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Uncertainties in debris growth predictions

Conference · · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.39996· OSTI ID:5355033
 [1]
  1. Kaman Sciences Corporation, 2560 Huntington Avenue, Suite 200, Alexandria, Virginia (USA)
The growth of artificial space debris in Earth orbit may pose a significant hazard to satellites in the future though the collision hazard to operational spacecraft is presently manageable. The stability of the environment is dependent on the growth of debris from satellite deployment, mission operations and fragmentation events. Growth trends of the trackable on-orbit population are investigated highlighting the complexities and limitations of using the data that supports this modeling. The debris produced by breakup events may be a critical aspect of the present and future environment. As a result, growth predictions produced using existing empirically-based models may have large, possibly even unacceptable, uncertainties.
OSTI ID:
5355033
Report Number(s):
CONF-910116--
Conference Information:
Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States) Journal Volume: 217:3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English