Transcript Progress on AI 23.2 Report for WG1

Optical properties of GEO and HEO space
objects population
discovered and tracked by ISON
Vladimir Agapov, Victor Stepanyants, Igor Molotov
Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics RAS
Alexandr Lapshin
Astronomical Scientific Center “Project-technics”, JSC
29th ISTS Conference
June 2-9, 2013, Nagoya, Japan
International Scientific Optical Network
• ISON is an open international non-government project
developed to be an independent source of data about space
objects for scientific analysis and S/C operators
• Additional scientific goals – discovery and study of asteroids,
comets and GRB afterglows
• ISON optical network represents one of largest systems
specializing in observation of space objects
• Cooperative project already joins 33 observation facilities of
various affiliation in 14 countries. Overall coordination is
performing by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of
the Russian Academy of Sciences (KIAM).
• Maintenance and operation of the network is performing jointly
by KIAM and Astronomical scientific center (ASC) “Projecttechnics”, JSC
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Map of ISON observatories
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ISON structure
• 5 telescope subsets
- global GEO survey (down to 15.5m)
- tracking of the faint (fainter than 15.5m) space debris at GEO
and GTO
- tracking of bright GEO and HEO objects
- HEO survey and extended GEO survey
- asteroids researches
• 3 network operation supporting groups:
- optical telescope and mount design & production
- observatory software elaboration
- observation planning and data processing
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Global GEO survey subsystem: 8 of 22 cm, 4 of
25 cm and 1 of 50 cm telescopes with FOV of
3.5- 5.5 degree
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Subsystem for faint debris tracking:
AT-64 Nauchny-1, RC-800 Mayaki, S-600 Andrushivka, AZT-8
Gissar, AZT-14 Mondy, Zeiss-600 Arkhyz, ORI-40 in Kitab, ORI-40 in
Khuraltogot
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Subsystem for tracking of bright GEO and HEO objects:
GAS-250 in Ussuriysk, BNC-250 in Uzhgorod, Sajen-TM in
Arkhyz, ORI-25 in Blagoveschensk, ORI-25 in Tiraspol, ORI-25
in Kislovodsk, PH-1 n Nauchniy-1,
AZT-28 in Priozersk,
TAL-250 in Barnaul
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HEO survey (Nauchniy-1 and Kislovodsk) and
extended GEO survey (Khuraltogot, Sanglokh,
Kislovodsk and Nauchniy-1) consist of telescopes
with FOV of 7 degree
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ISON Database
As of the mid of April 2013 stores:
• Measurement, orbital and descriptive information on
~4800 objects ever observed by ISON, including
– more than 1800 ones in GEO region,
– more than 2700 ones at HEO orbits,
– more than 270 ones at MEO orbits.
• More than 15.6 millions of astrometric position (RA, DEC)
measurements
• More than 14.8 millions of brightness measurements
• More than 2 millions records on estimated parameters of
orbits and the corresponding covariance matrices of errors
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ISON Database
HEO, MEO and GEO objects currently onorbit
The ISON database contains information for more than 3260
HEO, MEO and GEO objects currently on-orbit with orbits
updating using ISON optical measurements
960 of these objects are newly discovered during 10 years of
ISON work
270 HEO and GEO space debris objects are discovered in 2012
(compare to 168 ones discovered in 2011 and 61 – in 2010),
88 new ones are discovered already in 2013 (as of Jun 1st).
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HEO, MEO and GEO Objects
in ISON Database
Objects associated with
Molniya-type orbit launches
Objects associated with
GTO launches
Objects originated in GEO
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Distribution of observing GEO objects
by period and inclination
Discovered fragments
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ISON Database
HEO, MEO and GEO objects brightness
More than 14.8 millions of valid brightness measurements for
more than 3400 objects are obtained
4400 brightness measurements per each object in average are
collected during processing CCD images obtained during
normal observations (survey and tasking)
More than 10000 brightness measurements per object are
collected for a group of the most often observed 450
objects (up to 55000 brightness measurements per
individual object)
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Brightness distribution
of observing GEO objects
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Each object is assumed as a diffuse sphere with albedo of 0.15
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Differences between diffuse sphere phase function and real phase
function for particular object are ignored
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Standard brightness (referring to a zero phase angle and 40000 km
distance) is calculated for each object based on all collected
measurements to the date
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Objects are split into 3 groups:
 spacecraft,
 rocket bodies (upper stages, AKMs),
 fragments and objects of undetermined type
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ISON Tracked GEO Objects Distribution
by Standard Magnitude – 1704 objects
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ISON Tracked GEO Objects Distribution
by Standard Magnitude – 1704 objects
approx. 1 m
size
approx. 10 cm
size
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ISON Tracked GEO Fragments and
Objects of Undetermined Type
approx. 1 m
size
approx. 10 cm
size
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ISON Tracked GEO Spacecraft
Standard Magnitude vs. Launch Date
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ISON Tracked GEO Upper Stages
Standard Magnitude vs. Launch Date
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HEO Observations by ISON
• Observations of HEO are obtained mostly as an additional
output of regular GEO surveys
• Measurements are collected for 1585 HEO objects, including
270 ones for which data are not provided at SpaceTrack
• Data are not analyzed yet by an object type (spacecraft,
upper stages, fragments) in a manner of GEO objects so only
common data are presented
• Standard brightness (referring to 40000 km distance and zero
phase angle) is calculated
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Conclusions
Brightness measurement information is collected for more than
4800 GEO, HEO and MEO objects in the ISON database,
including 960 ones without orbital data at SpaceTrack
Analysis of GEO, HEO and MEO objects brightness distribution is
performed. Comparison is made for standard brightness
distribution for objects of different type and at different orbits.
Standard brightness distribution for HEO objects tracking by
ISON seems is different to the one for GEO objects. But it is not
possible to make a definitive conclusion at this moment. The
study is continuing.
Variations of the standard brightness are studied.
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Acknowledgements
Great thanks to all ISON observers and engineers
Special thanks to the AIUB team for support of
continuing multiyear cooperative GEO and HEO debris
research especially HAMR ones
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