Related papers: Orbit determination of space objects based on spar…
In survey series of unknown Earth orbiting objects, no a priori orbital elements are available. In surveys of wide field telescopes possibly many nonresolved object images are present on the single frames of the series. Reliable methods…
Given a set of astrometric observations of the same object, the problem of orbit determination is to compute the orbit and to assess its uncertainty and reliability. For the next generation surveys, with much larger number density of…
In order to avoid collisions with space debris, the near Earth orbit must be continuously scanned by either ground- or spaced-based facilities. For the low Earth orbit, radar telescopes are the workhorse for this task, especially due to…
We propose two algorithms to provide a full preliminary orbit of an Earth-orbiting object with a number of observations lower than the classical methods, such as those by Laplace and Gauss. The first one is the Virtual debris algorithm,…
We present a Bayesian algorithm to combine optical imaging of unresolved objects from distinct epochs and observation platforms for orbit determination and tracking. By propagating the non-Gaussian uncertainties we are able to optimally…
Orbit determination of spacecraft in orbit has been mostly dependent on either GNSS satellite signals or ground station telemetry. Both methods present their limitations, however: GNSS signals can only be used effectively in earth orbit,…
We describe a Bayesian sampling model for linking and constraining orbit models from angular observations of "streaks" in optical telescope images. Our algorithm is particularly suited to situations where the observation times are small…
The increasing volume of space objects in Earth's orbit presents a significant challenge for Space Situational Awareness (SSA). And in particular, accurate orbit prediction is crucial to anticipate the position and velocity of space…
We propose a method to account for the Earth oblateness effect in preliminary orbit determination of satellites in low orbits with radar observations. This method is an improvement of the one described in (Gronchi et al 2015), which uses a…
When new objects are detected in the sky, an orbit determination needs to be performed immediately to find out their origin, to determine the probability of an Earth impact and possibly also to estimate the impact region on Earth. ESA's…
We present the results of a large scale simulation, reproducing the behavior of a data center for the build-up and maintenance of a complete catalog of space debris in the upper part of the low Earth orbits region (LEO). The purpose is to…
(abridged)Multiple systems for which the astrometric and spectroscopic orbit are known offer the unique possibility of determining the distance to these systems directly without any assumptions. They are therefore ideal objects for a…
We present a procedure for determination of positions and orbital elements, and associated uncertainties, of outer Solar System planets. The orbit-fitting procedure is greatly streamlined compared to traditional methods because acceleration…
We have used an existing, robotic, multi-lens, all-sky camera system, coupled to a dedicated data reduction pipeline, to automatically determine orbital parameters of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Each of the fixed cameras has a…
In a companion article, we discussed the radiometric sensitivity and resolution of a new passive optical sensing technique, Space-Time Projection Optical Tomography (SPOT), to detect and track sub-cm and larger space debris for Space…
Space objects in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) present significant detection challenges in optical imaging due to weak signals, complex stellar backgrounds, and environmental interference. In this paper, we enhance high-frequency features…
In the past two decades an increasing interest in discovering Near Earth Objects has been noted in the astronomical community. Dedicated surveys have been operated for data acquisition and processing, resulting in the present discovery of…
In the domain of Space Situational Awareness (SSA), the challenges pertaining to orbit determination and catalog correlation are notably pronounced, partly attributable to the escalating presence of non-cooperative satellites engaging in…
Uncorrelated optical space observation association represents a classic needle in a haystack problem. The objective being to find small groups of observations that are likely of the same resident space objects (RSOs) from amongst the much…
Moving objects leave extended tracks in optical images acquired with a telescope that is tracking stars or other targets. By searching images for these tracks, one can obtain statistics on populations of space debris in Earth orbit. The…