Publications Details

Long-Term Dynamical Evolution of High Area-to-Mass Ratio Debris Released in GEO

Abstract

Studying the dynamical evolution of high area-to-mass ratio objects in near-geostationary orbit (GEO) is crucial for understanding their nature, orbital evolution, and potential origins, which are essential for space situational awareness. This paper presents a numerical propagator developed a model for long-term dynamical behavior of space objects with a high area-to-mass ratio in GEO including all the relevant perturbations. The dynamical assessment utilized ephemeris data from two different catalogues and compared it with the numerical propagator results. The study investigated the long-term dynamical behavior of space debris with varying high area-to-mass ratios, and confirm that our numerical propagator's trajectory matched with the catalog data. However, in some cases revealed differences in dynamical behavior between the numerical integrators and the ephemeris data. Overall, the results suggest that space debris with high area-to-mass ratio in GEO can persist in space for several decades, maintaining a mean motion close to the original orbit while displaying significant eccentricity and semi-major axis variations.

Publication year
2024
Research Areas
Space Situational Awareness
Publisher
Space Research Conference
Research Type
Conference Contribution
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