Shaylah Mutschler, University of Colorado Boulder, Penina Axelrad, University of Colorado Boulder, Tomoko Matsuo, University of Colorado, Boulder
Keywords: Space Debris, SSA, LEO, Space Weather, Atmospheric Drag
Abstract:
A key requirement for accurate space situational awareness (SSA) is knowledge of the non-conservative forces that act on space objects. These effects vary temporally and spatially, driven by the dynamical behavior of space weather. Existing SSA algorithms adjust space weather models based on observations of calibration satellites. However, lack of sufficient data and mismodeling of non-conservative forces cause inaccuracies in space object motion prediction. The uncontrolled nature of debris makes it particularly sensitive to the variations in space weather. Our research takes advantage of this behavior by inverting observations of debris objects to infer the space environment parameters causing their motion. In addition, this research will produce more accurate predictions of the motion of debris objects.
Date of Conference: September 19-22, 2017
Track: Poster