The population of debris at and beyond GEO
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
We will apply techniques used in cutting edge astrophysics to study and understand the population of debris to the the GEO satellite system. We will try and understand the origin of the debris and its origin. We will also study own defunct satellites - the so called grave-yarded objects in order to determine their fate once their GEO stabilization is removed. We will determine whether spin up through the Yorp effect is responsible for satellites breaking apart. This work has become more urgent given the recent breakup of two GEO operational satellites which could be indicative of an ongoing Kessler syndrome which would have dire consequences for our society.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Don Pollacco (Primary Supervisor) | |
| James Blake (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/R505195/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1917369 | Studentship | ST/R505195/1 | 02/10/2017 | 30/04/2021 | James Blake |
| Title | Our Fragile Space Exhibition |
| Description | Through our Centre for Space Domain Awareness, we have supported (and participated in) a photography exhibition led by Max Alexander, entitled "Our Fragile Space", raising awareness of the space debris problem (reaching the general public and policy makers). |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The exhibition has been very successful in raising awareness, having been hosted by Lloyd's of London, soon to be visiting Coventry Cathedral. The exhibition has received endorsement from celebrities (e.g., Brian May, linked). |
| URL | https://brianmay.com/brians-soapbox/2022/10/our-fragile-space-exhibition/ |
| Description | Through this award, we carried out a survey of faint debris in the geosynchronous (GSO) region, where many high-value communications and defence satellites reside. The survey made use of eight nights of awarded time on the 2.54m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) in La Palma, Canary Islands. Brightness measurements for the resident space objects (RSOs) detected showed a bimodal distribution, with a 'bright' peak corresponding to known (large) RSOs in existing catalogues, and a 'faint' peak associated with the uncatalogued (and uncharacterised) small debris population. In total, roughly 75% of the orbital tracks detected could not be correlated with known objects in existing catalogues, highlighting the severity of the debris problem in high altitude orbits. Further results from the survey are presented in Chapter 3 of the linked thesis. While many of the RSOs detected by the INT were small/faint debris, we also observed several decommissioned satellites in so-called 'graveyard' orbits, less useful orbits where operators are advised to abandon their satellites at the end of the mission lifetime. These old satellites are uncontrolled, and often tumbling as they orbit. Photometric light curves (measurements of brightness over time) can be used to probe the attitude/behaviour of RSOs; for example, highly reflective components can cause sharp or sustained glints/flares in brightness. We commissioned a robotic astrograph in La Palma to observe the GSO satellites visible from that longitude, accruing a database of light curves for these objects to form a training set for future machine learning classification studies. Another outcome of this award was the development of software that has transferred to numerous projects undertaken since. We have built several instrument-specific pipelines to find and characterise RSOs in astronomical images. We have also developed routines to manipulate two-line element sets (the industry standard format for supplying orbital state information), carry out initial orbit determination, and optimise orbital solutions using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. This has significantly enhanced our capabilities to conduct orbital analysis. Finally, we have compared the performance of a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) instrument against a large telescope when tasked with surveilling the GSO region. During our survey with the INT, we carried out simultaneous observations with the aforementioned robotic astrograph. We found that the wide field of view of the astrograph supplemented the survey with numerous detections of bright RSOs, though its sensitivity was not sufficient to uncover the majority of the small debris detections made by the INT. The COTS instrument's smaller readout time allowed for more extensive and uninterrupted light curves to be extracted for the RSOs it detected, while the smaller pixel scale of the INT resulted in sharper features in the corresponding light curves. These results are reported in Chapter 6 of the linked thesis. |
| Exploitation Route | We have since conducted a follow-on GSO survey with the SkyMapper Telescope in NSW, Australia, to probe the region from a different geographical longitude. These survey activities have strengthened our collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), and have enabled us to pursue many new research projects through Dstl's placement of a 5-year fellowship at Warwick. Techniques to characterise and classify RSOs based on signatures in their photometric light curves are being explored, utilising data acquired as part of this award. The software to manipulate two-line element sets and optimise orbital solutions is open source and could significantly benefit those conducting SDA research. More broadly, the studies that have stemmed from this award will contribute to enhancing the UK's SDA capability, aiding in its quest to lead the global efforts in the area. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Environment,Security and Diplomacy,Other |
| URL | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355472603_Optical_imaging_of_space_debris_in_low_and_high_altitude_orbits |
