抄録
Unnecessary artificial objects, or so-called space debris, orbiting Earth contaminate the orbital environment and represent a serious problem for sustainable space development and use. One fundamental debris countermeasure is object tracking and cataloging. Such catalogs allow spacecraft mission risk assessment and the conducting of collision-avoidance maneuvers. However, the SpaceTrack object catalog released to the public is insufficient because the catalog includes relatively large objects (> 10 cm), only. We propose using two space-based sensors to address this problem and analyze their observational and tracking capabilities. Initial results suggest that approximately 4.2% of objects in low Earth orbit in size of 5-10 cm could be detected by space-based sensors. We also propose collaborative observations with a network of ground-based observatories. The space-based sensors are for detection and initial orbit determination, and the ground-based observatories are for catalog maintenance under collaboration with the space-based sensors. Initial orbit estimates from space-based sensors enable ground observatories to employ the image stacking method. Simulated differences between predicted and true apparent positions and motions indicate that it is possible to observe a target based on orbital data from space-based sensors.
