Thomas Schildknecht, University of Bern, Astronomical Institute; Fiona Pärli, University of Bern, Astronomical Institute; Alessandro Vananti, University of Bern, Astronomical Institute; Palash Patole, University of Bern, Astronomical Institute; Peter Pessev, University of Bern, Astronomical Institute; Tim Flohrer, ESA/ESOC Space Debris Office,; Jan Siminski, ESA/ESOC Space Debris Office,
Keywords: space debris, breakup debris clouds, high-altitude orbit debris environment
Abstract:
The Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB) performs optical surveys for sub-catalogue space debris in high-altitude orbits since more than two decades. The bulk of the data is acquired on behalf of ESA with the ESA 1-meter telescope at the OGS in Tenerife, Spain. Additional surveys are performed with the 0.8-meter Zimmerwald Multiple Applications Telescope ZimMAIN at AIUB’s Zimmerwald Observatory in Switzerland.
Continuous observation campaigns are key to monitor this environment for new sources of space debris. Results from the last 5 years indicate the appearance of several new clusters of fragments and emphasize the dynamical nature of this environment. Preliminary findings of a larger effort to consistently re-process the data, analyse possible observational selection effects, and to compare the actual observations with reference populations, in particular the MASTER population, will be presented.
Date of Conference: September 17-20, 2024
Track: Space Debris