| Description | At a technical level, our findings have inspired/contributed to the work of other groups/organisations. For example, the data from our survey with the Isaac Newton Telescope is being used by the European Space Agency's Space Debris Office in the validation of their Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference (MASTER) model. The space debris problem has both economic and societal ramifications: even small debris (smaller than can be tracked by current generation surveillance networks) can cause mission-fatal damage to a satellite, incurring enormous costs; damage to satellites can result in widespread disruption and loss of services on ground for significant periods of time. Our findings contribute to knowledge and understanding of the debris environment, a key step towards finding a solution. The establishment of our Centre for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) was pioneering, and we remain one of only two universities in the UK conducting full-time research on optical space surveillance and tracking. Our STFC-funded Global Network On Sustainability In Space has brought together members of the SDA community from academia, industry, government, and defence, leading to a cross-sector and cross-disciplinary dialogue that has informed studies influencing policy, such as the UK Space Agency's recent study into the UK's SDA capabilities and opportunities. We have also raised awareness of the problem at a wide variety of engagement and outreach events |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Environment,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Contribution to UK Space Agency SDA Study |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | The study proposed a roadmap for improving the UK's space domain awareness capabilities, with several recommendations aiming to tackle the major issue of space debris and develop sustainable practices for space operations (e.g., investment in R&D for sovereign sensors). |
| URL | https://www.ukspace.org/new-space-domain-awareness-study-published/ |
| Description | Dstl Fellowship - Space Domain Awareness |
| Amount | £1,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 10/2025 |
| Description | The Global Network on Sustainability in Space (GNOSIS) |
| Amount | £391,761 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/S005447/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2019 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | Understanding the debris population at GEO and the fate of elderly satellites |
| Amount | £271,759 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/R005125/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2018 |
| End | 06/2021 |
| Description | Data sharing with the European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Our team is in the process of providing data to ESA from our 2018 survey of faint debris in the geosynchronous region, to aid with validation of the latest version of their Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference (MASTER) tool. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ESA are in the process of providing the MASTER derived population file to our team. This will contribute to an ongoing project on simulating sensor architecture designs for future space domain awareness systems, which will culminate in a technical paper at the AMOS Conference in Maui, Hawaii, in late 2023. |
| Impact | This collaboration is multi-disciplinary, involving expertise from the observational and modelling communities. The collaboration will lead to a conference proceeding that will also discuss elements of policy related to space domain awareness. - We aim to present results from this collaboration at the AMOS Conference in Maui, Hawaii (2023) |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Research activities with University of Auckland |
| Organisation | University of Auckland |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | To date, this collaboration has primarily manifested in the sharing of ideas and capabilities. We are in the process of providing data (from our debris surveys) to the Auckland space group for testing of their orbit determination methods. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Auckland group will apply their orbit determination methods to our data. Owing to the nature of our surveys of faint geosynchronous debris, we often encounter difficulties when determining orbits for the objects detected, as the positional ("angles only") information can be limited or sparse. The Auckland group have developed techniques for dealing with very short orbital arcs that should be able to extract orbits for our survey data. |
| Impact | The collaboration is multi-disciplinary, with the research combining methods from astrodynamics and data analysis techniques from observational astronomy. - Technical paper at the AMOS Conference in Maui, Hawaii (2020) - We aim to publish results from this collaboration in a peer-reviewed journal |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Research activities with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (UK) |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | This is a long-standing collaboration that began in 2018, when our team were awarded eight nights of dark/grey time on the 2.54m Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, Canary Islands, to conduct a survey of faint debris in the geosynchronous (GSO) region. Members of our team (James Blake and Paul Chote) led the data acquisition and analysis. We have published findings from this survey in Advances in Space Research, and presented results at multiple national/international conferences (see Publications). Our team continues to work closely with Dstl on a variety of follow-on projects, including another survey of the GSO region using the SkyMapper Telescope in Australia. We have enhanced our satellite/debris observation and data reduction capabilities through this collaboration (building from existing expertise), and have developed a great deal of software that will benefit future projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Representatives of Dstl joined our team during the data acquisition phase of the original survey in 2018, and subsequently contributed expertise to elements of the data analysis (e.g., correlating detected orbital tracks to known objects in the catalogue). Dstl have placed a 5-year fellowship at Warwick to fully exploit the collaboration, and have bought significant time on the SkyMapper Telescope in Australia to carry out another survey of the GSO region with our team. |
