Orbital debris environment in low Earth orbit: An update

Abstract

Until recently, the definition of the orbital debris environment depended upon mathematical models and limited data which had been obtained as a side product of other space related operations. Measurements conducted to specifically determine the orbital debris environment are now being conducted. These measurements are confirming the general trend of most earlier models are decreasing the uncertainty in how the number of Earth orbiting objects increases with decreasing size. The measurements are also providing data on the altitude and inclination distributions of smaller debris. Sufficient data now exist to remove some simplifying assumptions and update these earlier models.