Related papers: Space Debris -- Optical Measurements
Physical properties of stars such as luminosity, surface temperature, distance, or mass are measured from observations. These physical properties are of paramount importance to understand how stars are born, live, and die in the universe…
Building and maintaining a space object catalog is necessary for space situational awareness. To realize this, one great challenge is uncooperative spacecraft maneuver detection because unknown maneuver events can lead to deviated orbital…
This article is a second analysis step from the descriptive arXiv:2001.10952 preprint. This work is aimed to arise awareness to the scientific astronomical community about the negative impact of satellites' mega-constellations and put in…
'Debris disks' are collections of small bodies around stars, such as the Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt in our Solar System. These disks are composed of objects smaller than planets, including asteroids, comets, dust, and dwarf planets. We…
The precise knowledge of the positions of space debris objects and in particular of defunct satellites is fundamental for satellite operations. Several studies showed that it is possible to improve the accuracy of the orbit determination…
Comprehensive analysis of space debris rotational dynamics is vital for active debris removal missions that require physical capture or de-tumbling of a target. We study the attitude motion of used rocket bodies acknowledgedly belonging to…
I examine the applicability of ecological concepts in discussing issues related to space environmentalism. Terms such as "ecosystem"", "carrying capacity"", and "tipping point" are either ambiguous or well defined but not applicable to…
Orbital debris poses an escalating threat to space missions and the long-term sustainability of Earth's orbital environment. The literature proposes various approaches for orbital debris remediation, including the use of multiple…
I argue that there is a crisis in optical Astronomy due to a paucity of telescopes and thus the need for a paradigm shift in telescope technology. Large increases in collecting areas and observing time/astronomer are only possible if we…
The microlens parallax is a crucial observable for conclusively identifying the nature of lens systems in microlensing events containing or composed of faint (even dark) astronomical objects such as planets, neutron stars, brown dwarfs, and…
We examine the simple model put forth in a recent note by Loeb regarding the brightness of space debris in the size range of 1-10 cm and their impact on the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) transient object searches.…
With debris larger than 1 cm in size estimated to be over one million, precise cataloging efforts are essential to ensure space operations' safety. Compounding this challenge is the oversubscribed problem, where the sheer volume of space…
Assessing the impact of astronomical facilities rests upon an evaluation of the scientific discoveries which their data have enabled. Telescope bibliographies, which link data products with the literature, provide a way to use bibliometrics…
For exploration of space, in particular in attempts to find new extra-terrestrial resources, human society has encountered the problem of space pollution with human-made debris, which represents high risks for space missions. This prompted…
The rapid launch of hundreds of thousands of satellites into Low Earth Orbit will significantly alter our view of the sky and raise concerns about the sustainability of Earth's orbital space. A new framework for sustainable space…
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…
The number of satellites on low orbit has dramatically increased over the past years, raising concerns among the astronomical community about their impact on observations. Spectroscopic observations represent a large fraction of…
A chaser satellite equipped with robotic arms can capture space debris and manipulate it for use in more advanced missions such as refueling and deorbiting. To facilitate capturing, a caging-based strategy has been proposed to simplify the…
The National Academy Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS) made a recommendation to study a large/medium-class dedicated space telescope for planetary science, going beyond the Discovery-class dedicated planetary space…
The Center for Astrophysics,Space Physics, and Engineering Research (CASPER) has completed construction and calibration of a Light Gas Gun (LGG), which is used for low velocity impact studies. At geosynchronous orbit, space debris can…