William Ryan, Magdalena Ridge Observatory – New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Eileen Ryan, Magdalena Ridge Observatory – New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Keywords: Space situational awareness, GEO-satellites, cubesats
Abstract:
With the anticipated proliferation of cubesats reaching GEO in the coming years, the capability of detecting and tracking decimeter-sized targets at these distances will become increasingly important. We report here on efforts to develop this capability using the Magdalena Ridge Observatory (MRO) 2.4-meter telescope. Although the reported tests focus on small debris, these techniques will be equally applicable to active satellites. In this work, we present the results of the detection of decimeter-sized targets in single exposures using the MRO 2.4-meter. We then explore the extension to deeper magnitudes resulting from the utilization of synthetic tracking.
Date of Conference: September 19-22, 2017
Track: Orbital Debris