Solid-rocket-motor contribution to large-particle orbital debris population

Ojakangas, G. W.; Anderson, B. J.; Anz-Meador, P.

doi:10.2514/3.26793

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

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“…Major uses of SRMs have historically been as LEO-to-GTO (geosynchronous transfer orbit) boosters and as GTO-to-GEO circularizers [44,45]. Aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) included as an additive in the propellant escapes the chamber as dust during burn and as much larger particles at the end of burn.…”

Section: Debris Identification --Known Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The predicted growth of the low-Earth orbit space debris environment — an assessment of future risk for spacecraft

Krisko

2007

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

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Abstract:Space debris is a worldwide-recognized issue concerning the safety of commercial, military, and exploration spacecraft. The space debris environment includes both naturally occuring meteoroids and objects in Earth orbit that are generated by human activity, termed orbital debris. Space agencies around the world are addressing the dangers of debris collisions to both crewed and robotic spacecraft. In the United States, the Orbital Debris Program Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center leads the effort to categorize debris, predict its growth, and formulate mitigation policy for the environment from low Earth orbit (LEO) through geosynchronous orbit (GEO). This paper presents recent results derived from the NASA long-term debris environment model, LEGEND. It includes the revised NASA sodium potassium droplet model, newly corrected for a factor of two over-estimation of the droplet population. The study indicates a LEO environment that is already highly collisionally active among orbital debris larger than 1 cm in size. Most of the modeled collision events are non-catastrophic (i.e., They lead to a cratering of the target, but no large scale fragmentation.). But they are potentially mission-ending, and take place between impactors smaller than 10 cm and targets larger than 10 cm. Given the small size of the impactor these events would likely be undetectable by present-day measurement means. The activity continues into the future as would be expected. Impact rates of about four per year are predicted by the current study within the next 30 years, with the majority of targets being abandoned intacts (spent upper stages and spacecraft). Still, operational spacecraft do show a small collisional activity, one that increases over time as the small fragment population increases. IntroductionThe growth of orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) and beyond has continued since the beginning of the space age. The launching into orbit and abandonment of spent satellites (i.e., upper stages and spacecraft (payloads)) at end-of-life has certainly contributed to that growth. However, more insidious sources such as accidental explosions of satellites and release of material or objects by design or accident have contributed to much higher fluxes of orbiting debris over the years. Though these objects are generally much less massive than their intact parents, they still represent dangerous possible impactors. Existing international programs of orbital debris study are dedicated to impact testing with accompanying simulations [1][2][3], remote and in-situ measurements of the near-Earth environment [4][5][6][7][8][9], and debris environment modeling [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. National safety standards with respect to the protection of spacecraft from 1 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070024897 2018-05-09T04:35:43+00:00Z orbital debris impacts have grown around these research efforts [28][29][30][31]. Recognizing the issue as international has led to cooperation in the study ...

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Section: Debris Identification --Known Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%