Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Heather Cowardin.
In This Issue: - Two New On-orbit Fragmentations - Machine Learning Applications Supporting the ODPO - Radar Measurements of the Orbital Debris Environment from HUSIR and Goldstone: 2023 - Meeting Reports - Monthly Number of Objects in Earth Orbit by Object Type - Upcoming Meetings - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
- Three New On-orbit Fragmentations - NASA’s ODPO Wins Software of the Year Award - Aerodynamic Demise Model for Carbon Fiber Polymer Fiber - DebriSat: 10 years and Growing - Meeting Reports - Upcoming Meetings - NASA ODPO Abstracts - Space Missions, and Satellite Box Score
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- 2024 UN COPUOS STSC Session - Evolution of the Cosmos 1408 Breakup Cloud - Modeling the Small Debris Population in ORDEM - Meeting Report - Upcoming Meetings - Plot - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
- The Second International Orbital Debris Conference - ISS Maneuvers to Avoid Potential November 2023 Collision - Goldstone Radar Measurements of the Orbital Debris Environment: 2022 - ODPO Lab Updates - Conference and Workshop Reports - Upcoming Meetings - IOC II Conference Abstracts from the NASA HVIT - IOC II Conference Abstracts from the NASA ODPO - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) and Hypervelocity Impact Technology (HVIT) team have coordinated to better understand the risks to upper stages and spacecraft from non-spherical orbital debris. It is well understood that fragmentation (collision or explosion) events in orbit produce fragments of various materials, sizes, and shapes. To further characterize these parameters, the ODPO is developing the next-generation Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) version 4.0 to include orbital debris shape distributions. Ground-based assets, such as radar and optical sensors, can provide size estimates and some insight into material based on radar return or optical filter photometry/spectroscopy, respectively. Characterizing an object’s shape requires more laboratory analyses to infer how shape affects these measurements. More importantly, in addition to size and material/density, the shape of fragments in orbit will alter the ballistic limit equations used in orbital debris risk assessments with NASA’s Bumper Code. The ODPO plans to release ORDEM 4.0 in the coming years. Performing ground-based laboratory impact tests on high-fidelity spacecraft mockups provides the means to directly measure size, mass, material/density, and shape of fragments, all key parameters needed to characterize real-world break up events. The DebriSat test, the results of which are provided, showcases the details of this type of experiment. The goal of this collaborative research between the ODPO and the HVIT team is to include a shape parameter in the environmental and breakup models used to assess risk for various space structures. This paper examines ground-based laboratory impact tests and the associated fragment shape categories. Provided these defined shapes, the approach is simplified by assuming a right circular cylinder (RCC) approximation with varying length-to-diameter ratios. Highlights of impact tests conducted by the HVIT team using non-spherical projectiles based on the RCC approximation are presented. Hydrocode simulations have also been performed to expand on the complexity of variations with non-spherical projectiles. Lastly, ray-tracing simulations of various RCCs of known material are provided to support the ongoing research on optical reflectance distributions with known shapes and to highlight how this may modify the current optical size estimation model. The status and plan forward are outlined for NASA's orbital debris shape effect investigation using a multidisciplinary approach by the ODPO and the HVIT team.
NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) and Hypervelocity Impact Technology (HVIT) team have coordinated to better understand the risks to upper stages and spacecraft from non-spherical orbital debris. It is well understood that fragmentation (collision or explosion) events in orbit produce fragments of various materials, sizes, and shapes. To further characterize these parameters, the ODPO is developing the next-generation Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) version 4.0 to include orbital debris shape distributions. Ground-based assets, such as radar and optical sensors, can provide size estimates and some insight into material based on radar return or optical filter photometry/spectroscopy, respectively. Characterizing an object’s shape requires more laboratory analyses to infer how shape affects these measurements. More importantly, in addition to size and material/density, the shape of fragments in orbit will alter the ballistic limit equations used in orbital debris risk assessments with NASA’s Bumper Code. The ODPO plans to release ORDEM 4.0 in the coming years. Performing ground-based laboratory impact tests on high-fidelity spacecraft mockups provides the means to directly measure size, mass, material/density, and shape of fragments, all key parameters needed to characterize real-world break up events. The DebriSat test, the results of which are provided, showcases the details of this type of experiment. The goal of this collaborative research between the ODPO and the HVIT team is to include a shape parameter in the environmental and breakup models used to assess risk for various space structures. This paper examines ground-based laboratory impact tests and the associated fragment shape categories. Provided these defined shapes, the approach is simplified by assuming a right circular cylinder (RCC) approximation with varying length-to-diameter ratios. Highlights of impact tests conducted by the HVIT team using non-spherical projectiles based on the RCC approximation are presented. Hydrocode simulations have also been performed to expand on the complexity of variations with non-spherical projectiles. Lastly, ray-tracing simulations of various RCCs of known material are provided to support the ongoing research on optical reflectance distributions with known shapes and to highlight how this may modify the current optical size estimation model. The status and plan forward are outlined for NASA's orbital debris shape effect investigation using a multidisciplinary approach by the ODPO and the HVIT team.
- IOC II Announces Program and Venue - Continuing Development of ISO Debris Mitigation Standards - DAS Release - MEO Releases New Example Library - Updated Flux Interpolation in ORDEM - Evolution of Major Debris Clouds in LEO - ODPO Receives the 2022 Agency Group Achievement Honor Award - Upcoming Meetings - Orbital Debris Environment Plot - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
Inside - DAS Release - Recent Advances in Modeling Hollow Objects During Reentry - Two Years of Space Traffic: Current Trends in New Payloads and Debris in Orbit - Overview of ORDEM Web Application Features - Workshop Report - Upcoming Meetings - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
- DebriSat Analysis and Shape Categorization - The Influence of Fragmentations and Mission-related Objects on the Space Environment - Abstracts from the NASA ODPO - Abstracts from the HVIT Group - Conference and Workshop Reports - Upcoming Meetings - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
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Inside - ORDEM 3.2Release - DAS 3.2 Release - International Space Station Maneuvers Twice to Avoid Fragmentation Debris - Two Minor Breakup Events in Fourth Quarter of 2021 - Conference and Workshop Reports8UpcomingMeetings - Space Missions and Satellite Box Score
The NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) 3.1 Model Verification and Validation (V&V) document accompanies the delivery of the latest ORDEM 3.1 model (Vavrin & Manis, 2019) and provides a detailed description of the V&V activities used to verify that the model was built correctly and validate the model against independent, real world sources of data obtained from sampling the orbital debris environment. This ORDEM 3.1 Model V&V document, along with the related ORDEM 3.1 Model Process document – which covers details of the mathematical, statistical, and physical basis of the model – are intended to inform credibility assessments, risk analyses, uncertainty characterizations, and other applications derived from use of the model by the ORDEM 3.1 user community.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.