A model is being developed to evaluate the capabilities of various LWIR sensors and combinations of sensors to provide Local Area Awareness for satellites in low-Earth and geostationary orbit. The model being developed will be used to evaluate the system performance of LWIR detectors mounted at various locations on the satellite against multiple observation scenarios with multiple debris configurations. LWIR sensors have been chosen as the detector technology for the initial phase of research because of their ability to operate with the sun in their field of view (FOV) while imaging nearby debris in the long-wave infrared band without the need for additive components such as baffles or solar occluders. This report describes progress on the development of this model. Preliminary results demonstrate the modeling of debris and its LWIR signature for each simulated orbital path. Results are presented in terms of radiant flux of the tracked debris. Radiant flux results are shown for all times the observed debris can be seen by the observing satellite or sensor platform. These results are evaluated for each face, or side, of the observed debris, as well as a composite of all faces. It is shown that intensity-based detection and characterization techniques may be quantified from this research, based on the different emissivities and temperatures of certain space debris materials. The results presented in this report are of simulated debris in the local are of a GEO based sensing platform.

Date Published: 5 June 2013
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 8706, Infrared Imaging Systems: Design, Analysis, Modeling, and Testing XXIV, 87060M (5 June 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2017890

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8706:
Infrared Imaging Systems: Design, Analysis, Modeling, and Testing XXIV
Gerald C. Holst; Keith A. Krapels, Editor(s)