Citation
Abstract
Several times per year, on a limited basis, the Goldstone X-band (8.51-GHz) radar is used to monitor the overhead flux of orbiting debris. Data from this sensitive radar, which can detect a 3-mm fragment at a distance of 1000 km, are integrated into a debris model by a team at Johnson Space Center. The Goldstone data fill a niche in the coverage by the Haystack radar and a number of other radars, which also participate in limited observation campaigns. In this article, we summarize the results of 10 nights of operation of the Goldstone radar, from October 1996 to May 1997. Altogether, 70 hours of data have been collected, with the radar beam aimed close to the zenith. During these times, over 2300 debris detection events were observed.
Keywords
orbital debris
space debris
radar detection
Goldstone radar
Details
- Volume
- 42-133
- Published
- May 15, 1998
- Pages
- 1–7
- File Size
- 493.4 KB