the threat of orbital debris and protecting nasa space...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Threat of Orbital Debris and Protecting NASA Space Assets from

Satellite Collisions

28 April 2009


2

Executive Summary

• Collision avoidance processes are in place for all NASA human space flight missions and for maneuverable robotic assets in low Earth orbit and within 200 km of the geosynchronous orbit.

– Required by NASA Procedural Requirements 8715.6A (Section 3.4).

• DoD screens for close approaches (conjunction assessments) and provides miss distance and uncertainty information to NASA.

• NASA computes the probability of collision, analyzes the risk, and makes maneuver decision.

• During 2008, this process led to five collision avoidance maneuvers:S p a c ec ra f t M a n e uv e r D a te O b je ct A v o ide d

Aura 2 6 - Ju n -2 0 0 8 T R IA D 1 d e b ri s

Clo ud s at 2 0 - Ju l- 20 0 8 De l ta r o ck et b o d y d eb r is

IS S 2 7- A u g -2 0 0 8 C o sm o s 2 4 2 1 d e b r is

TD RS 5 1 -O c t-2 0 0 8 C os m o s 1 8 8 8

P AR A S O L (F ra n c e) 1 9- O c t-2 0 0 8 Fe n g yu n -1 C de b r is


3

Growth of the Satellite Population

1960 1965 1970

1975 1980 1985

1990 1995 2000>95% of Tracked Object Population are Debris

2005

January 2009


4

What is Orbital Debris?

• Space debris encompasses both natural (meteoroid) and artificial(man-made) particles.

• Meteoroids are in orbit about the Sun, while most artificial debris are in orbit about the Earth. Hence, the latter are more commonly referred to as orbital debris.

• Orbital debris is any man-made object in orbit about the Earth which no longer serves a useful function.• Non-functional spacecraft• Abandoned launch vehicle stages• Mission-related debris• Fragmentation debris

• For most size regimes, the flux of orbital debris within 2000 km of the Earth’s surface already exceeds the flux of meteoroids.


5

Recent Growth of Satellite Population in Low Earth Orbit

• The growth of the cataloged satellite population during the past 15 years has been primarily influenced by China’s ASAT test in January 2007.

0.E+ 00

1.E-08

2.E-08

3.E-08

4.E-08

5.E-08

200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400 1 600 18 00 20 00

A ltitu de (km )

19 94

19 99

20 04

20 09

Spa

tial D

ensi

ty

(obj

ects

per

km

3)

Site of 10 February Collision

Altitude of Chinese

ASAT test

ISS Altitude Regime


6

Satellite Environment Characterization

• NASA and DoD cooperate and share responsibilities for characterizing the satellite (including orbital debris) environment.

• DoD’s Space Surveillance Network discretely tracks objects as small as 5 cm in low Earth orbit and about 1 m in geosynchronous orbit.

– Currently, ~14,000 officially cataloged objects are still in orbit.– Total tracked objects exceeds 19,000.

• Using special ground-based sensors and inspections of returned satellite surfaces, NASA statistically determines the extent of the population for objects less than 10 cm.

– Number of debris in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO)* 1 cm or greater exceeds 300,000.

• The combined results are used for spacecraft and launch vehicle design and operations.

* Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) refers orbits ranging in altitudes from up to 2000 km above the Earth’s surface; Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) refers to orbits at ~36,000 km above the Earth’s surface; at that distance, an orbits the Earth in a 24-hour period.


7

Collision Risks

• Collision risks are divided into three categories depending upon size of threat.

• ~ 10 cm and larger: Conjunction assessments and collision avoidance maneuvers are effective in countering objects which can be tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network.

– Collisions of this type are potentially catastrophic.

• 1 – 10 cm: Objects in this category are usually too small to track and too large to shield against.

– Collisions of this type can disable or disrupt a mission.

• < 1 cm: Debris shields can be effective in withstanding impacts of particles in this category.

– Unshielded portions of satellite subject can lead to mission degradation or loss.

• The greatest risk to space missions comes from non-trackable debris.


