Kristine Rosfjord, InTrack Radar Technologies; Kristen Shavlik, InTrack Radar Technologies; Jeremy Kolansky, InTrack Radar Technologies; W.J. Mandeville, InTrack Radar Technologies; Piyush Mehta, West Virginia University
Keywords: solitons, small debris, precursor solitons, pinned solitons, Bragg scattering, whistlers
Abstract:
There is a growing desire to be able to detect and track centimeter sized and smaller debris in low earth orbit (LEO). Current statistical analysis estimates there are 100 million lethal non-trackable (LNT) objects in LEO that could cause significant damage to operational satellites. Traditional space surveillance sensors are limited to detecting and tracking debris that is several centimeters in diameter or larger. Surveying large areas and detecting LNTs is challenging due to their small observational cross section.
Recent laboratory investigations have explored nonlinear plasma waves generated by small, charged objects in a flowing ion field. These nonlinear waves are known as electromagnetic solitons. These solitons can be pinned or precursor depending on whether they are stationary relative to the object or emanating in front of the object. Solitons generated by LNT objects traveling through the ionosphere may offer an opportunity to leverage a detection scheme that could offer a significantly larger observable cross section than the debris hard-body itself. It is an open challenge, however, whether or not the community will be able to detect and track these pinned and/or precursor solitons from the ground. As a part of the IARPA SINTRA program, we are pursuing methods for the ground-based detection of precursor and/or pinned solitons generated by small debris in LEO. Solitons offer a quasi-periodic structure that may offer resonant scattering that could help enhance remote detection. We are developing algorithms and tools to investigate the use of solitons for detecting the presence of LNTs. Here we detail our current approach and results including the required geometric parameters of the system and the associated debris parameters. We discuss the key challenges for ground-based soliton detection and explore some possible mitigation paths. The methods presented in this study lay the groundwork needed to conduct further studies of additional detection schemes.
Date of Conference: September 17-20, 2024
Track: Space Debris