Space Debris -- Optical Measurements

TL;DR

This paper discusses how optical telescopes and astronomical techniques like astrometry, photometry, and spectroscopy are used to discover, monitor, and characterize space debris, aiding in collision avoidance and debris removal efforts.

Contribution

It provides an overview of space debris population, their characteristics, and the role of optical measurements in tracking and understanding these objects.

Findings

Optical surveys help discover new space debris objects.

Follow-up observations improve orbit accuracy and physical characterization.

Astronomical techniques are essential tools in space debris research.

Abstract

Space debris is a major threat to the satellite infrastructure. A collision with even small particle, e.g. 1 cm of size, can cause a catastrophic event when the parent body, spacecraft or upper stage, will break up into hundreds of trackable fragments. Space debris research helps to discover, monitor and characterize these objects, identify their origin and support their active removal. Surveys with optical telescopes aim to discover new objects for cataloguing and to increase the accuracy of space debris population models. The follow-up observations are performed to improve their orbits or to investigate their physical characteristics. We will present the space debris population, its orbital and physical characteristics and we will discuss the role which the optical telescopes play in space debris research. We will also discuss the adopted astronomical techniques like astrometry, photometry and spectroscopy used in the space debris domain.