Tags: NASA, Debris, Air Force, Satellite Collision
Publication: FoxNews.com
Publication Date: 11/06/2012

Computer generated image of objects in Earth orbit that are currently being tracked. Approximately 95% of the objects in this illustration are orbital debris. . Image credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

NASA and the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center are developing a satellite for which orbiting the Earth is not part of its mission. The DebriSat weights 110 pounds, twice of what a modern low-Earth orbit spacecraft usually weights, and it is intended to be destroyed on the ground.

The goal is to target the DebriSat for a hypervelocity impact experiment to examine the physical characteristics of debris produced when two satellites collide in orbit. Lead by NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office, the experiment shows concern over the orbital debris environment, which will continue to increase over the years.

This high-fidelity breakup model would provide important data for reliable impact risk assessments from debris as small as 1 millimeter, which falls under the radar of offices like the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN). SSN’s data is limited to objects larger than 4 inches.

While NASA and the Department of Defense have conducted a number of such tests, obliterating DebriSat is important for updating and enhancing their breakup models and understanding how modern spacecraft wreck.

DebriSat is being fabricated at the University of Florida using latest LEO satellite trends in design, materials, and construction as if it was an actual flight vehicle. The impact test that would destroy it is planned to take place at the U.S. Air Force’s Arnol Engineering Development Center in Tennessee in 2014.

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