reflector, and is consistent with the detection ability of the photoelectric detection equipment "cat's eye" effect analysis. The measurement results also show that satellite SiCH-2 is in a state of rotation, with a period of 4.3 s. In this study, the laser ranging of on-orbit targets based on the "cat's eye" effect is realized for the first time, which provides a new method for analyzing long-distance space targets, promotes the application and development of high-precision laser ranging technology, and is beneficial to monitor the photoelectric detection series of satellites that fail or have abnormal orbits.

Keywords

• satellite laser ranging
• space debris
• photoelectric detection equipment
• "cat's eye" effect