| Impact | - Technical paper for the AMOS Conference in Maui, Hawaii (2019) - Technical paper for the AMOS Conference in Maui, Hawaii (2020) - Multiple research talks/poster presentations at national/international conferences and workshops (e.g., AMOS Conference, National Astronomy Meeting, GNOSIS events) - Journal article published in Advances in Space Research (2021) - Placement of a postdoctoral fellowship at Warwick (commenced 2021) |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Title | Resident space object detection |
| Description | Routines for detecting, characterising and classifying resident space objects in astronomical images. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | These analysis pipelines have formed the basis of many of our research outputs, for example detecting faint debris objects in images acquired during our survey of the geosynchronous region with the Isaac Newton Telescope in 2018. |
| URL | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273117720305664 |
| Title | tlemcee |
| Description | Python routines for manipulating and propagating two-line element sets (orbital state information) efficiently, carrying out initial orbit determination using the Gauss angles-only method, and optimising orbital solutions with an MCMC approach. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Orbit determination/propagation has been key to many of our research projects, and this software has been a useful tool for performing these tasks quickly and intuitively. |
| Company Name | WARWICK SDA LTD |
| Description | We have developed significant capability in observing and characterising resident space objects (from low Earth orbit to the geosynchronous region and beyond). Warwick SDA aims to develop bespoke sensor architectures for a variety of space domain awareness (SDA) missions, ultimately acting as a platform for SDA data provision. |
| Year Established | 2022 |
| Impact | The company is in its early stages but we anticipate rapid growth as suitable contracts present themselves. |
| Description | DebrisWatch press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Press release related to our survey of faint debris in the geosynchronous region, picked up by several international news outlets (e.g., phys.org, Universe Today, space.com). Interviews with regional news and radio (e.g. BBC Coventry and Warwickshire, 5 Live). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://phys.org/news/2022-03-sustainable-space-environment.html |
| Description | Mobile planetarium visits to schools |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Running mobile planetarium activities in schools around the region. Each visit typically reaches 3-4 groups of 20 pupils, and several take place each year (barring those affected by COVID-19 restrictions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/outreach/planetarium/ |
| Description | Open days, science galas, outreach festivals |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presenting our space debris research at university/departmental open days (reaching schools and undergraduates) and science galas/outreach festivals (reaching general public). Many students have joined the department as a result of their open day experience, some going on to choose space debris projects as part of their course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| Description | Running GNOSIS workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organising and running virtual workshops for the Global Network On Sustainability In Space (GNOSIS), which we co-lead. The membership has grown to over 600 as of early 2023, and the virtual nature of the programme has enabled an international audience to join events. An example of a workshop on Precision SSA, organised by our team, is linked. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://gnosisnetwork.org/gnosis-events-programme/workshop-precision-ssa/ |
| Description | School visit to Warwick campus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 60 pupils from local schools (low socio-economic background) visited Warwick campus for a day focusing on space sustainability. As part of the visit, the pupils presented their work (designing missions for sustainable space operations) to delegates at the Global Network On Sustainability In Space (GNOSIS) Conference. The initiative was very successful, and we aim to continue engaging with the classes in future projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/news/?newsItem=8a1785d784ecef360184f693fbda6262 |
| Description | Talks to societies and other institutions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A variety of invited talks (20+) given to astronomical societies (reaching general public), university-based societies (reaching undergraduates and postgraduates), schools in the region (reaching pupils and teachers), and other institutions/workshops (reaching academics, industry and policy makers). Based primarily in the UK, but also reaching an international audience through virtual workshops and visits to the US and Europe. An example summary article from Stratford Astronomical Society is linked. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | http://www.astro.org.uk/news/aug21/ |