Small Satellites Tied to International Space Situational Awareness System

Newswise — There is increasing interest in the use of small satellites for dedicated missions applied to Earth observation, for scientific purposes as well as to demonstrate technologies. These types of missions can be conducted relatively quickly and inexpensively and provide increased opportunity for access to space.

However, this promising use of small satellites " and the smallsat community engaged in developing this capability -- face increasing risk to safe operations due to the proliferation of orbital debris.

One solution to the problems of orbital debris and crowding in certain key orbits in the global commons of outer space is the development of an international civil Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system " an effort strongly advocated by the Secure World Foundation (SWF).

Space weather

Tied to SSA is the need for better information on space weather -- such as strong solar storms, micrometeoroids, and other phenomenon -- that can play havoc with satellite systems.

It is in the interest of the small satellite community to work toward such an open system. Moreover, smallsats could offer assistance in attaining a robust SSA system.

This prospect was raised today during the 7th International Academy of Astronautics Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth Observation. The meeting is being held this week in Berlin, Germany - supported and hosted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany's national research center for aeronautics and space.

Safeguarding the environment of space

At the symposium, a special session on the regulatory aspects of small satellite missions included the paper Safeguarding the Space Environment, co-authored by Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation and Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, SWF's Space Policy Consultant.

Delivered by Lukaszczyk, the presented paper detailed the overall threat to space operations from space environment risks, including various methods proposed and in place to mitigate such concerns.

Ms. Lukaszczyk also reported on why the issue of sustainable operations should be of interest to the small satellite community.

Debris experts estimate that some 18,000 pieces of trackable debris now speed around Earth in various orbits. The number of untrackable smaller pieces is orders of magnitude higher " some 300,000-plus -- and while lesser in size, these bits of flotsam can also be highly destructive.

Such hypervelocity impacts can shred a satellite and leave it in bits, adding to the amount of debris in orbit.

Space weather sensors

The only current solution to prevent collision is to track debris and satellites precisely and perform conjunction assessments for all functioning satellites, continually, so that when necessary, the satellite orbits can be shifted slightly to avoid danger, in other words, to set up a SSA system.

To be complete, an SSA system should also include observations on and predictions of space weather.

"In particular, the small satellite community could assist the development of a strong space weather monitoring system by developing and including lightweight space weather sensors on their spacecraft," the Williamson and Lukaszczyk paper observes.

Small satellite operators can become engaged in protecting the space environment by reporting their satellite orbital positions periodically to a central organization for SSA monitoring and analysis, Lukaszczyk explained, thereby sharing those data with the international community in some coordinated way.

For the entire paper, go to:http://www.secureworldfoundation.org/siteadmin/images/files/file_303.pdf

To view the paper's slides, go to:http://www.secureworldfoundation.org/siteadmin/images/files/file_302.pdf

For information on the 7th International Academy of Astronautics Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth Observation, please go to:http://www.dlr.de/iaa.symp/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-4802/

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About Secure World Foundation

Secure World Foundation is headquartered in Superior, Colorado, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Vienna, Austria.

The Secure World Foundation is a fully-funded, private operating foundation dedicated to the secure and sustainable use of space for the benefit of Earth and all its peoples.

The Foundation engages with academics, policy makers, scientists and advocates in the space and international affairs communities to support steps that help achieve the secure, sustainable and peaceful uses of outer space with efficient and effective global systems of governance.