Orbital debris detection - Techniques and issues

The primary data sources for analyses of the measured earth satellite population are the U.S. Space Command's Satellite File and Satellite Catalog. The accuracies, limitations, and utility of these data are not well understood by most users. The actual cataloged satellite population is found to be less than 6500 with more than 200 objects currently lost. To date published population distribution and spatial density calculations do not adequately account for database deficiencies. Another U.S. Space Command data source is the Radar Cross-Section (RCS) Catalog. Radar cross-sectional data are subject to many influences which may result in size estimate errors of an order of magnitude or more. The orbital lifetime of LEO satellite debris has often been over-estimated as a result of ballistic coefficient assumptions and failure to model atmospheric variations with sufficient detail. Individual sensors of the U.S. Space Surveillance Network can provide substantially more information on satellite numbers and characteristics than the network as a whole.