Kevin Schafer, MITRE; David Marson, MITRE
Keywords: earth shadow, city shine
Abstract:
Passive optical tracking of satellites relies on sunlight reflecting from the satellite for target illumination. However, when the satellite enters earth’s shadow, brightness of the target decreases or disappears completely. Unless active tracking methods are employed, such as radar or laser systems, the target track is lost. Active tracking systems are expensive and limited in number, making them difficult to access or acquire. They also generate a signal or signature that can be detected by the target or other sensors, giving away the active tracking system’s intentions.
The night side of the earth does emit light, much of it from artificial sources concentrated in population centers or cities. Previous MITRE efforts have observed the possibility of using this artificial light, or “city shine,” emitted on the dark side of the earth as a source of illumination for satellites in Earth’s shadow. This work explores and quantifies leveraging city shine to track satellites in earth’s shadow using ground-based optical sensors, thereby increasing space-situational awareness (SSA) capabilities with cost-effective passive systems.
Date of Conference: September 14-17, 2021
Track: Optical Systems & Instrumentation