Abstract The environmental effects of spacecraft and rocket body breakups affecting the geostationary ring were analyzed. Six explosions were simulated: one in geostationary orbit, two in near-synchronous orbit and three in geostationary transfer orbit. The debris clouds were propagated for ten years, taking into account all the relevant perturbations. The resulting contribution to the object density in the geostationary ring was computed numerically with a novel approach, as a function of debris size and time. In the short term, the explosions in geostationary orbit are the most detrimental for the environment, producing density peaks higher or comparable to the background in the overall size range for several months. However, the natural perturbations considerably mitigate the problem after one year, although a few tens of complete breakups could produce a long-term average density matching the existing debris background. High intensity explosions in near-synchronous orbit may significantly affect the environment, both short and long term, by generating a large number of millimeter sized particles crossing the geostationary ring. Again, a few tens of complete breakups might produce long-term effects comparable to the existing background, but the peak density of the objects larger than one centimeter would remain much lower. The explosions in geostationary transfer orbit, on the other hand, do not contribute significantly to the object density in the geostationary ring. Only a fragmentation at one of the first apogees may produce a sharp local density peak above the background, but a few months of orbital perturbations are sufficient to dramatically reduce that contribution. Hundreds of breakups in transfer orbit would be needed to obtain an object density in the geostationary ring comparable to the background. Although some care is needed to translate from object densities into collision rates, the results presented strongly support the generalized re-orbiting of geostationary spacecraft at the end of their operational life.
The Effects of Spacecraft and Upper Stage Breakups on the Geostationary Ring
2000
Article (Journal)
English
The Effects of Spacecraft and Upper Stage Breakups on the Geostationary Ring
Springer Verlag | 2000
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