Jin Choi, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) / University of Science and Technology (UST); Myung-Jin Kim, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Dong-Goo Roh, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Hong-Suh Yim, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Jung Hyun Jo, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Eun-Jung Choi, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Sungki Cho, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Keywords: GEO, optical tracking, OWL-Net, GEO monitoring
Abstract:
As the number of space objects grows, Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites are also threatened by space debris and uncontrolled space objects. Collisions with other GEO space objects and fragmentation in orbit are the main hazards for GEO satellites. To date, 11 GEO satellites have been launched as Korean space assets. Sometimes, collision threats with Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) satellites like Raduga or telecommunication errors caused by eclipsing by other space objects occur. The Optical Wide-field patrol-Network (OWL-Net) was developed to track Low Earth Orbit satellites and monitor the GEO region for Space Surveillance Awareness. Five stations, located in Mongolia, Morocco, Israel, the United States, and South Korea, have been installed, and the OWL-Net can provide global monitoring for the GEO region with those robotic telescopes. The OWL-Net can achieve mosaic screens in latitudinal and longitudinal directions with the GEO and GSO monitoring observation mode. The astrometric and photometric data can be produced as monitoring results for the detected space objects. The astrometric measurements in time series are compared with the publicly released orbital data TLE (Two-Line Element sets) for confirming the orbital keeping maneuver and detecting unidentified objects. In this presentation, the operation results for GEO monitoring and the statistical analysis results for this year are shown.
Date of Conference: September 19-22, 2023
Track: SDA Systems & Instrumentation