Abstract
The increasing number of satellites orbiting around Earth has led to an uncontrolled increase in objects within the orbital environment. Since the beginning of the space age on 4 October 1957 (launch of Sputnik I), there have been more than 4900 space launches, leading to over 18,000 satellites and ground-trackable objects currently orbiting the Earth. For each satellite launched, several other objects are also sent into orbit, including rocket upper stages, instrument covers, and so on. Having a reliable system for tracking objects and satellites and monitoring their attitude is at present a mandatory challenge in order to prevent dangerous collisions and an increase in space debris. In this paper, the evaluation of the reflection coefficient of different shaped objects has been carried out by means of the bi-static reflection method, also known as NRL arch measurement, in order to evaluate their visibility and attitude in a wide range of frequencies (12–18 GHz). The test campaign aims to correlate the experimental measures with the hypothetical reflection properties of orbiting systems.
Highlights
The determination of the attitude of satellites and orbiting objects is one of the most important tasks for presentday space safety [1,2,3]
Having a reliable system for tracking objects and satellites and monitoring their attitude is at present a mandatory challenge in order to prevent dangerous collisions and an increase in space debris
The test campaign aims to correlate the experimental measures with the hypothetical reflection properties of orbiting systems
Summary
The determination of the attitude (i.e., the orientation with respect to a given frame of reference) of satellites and orbiting objects is one of the most important tasks for presentday space safety [1,2,3]. The ever-increasing quantity of space debris, imposes an increasingly pressing need to evaluate the trajectory and effects of these potentially dangerous objects Regarding this critical issue, it is essential to remember that in 2014 the European Commission, conscious of the present urgency, undertook the development of a European network of sensors for the surveillance and tracking of orbiting objects and initiated a specific SST (Space Surveillance and Tracking) support framework program. Germany, the U.K., France, and Spain joined the program and constituted, with SatCent, the front desk for SST services, the EUSST Consortium In this frame, with several thousand objects orbiting around Earth, having a tool similar to a radar system that could help to track objects and determine their attitude and re-entry trajectory is of primary importance. Knowing the attitude using radar systems, becomes one of the fundamental tasks for the detection of space debris, as demonstrated by the recent case of the Chinese Space Station Tiangong-1 [12]
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