8

U.S. Space Surveillance Network

DIEGOGARCIA

AFSSSCAPE COD

LSSCBEALE

FYLINGDALESCLEAR

THULE

CAVALIER

MAUI & MSSS Kwaj

SOCORRO

ASCENSION

EGLIN

LSSC = Lincoln Space Surveillance CenterMillstone, Haystack, HAX

MSSS = Maui Space Surveillance System(former AMOS/MOTIF site)

AFSSS = Air Force Space Surveillance System

MOSS

Organized as:

• Dedicated = primary

• Collateral = secondary

• Contributing = contracted services

Tracking RadarDetection RadarImaging RadarOptical TelescopePassive Receiver

COBRA DANE

GLOBUS II


9

Space Shuttle Vulnerabilities

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

5.5

6.5

0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

Haystack Radar

Haystack Auxiliary Radar

Space Surveillance NetworkGoldstone Radars

Spacecraft Surface Inspections

Window Replacement

EVA Suit Penetration

Radiator Penetration

Debris Diameter in Centimeters

RCC Penetration

TPS Tile Penetration

Cabin Penetration

Cargo Bay Damage

Potential Shuttle Damage


10

Debris Environment for International Space Station

2009

1.E-07

1.E-06

1.E-05

1.E-04

1.E-03

1.E-02

1.E-01

1.E+00

1.E+01

1.E+02

1.E+03

0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Particle Diameter (cm)

Flux

(no/

m2/

year

SSN Catalog nearly

complete for objects

greater than 10 cm

Some SSN data on

objects 5 - 10 cm

No SSN tracking data

for objects smaller than 5

cm

Impacts by debris smaller than 0.3 cm

not critical to ISS


11

Evolution of NASA Collision Avoidance Process

• NASA implemented a conjunction assessment and collision avoidance process for human spaceflight beginning with STS-26 in 1988.

– Initially based upon simple miss distance and a 4-km by 10-km by 4-km ellipsoid (picture a protected football-shaped volume [keep out] around the Shuttle).

• Before launch of the first element of ISS in 1998, NASA and DoD jointly developed and implemented a more sophisticated and higher fidelity conjunction assessment process for human spaceflight missions.

– Also adopted by other USG national space assets.

• In 2005, NASA implemented a similar process for selected robotic assets, e.g., the Earth Observation System satellites in LEO and TDRSS in GEO.

• In 2007, NASA Procedural Requirements 8715.6 extended the conjunction assessment process to all NASA maneuverable satellites within LEO and within 200 km of GEO.


12

Basic Conjunction Assessment and Collision Avoidance Process

• DoD maintains high accuracy satellite catalog on objects which pose a threat to designated NASA space assets.

– Lower fidelity, publicly available data (“two-line element sets”) are NOT used.

• DoD’s Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) is responsible for performing conjunction assessments for all designated NASA space assets in accordance with an established schedule, i.e., every 8 hours for human spaceflight vehicles and daily Monday through Friday for robotic vehicles.

– All objects tracked by SSN are considered: cataloged and uncataloged.

• JSpOC notifies NASA (JSC for human spaceflight and GSFC for robotic missions) of conjunctions which meet established criteria.

– Data are exchanged 24/7 via direct links and telecon between JSpOC and JSC/GSFC.

• JSpOC tasks SSN to collect additional tracking data on threat object to improve conjunction assessment accuracy.


13

Basic Conjunction Assessment and Collision Avoidance Process (continued)

• NASA computes the probability of collision, based upon miss distance and uncertainty provided by JSpOC.

• Based upon specific flight rules and detailed risk analysis, NASA decides if a collision avoidance maneuver is necessary.

• If a maneuver is required, NASA provides planned post-maneuver orbital data to JSpOC for screening of near-term conjunctions. This process can be repeated if planned new orbit puts the NASA vehicle at risk of future collision with the same or another space object.

• In the case of a NASA robotic satellite, a second maneuver might be required for the vehicle to resume its mission. This maneuver also would be coordinated with JSpOC.

• NASA also informs JSpOC prior to normal operational maneuvers to aid future conjunction assessments.


14

Debris Avoidance Maneuver Planning for Human Spaceflight Operations

• Debris avoidance maneuvers are planned when the probability of collision from a conjunction reaches limits set in the Shuttle and ISS flight rules:

– Probability > 1 in 100,000: Maneuver if it will not result in significant impact to mission objectives.

– Probability > 1 in 10,000: Maneuver unless it will result in additional risk to crew (re-flight, additional spacewalk, etc.).

• Debris avoidance maneuvers are usually small and occur from one to several hours before the time of the conjunction.

– Shuttle can plan and execute a debris avoidance maneuver in a matter of hours.– ISS requires around 30 hours to plan and execute a debris avoidance maneuver,

mainly due to dependence on Russian propulsion assets.

• Both the Shuttle and ISS have conducted several collision avoidance maneuvers during the past 10 years.

the threat of orbital debris and protecting nasa space...

Documents