MODELLING THE HIGH AREA-TO-MASS RATIO DEBRIS IN GEO

摘要

Recent observations performed using the ESA Space Debris Telescope (ESA-SDT) in Tenerife, Spain have revealed a new type of orbital debris. These objects are currently not included in debris models like MASTER-2005. Their diameters are in the order of tens of centimeters. The objects, assumed to be multilayer insulation, may reach area-to-mass ratios in the order of tens of m~2/kg. In this paper, a first approach to a new debris source model for the type of debris discovered during the ESA-SDT observations will be presented. The model will describe the parameters of the observable high area-to-mass ratio objects that can be generated by two types of events. The first is a delamination of thermal insulation material from a spacecraft. The second type of event is a spacecraft fragmentation. The investigation of the design of candidate spacecraft can provide the first parameters of a model. These can be used to determine the overall size distribution of the released insulation material for both types of events. After an implementation of the model and a simulation that takes into account the orbit distribution and evolution of candidate spacecraft, a new debris population can be simulated.