Orbital Debris A Technical Assessment (1995) / Chapter Skim
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3 DEBRIS POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
3 DEBRIS POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
Pages 63-78
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From page 63... ...
Figure 3-3 quantifies Figure 3-2 by portraying the approximate spatial density of cataloged objects at various altitudes. Clear concentrations can be seen at less than 2,000-km altitude (LEO)
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From page 64... ...
1/10,000 1/1000 11100 1/10 1 10 10 1000 Debris Swarms measured by LDEF Satellite Orbital debris found from chemical ok/ analysis on LDEF Satellite Estimated uncatalog ed ok/ orbital debris population Goldstone Radar _ / Haystack Radar _' Telescopes Cataloged ~ orbiting __debris I ~ I 11 ~10-3 10-2 10-1 10° 1o1 1o2 103 Diameter in centimeters 104 FIGURE 3-' Number of objects in LEO as estimated from various measurements. SOURCE: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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SOURCE: Kaman Sciences Corporation. lion of cataloged objects; at more than 16,000 km, spacecraft and rocket bodies constitute the majority.
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SOURCE: Prepared by Kaman Sciences Corporation based on U.S. Space Command Satellite Catalog.
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From page 67... ...
Differing orbital inclinations also cause asymmetric distributions in the LEO satellite population by latitude. For example, objects in low-inclination orbits do not contribute to the apparent congestion or bunching of objects in the higher temperate zones, and since few objects are in truly polar orbits (with inclinations of 90 degrees)
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FIGUrIE 3-6 Inclination distribution of cataloged population. SOURCE: Prepared by Kaman Sciences Corporation, based in part on U.S.
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From page 69... ...
and orbital planes that intersect throughout the entire geostationary ring. Figure 3-7 shows the current spatial density of cataloged objects near GEO.
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From page 70... ...
Medium-sized debris, which often has a higher ratio of cross-sectional-area to mass than large debris, will often be more strongly affected by atmospheric drag and thus will experience more rapid orbital decay. Although there are no measurement data proving the origins of medium-sized debris, most likely the population is composed of fragmentation debris and mission-related objects (since nonfunctional spacecraft and rocket bodies are obviously large debris)
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From page 71... ...
Space Command population of cataloged objects. SOURCE: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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From page 73... ...
73 In a' of: ._ a_ En o LL to a)
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From page 74... ...
As mentioned previously, the Haystack data suggest that there may be major sources of centimeter-sized orbital debris other than previously recorded breakups. The large number of objects in orbits between 900 and 1,000 km with orbital inclinations between 60 and 70 degrees suggests that there is a significant source of debris in this area.
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From page 75... ...
Perturbing forces affect the orbits of small debris even more strongly than the orbits of medium-sized debris. In particular, the typically larger ratios of cross-sectional-area to mass of small debris means they are more strongly affected by solar radiation pressures and atmospheric drag.
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From page 76... ...
Finding 2: In the limited regions where measurements of the mediumsized debris population have been made, the altitude distribution of the medium-sized objects shows a strong similarity to that of large cataloged objects (except at low altitudes where the influence of atmospheric drag is strong)
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From page 77... ...
1994. Haystack Radar Measurements of the Orbital Debris Environment.
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From page 78... ...
Erratum: This chart should replace the one appearing in Figure 4-3 on page 82 in Orbital Debris: A Technical Assessment.
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