A New Approach to Space Situational Awareness using Small Ground-Based Telescopes

Anheier, Norman C. ; Chen, Cliff S.

关键词: space situational awareness;    EMCCD camera;    space debris;    small telescopes;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1171901
RP-ID  :  PNNL-23994
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1171901
Others  :  Other: 400809000

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

This report discusses a new SSA approach evaluated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) that may lead to highly scalable, small telescope observing stations designed to help manage the growing space surveillance burden. Using the methods and observing tools described in this report, the team was able to acquire and track very faint satellites (near Pluto???s apparent brightness). Photometric data was collected and used to correlate object orbital position as a function of atomic clock-derived time. Object apparent brightness was estimated by image analysis and nearby star calibration. The measurement performance was only limited by weather conditions, object brightness, and the sky glow at the observation site. In the future, these new SSA technologies and techniques may be utilized to protect satellite assets, detect and monitor orbiting debris fields, and support Outer Space Treaty monitoring and transparency.