Abstract
This paper describes a concept of monitoring the debris environment around a certain primary spacecraft by an accompanying micro satellite. Space debris is the collection of objects in orbit around the Earth that is derived from space activities and of no use any more. Space agencies have become more and more susceptible to the debris since it has caused serious damages to operational spacecraft in recent years. Some debris can be observed by optical systems and spacecraft can maneuver to avoid the collisions with them. However, there still exist much small debris in space that cannot be forecasted. Especially, the micro debris, which size is less than 1cm, has become a major threat due to its existing number, the destructive energy, collision probability, and unknown position and velocity. For operational spacecraft, it is a major concern to know the environment around the spacecraft. The micro satellite presented in this paper is designed to detect this micro debris around a primary spacecraft using space debris detector in quasi-real-time, so that the environment and risks in orbit can be better understood based on the measurement. This paper shows the details from the background to the mission analysis.
