Wednesday

In the predawn of so-called mega-constellations, it is becoming more important than ever to closely monitor the near-Earth environment. A dangerous blend of break-ups, collisions and hardware disposal has generated a significant population of artificial debris, posing a threat to existing assets. Although methods of active debris removal are currently being tested, we are still some way off a viable solution. In the meantime, regular monitoring is essential to protect active satellites and ensure they manage to steer clear of potentially mission-fatal collision courses. At Warwick, we are utilizing existing astronomical instrumentation to characterize the debris population and obtain diagnostic data for space assets. We have conducted a survey of faint geosynchronous debris using the 2.54 m Isaac Newton Telescope, uncovering an interesting sample of objects tumbling in and out of the limiting magnitude within a single exposure. Alongside this, we are in the process of accumulating a database of light curves for target satellites. For the relatively rapid passes of low Earth orbit satellites, we utilize the super-wide field of SuperWASP-North on La Palma, an array of eight cameras historically used to detect exoplanets via the transit method. In the case of geosynchronous satellites, we instead make use of a 0.36 m Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt astrograph to obtain the light curves. We give an overview of these projects as part of an ongoing program to apply astronomical tools and techniques within the developing field of Space Situational Awareness.