A Case Study of Debris Characterization by Remote Sensing
Abstract
Analysis of orbital debris data has revealed a band of anomalously high debris concentration between 800 Km, and 1000 Km, altitudes. Detective work by NASA has shown the likely origin to be leaking coolant fluid from nuclear power sources that powered a now defunct Soviet space-based series of ocean surveillance satellites. A project has been in progress at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to detect, track and characterize a small sample of the anomalous debris. The primary sensors used for the purpose are the Haystack radar, the Millstone hill radar, TRADEX and the Firepond optical observatory. The major question addressed was - can we infer the composition of the material the droplets are made of? The techniques being used to detect, track and characterize the sample set will be described in this report. Results of the characterization analysis will also be presented.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 18, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA359035
Entities
People
- E. M. Gaposchkin
- J. E. Kansky
- R. Lambour
- R. Sridharan
- W. I. Beavers
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology