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1. Space Environment
Lecture 22 – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Environment status (part 3)
Professor Hugh Lewis
SESA3038 Space Environment

2. Overview of lectures 20 to 23
• In this lecture we continue our look at the current state of the
environment, in terms of the orbital population:
– Here, we use data and graphics from NASA, ESA and other sources to
understand the history of fragmentation events in Earth orbit
– We also look at how each fragmentation event changes the environment,
with respect to the spatial density of debris and the collision risk they
subsequently pose to important space systems (here we focus on the ISS
and the Space Shuttle)
Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)

3. History of new objects Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Data from ESA’s Annual Space Environment Report (September 2020)

4. Historical fragmentation events Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Data from ESA’s Annual Space Environment Report (September 2020)

5. Historical fragmentation events Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Age of object on fragmentation (Horstmann et al. 2018)

6. Historical fragmentation events Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Data from ESA’s Annual Space Environment Report (September 2020)

7. Historical fragmentation events Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Simulation of Fengyun-1C breakup (Horstmann et al. 2018)

8. Simulated fragmentation event Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Simulated explosion in NASA’s Satellite Breakup Risk Assessment Model (SBRAM)
https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv24i3.pdf
• Rocket body explosion:
• Perigee: 447.8 km
• Apogee: 458.7 km
• Inclination: 128.4° (sum of
ISS & RB inclinations = 180°
= worst-case)

9. Simulated fragmentation event Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Simulated explosion in NASA’s Satellite Breakup Risk Assessment Model (SBRAM)
https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv24i3.pdf
• Rocket body explosion:
• Perigee: 447.8 km
• Apogee: 458.7 km
• Inclination: 128.4° (sum of
ISS & RB inclinations =
180° = worst-case)

10. Simulated fragmentation event Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Simulated collision in NASA’s Satellite Breakup Risk Assessment Model (SBRAM)
https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv24i3.pdf
• Collision between two spacecraft:
• Collision perigee: 447.8 km
• Collision apogee: 458.7 km
• Spacecraft 1: mass: 600 kg,
inclination: 128.4°
• Spacecraft 2: mass: 900 kg,
inclination 51.6°

11. Simulated fragmentation event Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Simulated collision in NASA’s Satellite Breakup Risk Assessment Model (SBRAM)
https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv24i3.pdf
• Collision between two
spacecraft:
• Collision perigee: 447.8 km
• Collision apogee: 458.7 km
• Spacecraft 1:
– Mass: 600 kg
– Inclination: 128.4°
• Spacecraft 2:
– Mass: 900 kg
– Inclination 51.6°

12. Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
ISS Shielding
Velocity

13. Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
ISS Long-term Risks

14. Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
ISS historical events
https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv24i3.pdf

15. Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Space Shuttle Penetration Risk

16. Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
Protecting the Shuttle When Docked With The ISS

17. Summary from lectures 20 to 22 Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)
https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Space_Debris/Space_debris_by_the_numbers

18. Activities:
• Reminder: Look back at
SESA3041/6079:
• Outer Space Treaty
• Introduction to space debris
• Introduction to space debris
mitigation guidelines and standards
• IADC space debris mitigation
guidelines
• Reminder: ESA’s Annual Space
Environment Report:
• Read the report (available in the
“Course Content” folder on
Blackboard)
Space Environment – Space Debris (Vol. 1)