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Contribution of explosion and future collision fragments to the orbital debris environmentThe time evolution of the near-earth man-made orbital debris environment modeled by numerical simulation is presented in this paper. The model starts with a data base of orbital debris objects which are tracked by the NORAD ground radar system. The current untrackable small objects are assumed to result from explosions and are predicted from data collected from a ground explosion experiment. Future collisions between earth orbiting objects are handled by the Monte Carlo method to simulate the range of collision possibilities that may occur in the real world. The collision fragmentation process between debris objects is calculated using an empirical formula derived from a laboratory spacecraft impact experiment to obtain the number versus size distribution of the newly generated debris population. The evolution of the future space debris environment is compared with the natural meteoroid background for the relative spacecraft penetration hazard.
Document ID
19850057829
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Su, S.-Y.
(Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Co., Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Kessler, D. J.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: Advances in Space Research
Volume: 5
Issue: 2, 19
ISSN: 0273-1177
Subject Category
Astronautics (General)
Accession Number
85A39980
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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