Observations of the geosynchronous Earth orbital debris environment using NASA&amp;#039;s CCD Debris Telescope

Jarvis, K. S.; Africano, J. L.; Sydney, P. F.; Stansbery, E. G.; Thumm, T. L.; Jorgensen, K.; Mulrooney, M.

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Observations of the geosynchronous Earth orbital debris environment using NASA's CCD Debris Telescope

Jarvis, K. S. 1, Africano, J. L. 1, Sydney, P. F. 1, Stansbery, E. G. 1, Thumm, T. L. 1, Jorgensen, K. 1, Mulrooney, M.1

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Publishing year2001 PublisherESA Publishing typeConference Name of conference3rd European Conference on Space Debris

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Editors

H. Lacoste

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Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been using the Charged Coupled Device (CCD) Debris Telescope (CDT), a transportable 32-cm Schmidt telescope located near Cloudcroft, NM, to help characterize the debris environment in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO). The CDT system is capable of detecting 17th magnitude objects in a 20 second integration which corresponds to a ~0.6-meter diameter, 0.20 albedo object at 36,000 km. Described are the results of the viewing season for 1998, ~420 hours. The proportion of Uncorrelated Targets (UCTs) to Correlated Targets (CTs) is in agreement with previous studies.

Observations of the geosynchronous Earth orbital debris environment using NASA's CCD Debris Telescope

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