Innovative orbit determination algorithms for Debris surveillance in the LEO region.
- Paper number
IAC-11,A6,2,13,x11052
- Author
Dr. Linda Dimare, Space Dynamics Services s.r.l., Italy
- Coauthor
Mr. Davide Farnocchia, SpaceDyS s.r.l., Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. Giovanni Federico Gronchi, University of Pisa, Italy
- Coauthor
Prof. Andrea Milani Comparetti, Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. Alessandro Rossi, IFAC-CNR, Italy
- Year
2011
- Abstract
We present the results of a large scale simulation, aimed to catalog space debris objects in the upper part of the low Earth orbits region (LEO), by the use of an innovative system of optical sensors. The purpose is to determine the achievable possibilities of an advanced optical network, through the use of the newest orbit determination algorithms developed by the Department of Mathematics of Pisa (DM). Such a network has been proposed to ESA in the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) framework by Carlo Gavazzi Space SpA, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), DM and Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione (ISTI-CNR). A new orbit determination algorithm, based on the first integrals of the Kepler problem and on rigorous tools of Computational Algebra, was developed by DM to solve the critical issue of LEOs orbit determination. Standard methods require at least three observations per pass in order to compute a preliminary orbit. The proposed algorithm can compute an orbit with only two exposures at different passes. This results in a significant reduction in the number of telescopes involved and in the computational cost for the catalog build-up phase. In addition this method takes into account the Earth oblateness effect, which in this case is not negligible, even for the computation of a preliminary orbit. This is essentially due to the low altitude of the orbits considered and to the availability of only one exposure per pass. The population sample used in the simulation was selected from a MASTER2005 Population Model. The sample contained Debris objects down to 5 cm with perigee altitude ranging between 1000 and 1300 km. To assess the goodness of the results, we measured the efficiency of the simulation as the ratio between the number of catalogued orbits and the total number of objects of the sampled population. The developed orbit determination algorithm allowed us to achieve in just two months of survey observations a very high efficiency relative to the sample selected. Moreover, the accuracy of the obtained orbits was good enough to perform follow-up observations of all the catalogued objects. From these results we conclude that the problem of Debris surveillance in the LEO region can be faced in a very effective way by joining together the existing technology, the use of advanced optical sensors and the most innovative computational approaches.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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