Ground-based Test and Evaluation of Pinned Plasma Solitons Generated by Orbital Debris
Abstract
Orbital debris can range from paint chips to rocket stages to defunct satellites. Given orbital speeds of ? 7km/s, even the smallest, mm-scale debris can be hazardous to spacecraft, causing degraded performance or, if the impact occurs on a particularly critical component, mission termination. Additionally, the space environment is becoming more hazardous, with increasing launches of commercial satellite constellations, as well as the 2007 Chinese antisatellite test and 2009 Iridium-Kosmos collision. However, it is not currently possible to detect orbital debris smaller than 5 cm in size using conventional optical and radar technology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 21, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95502110161XX0
Entities
People
- Christine Hartzell
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Maryland