2010 Complete Guide to Orbital Debris: Collision Hazard Threats to Satellites in Low Earth Orbit and ISS, NASA Research, MMOD Protection, Chinese ASAT Debris, Mitigation, Surveillance Network (CD-ROM)

This up-to-date and comprehensive electronic book on a CD-ROM disc presents an incredible collection of NASA documents on the threat of orbital debris to satellites and the ISS in low earth orbit, featuring NASA research on MMOD protection, the Chinese ASAT test debris incident, micrometeoroids, collision hazard analysis and prediction software, ISS debris avoidance maneuver analysis, mitigation and removal concepts, and the U.S. space surveillance network. Much of the material here was assembled by the Orbital Debris Program Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Additional documents have been incorporated by WSN in this CD. There are impressive computer animations depicting a flythrough of orbital objects. NASA/JSC is the lead NASA center for orbital debris research and is recognized world-wide for its leadership in addressing orbital debris issues. The orbital debris research team has taken the international lead in conducting measurements of the environment and in developing the technical consensus for adopting mitigation measures to protect users of the orbital environment. Work at the center continues with developing an improved understanding of the orbital debris environment and measures that can be taken to control its growth. In a NASA report, The Characteristics And Consequences Of The Break-Up Of The Fengyun-1c Spacecraft, Nicholas L. Johnson and others at JSC noted: "The intentional break-up of the Fengyun-1C spacecraft on 11 January 2007 via hypervelocity collision with a ballistic object created the most severe artificial debris cloud in Earth orbit since the beginning of space exploration. More than 2000 debris on the order of 10 cm or greater in size have been identified by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network. The majority of these debris reside in long-lived orbits. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has conducted a thorough examination of the nature of the Fengyun-1C debris cloud, using SSN data for larger debris and special Haystack radar observations for smaller debris. These data have been compared with the NASA standard satellite break-up model for collisions, and the results are presented in this paper. The orbital longevity of the debris have also been evaluated for both small and large debris. The consequent long-term spatial density effects on the low Earth orbit regime and the potential effect of the debris cloud on the growth of the near-Earth satellite population have been addressed. The Fengyun-1C meteorological spacecraft (International Designator 1999-025A, U.S. Satellite Number 25730) was launched on 10 May 1999 into a nearly circular, sunsynchronous orbit with a mean altitude of approximately 850 km and an inclination of 98.8 degrees. This altitude regime has long been used for monitoring Earth s global weather patterns... As Fengyun-1C was southbound over central China on 11 January 2007, the spacecraft was intercepted by a ballistic kinetic kill vehicle (KKV) reportedly launched from or near to the Xichang space launch center."