ROOM
27
Special Report
The GEO belt is a shared
resource for use by the
human race but continued
safe access to this resource
is not assured chiefly for
reasons of our own making
Graveyard orbit
Happily, there are a number of near-term
steps that can be taken that do not entail
the expenditure of vast resources. The space
community should continue to enumerate, agree-
upon and promulgate space safety of flight ‘rules
of the road’ for GEO and other orbits.
We must also continue to detect, track and
characterise resident space objects just like rocks
and shoals in shipping lanes, as this information
is fundamental. Unlike rocks and shoals, however,
the space objects are in constant motion and must
be frequently monitored.
In addition, space actors should perform
additional measurements of resident space objects
to enhance the accuracy and precision of our
knowledge of these objects. Then, this orbital data
should be shared as widely as possible among
actors in the space arena, while incorporating
operator knowledge (e.g. past and future trajectory
changes) into the data on active space objects.
Finally, the community as a whole should conduct
system architecture and legal studies to better
understand the issues surrounding active debris
removal and its alternatives.
These activities are moderately priced
compared to developing and launching space
systems, and can have beneficial impacts on
immediate and short-term timescales. They are
all key components needed to ensure the long-
term sustainable use of this vitally important
shared resource.
About the author
Dr Mark Skinner joined Boeing in 1999 as a senior scientist and
technical manager with the Science & Analysis (S&A) team on Maui,
Hawaii, where Boeing operates the Maui Space Surveillance System for
the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), conducting research into
observational and analysis techniques to advance space surveillance. He
joined Boeing Research & Technology in New Mexico in 2015.
References
1. UNCOPUOS, Active Debris Removal - An Essential Mechanism for
Ensuring the Safety and Sustainability of Outer Space, UN Doc A/
AC.105/C.1/2012/CRP.16 (2012).
2. IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines, Inter-Agency Space Debris
Coordination Committee, IADC- 02-04, 2002; revised 2007.
3. MA Skinner, et al, “Hazards at GEO: The Space Debris population in the
vicinity of the GEO belt and mitigation of its impact on commercial satel-
lites” (Address to the 30th AIAA International Communications Satellite
Systems Conference (ICSSC), Ottawa, Canada, 24-17 September 2012).
4.EATaylor,OrbitTheoryandApplications,GeneralElectrictrainingmaterial(1991).
5. R Choc, T Flohrer & B Bastida, Classification of Geosynchronous Objects,
European Space Agency/European Space Operations Centre, Issue 13
(February 2011).
6. See Taylor, supra note [4].
7. D McKnight & F Di Pentino, “New Insights on the Orbital Debris Collision
Hazard at GEO,” (Address to the IAC-11-A6.2.6, 62nd International Astro-
nautical Congress, Capetown, South Africa, October 2011).
8. ibid.
9. See online: SpaceTrack.org
>.
10. R Jehn, S Ariafar, T Schildknecht, R Musci, & M Oswald, “Estimating the
number of debris in the geostationary ring” (2006) 59 Acta Astronautica 84.
11. T Schildknecht, et al, “Properties of the High Area-to-mass Ratio Space
Debris Population in GEO” (Address to the AMOS Technical Conference,
Wailea, Hawaii, September, 2005).
12. MA Skinner, et al, “Time-Resolved Infrared Spectrophotometric Obser-
vations of HAMR objects in GEO” (2011) 69 Acta Astronomica 1007.
13. MA Skinner, et al, “Further Analysis of Infrared Spectrophotometric
Observations of High Area to Mass Ratio (HAMR) Objects in GEO,” (2012) 80
Acta Astronomica 154.
14. J-C Liou & JK Weaver, “Orbital Dynamics of High Area-To-Mass Ratio
debris and their distribution in the geosynchronous region” (Proceedings
of the 4th European Conference on Space Debris (ESA SP-587), April 2005,
ESA/ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, April 2005) [unpublished], at 285.
15. See Schildknecht, et al, supra note [11]. Used with permission.
16. MA Skinner, et al, “Time-Resolved Infrared Spectrophotometric Obser-
vations of HAMR objects in GEO”, supra note [12].
17. K Jorgensen, et al, “Reflectance Spectra of Human-made Objects,” (Ad-
dress to the 2004 AMOS Technical Conference, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii, 8 - 12
September 2004).
18. IADC Recommendation & Re-orbit Procedure for GEO Preservation,
Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, IADC- 97-04, 1997.
19. M.A. Skinner, et al., “Comparison of Thermal IR and Visible Signatures
of Graveyard Orbit Objects,” IAC-15.A6.1.4, 66th International Astronautical
Congress, Jerusalem Israel October 2015.
20. See Active Debris Removal - An Essential Mechanism for Ensuring the
Safety and Sustainability of Outer Space, supra note [1].
21. International Astronomical Union, Minor Planet Center, “What is the
Minor Planet Center?”, online: Minor Planet Center <
-
planetcenter.net/about>.
22. MA Skinner, et. al., “Hazards at GEO”, supra note [3]; and MA Skinner, et
al., “Commercial Space Situational Awareness”, supra note [31].
23. MA Skinner, “ISODEX: An entry point”, supra note [34].
24. MA Skinner, et al, “Further Analysis of Infrared Spectrophotometric Obser-
vations of High Area toMass Ratio (HAMR) Objects in GEO”, supra note [13].
25. D McKnght, et al, “System Engineering analysis of derelict collision
prevention options” (Address to the IAC-12-A6.5.2, 63rd International
Astronautical Congress, Naples, Italy, October 2012).
The geometry for the
post-mission disposal
region for geosynchronous
satellites, a minimum
height above the GEO
altitude, which depends
on the satellite’s area-to-
mass ratio.
GEO
GEO+200km
GEO protected region
Minimum re-orbit
altitude, ΔH=235 +
1000 C
r
A/m
luni-solar & geo-potential perturbations
(35 km) and solar radiation pressure
ΔH
