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DebrisWatch I : a survey of faint geosynchronous debris

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Blake, James A., Chote, Paul, Pollacco, Don, Feline, William, Privett, Grant, Ash, Andrew, Eves, Stuart, Greenwood, Arthur, Harwood, Nick, Marsh, T. R., Veras, Dimitri and Watson, Christopher (2021) DebrisWatch I : a survey of faint geosynchronous debris. Advances in space research, 67 (1). pp. 360-370. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2020.08.008 ISSN 0273-1177.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2020.08.008

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Abstract

Recent anomalies exhibited by satellites and rocket bodies have highlighted that a population of faint debris exists at geosynchronous (GEO) altitudes, where there are no natural removal mechanisms. Despite previous optical surveys probing to around 10–20 cm in size, regular monitoring of faint sources at GEO is challenging, thus our knowledge remains sparse. It is essential that we continue to explore the faint debris population using large telescopes to better understand the risk posed to active GEO satellites. To this end, we present photometric results from a survey of the GEO region carried out with the 2.54 m Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, Canary Islands. We probe to 21st visual magnitude (around 10 cm, assuming Lambertian spheres with an albedo of 0.1), uncovering 129 orbital tracks with GEO-like motion across the eight nights of dark-grey time comprising the survey. The faint end of our brightness distribution continues to rise until the sensitivity limit of the sensor is reached, suggesting that the modal brightness could be even fainter. We uncover a number of faint, uncatalogued objects that show photometric signatures of rapid tumbling, many of which straddle the limiting magnitude of our survey over the course of a single exposure, posing a complex issue when estimating object size. This work presents the first instalment of DebrisWatch, an ongoing collaboration between the University of Warwick and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (UK) investigating the faint population of GEO debris.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy
Q Science > QC Physics
T Technology > TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Space debris, Geostationary satellites, Space debris -- Tracking , Geostationary satellites -- Spacing , Light curves, Astronomical spectroscopy
Journal or Publication Title: Advances in space research
Publisher: Elsevier Science BV
ISSN: 0273-1177
Official Date: January 2021
Dates:
DateEvent
January 2021Published
19 August 2020Available
4 August 2020Accepted
Volume: 67
Number: 1
Page Range: pp. 360-370
DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2020.08.008
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 10 February 2021
Date of first compliant Open Access: 19 August 2022
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
ST/R505195/1[STFC] Science and Technology Facilities Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000271
ST/R005125/1[STFC] Science and Technology Facilities Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000271
ST/P003850/1[STFC] Science and Technology Facilities Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000271
ST/P000495/1[STFC] Science and Technology Facilities Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000271
UNSPECIFIEDRoyal Societyhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288

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