Development of high precision laser measurement to Space Debris and Applications in SHAO
Abstract
Artificial space debris has become the focus during the space exploration because of producing the damage for the future active spacecrafts and high precision measurement for space debris are required for debris surveillance and collision avoidance. Laser ranging technology is inherently high accurate and will play an important role in precise orbit determination, accurate catalog of space debris. Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of CAS, has been developing the technology of laser measurement to space debris for several years. According to characteristics of laser echoes from space debris and the experiences of relevant activities, high repetition rate, high power laser system and low dark noise APD detector with high quantum efficiency and high transmissivity of narrow bandwidth spectral filter are applied to laser measurement to space debris in SHAO. With these configurations, great achievements of laser measurement to space debris are made with hundreds of passes of laser data from space debris in the distance between 500km and 2500km with Radar Cross Section (RCS) of more than 10 m^{2} to less than 0.5m^{2} at the measuring precision of less than 1m (RMS). For better application of laser ranging technology, Chinese Space Debris Observation network, consisting of Shanghai, Changchun and Kunming station, has been preliminary developed and the coordinated observation has been performed to increase the measuring efficiency for space debris. It is referred from data that laser ranging technology can be as the essential high accuracy measurement technology in the study of space debris.
- Publication:
-
41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016cosp...41E2173Z