NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 20130013673: The Orbital Debris Problem and the Challenges for Environment Remediation

5.7 MB·English

by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The Orbital Debris Problem and the
Challenges for Environment Remediation
J.-C. Liou, PhD
NASA Orbital Debris Program Office
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
[email protected]
Space Debris Symposium
Fukuoka, Japan, 25 January 2013
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Outline
• Buildup of the Orbital Debris Population
• What Are Orbital Debris?
• Sources of Orbital Debris
• Challenges to Preserve the Space Environment
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The Historical Orbital Debris Environment
(Only objects in the US Space Surveillance Network, SSN, are shown. Sizes of the dots are not to scale.)
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
What Are Orbital Debris?
• Orbital debris are all human-made objects in orbit about
the Earth which no longer serve any useful purpose
Objects in the Near-Earth Environment
R/Bs, S/C
Breakup Fragments
s
i
r
b
e Mission-related Debris
D

l
a
t NaK
i
b
r
O Al O Al O (slag)
2 3 2 3
Paint Flakes MLI Pieces
Meteoroids
10 m 100 m 1 mm 1 cm 10 cm 1 m 10 m
Size (diameter)
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Rocket Bodies (R/Bs) and Spacecraft (S/C)
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Satellite Breakups
• More than 210 explosions have been documented
since 1957
• Four accidental collisions among the cataloged
objects have occurred so far
– 1991: Russian Sat (launched in 1988)  Russian fragment
– 1996: French Sat (launched in 1995)  French fragment
– 2005: US R/B (launched in 1974)  PRC fragment
– 2009: Iridium 33 (launched in 1997)  Cosmos 2251 (launched in 1993)
Iridium33 Cosmos 2251
(560 kg) (900 kg) 6/12 JCL
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Laboratory-Based Satellite Collision
Experiments
• The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has
collaborated with Professor Toshiya Hanada
(Kyushu University) on seven laboratory-based
satellite impact experiments
(Target: fully-equipped 20-cm cube-sat, 3-cm Al projectile @ 1.8 km/sec)
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
How Much Junk Is Currently Up There?
Softball size or larger (≥10 cm): ~22,000
(most of them are tracked by the US Space Surveillance Network)
Marble size or larger (≥1 cm): ~500,000
Dot or larger (≥1 mm): >100,000,000
(a grain of salt)
• Total mass: ~6300 tons LEO-to-GEO (~2700 tons in LEO)
• Due to high impact speed in space (~10 km/s in LEO), even sub-mm debris
pose a realistic threat to human spaceflight and robotic missions
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Growth of the Cataloged Populations
Monthly Number of Objects in Earth Orbit by Object Type
18,000
17,000
16,000 Total Objects
15,000
Fragmentation Debris
14,000
Spacecraft
13,000
s 12,000
Mission-related Debris
t
c
11,000
e
j Rocket Bodies
b 10,000
O
Iridium-Cosmos
9,000
f
o
8,000
r
e
b 7,000
m FY-1C ASAT Test ~1100 are
6,000
u
operational
N
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2
5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Year
9/12 JCL
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Mass in Orbit
Monthly Mass of Objects in Earth Orbit by Object Type
7
Total Objects
6
Spacecraft
g) 5 Rocket Bodies
k

f
o Fragmentation Debris

s
n
o 4 Mission-related Debris
li No sign of slowing down!
l
i
m
(

t
bi 3
r
O

n
i
s
s 2
a
M
1
0
6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 0 2
5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Year
10/12 JCL