CCD Debris Telescope Observations of the Geosynchronous Orbital Debris Environment Observing Year: 2000

摘要

Orbital debris is a concern to all nations that use satellites or launch space vehicles. The debris field scattered near Earth s geosynchronous orbit (GEO) poses a threat to anything residing in or passing through it. To mitigate risk and minimize this environment s expansion, the threat must be understood. NASA has been using the Charged-Coupled Device Debris Telescope (CDT), a transportable 32-cm Schmidt telescope located near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, to help characterize the debris environment in GEO. Using the CDT, researchers conducted systematic searches of the GEO environment as part of an international measurement campaign under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). The objectives for this survey are to determine the extent and character of debris in GEO, specifically by obtaining distributions for the brightness, inclination, right ascension of ascending node (RAAN), and mean motion for the debris. Tests using the CDT for this campaign took place in late 1997 and data collection began in January 1998. This report describes the data taken and all of the data reduction details to make it a standalone report on the Calendar Year (CY) 2000 activities.