Debris cloud of India Anti-Satellite Test to Microsat-R Satellite

TL;DR

This study analyzes the debris cloud from India's anti-satellite test, providing orbit data, debris count estimates, and insights into collision risks and fragment lifetimes in space.

Contribution

It offers detailed orbit analysis and debris quantification from the test, highlighting potential secondary collision risks and fragment longevity.

Findings

57 debris fragments observed, with 10 above 1000 km altitude.

Estimated over 7.2 hundred thousand debris particles larger than 1 mm.

Secondary collisions could generate more space debris.

Abstract

Understanding the motion of debris cloud produced by the anti-satellite test can help us to know the danger of these tests. This study presents the orbit status of 57 fragments observed by the CelesTrak and presented in the NORAD Two-Line Element Sets of India Anti-Satellite Test. There are 10 of these observed fragments have altitudes of the apogee larger than 1000.0km, the maximum one is 1725.7km. We also numerical calculated the number of debris, the results show that the number of debris with the diameter larger than 0.2m is 14, the number of debris with the diameter larger than 0.01m is 6587, and the number of debris with the diameter larger than 0.001m is 7.22e+5. The results of the secondary collision of the debris will produced more fragments in the space. The life time of the fragments depends on the initial orbit parameters and the sizes of the debris.