Orbital Dynamics of High Area-To-Mass Ratio Debris and Their Distribution in the Geosynchronous Region

A study on the orbital evolution of geosynchronous (GEO) debris with very high area-to-mass ratio (A/M) was completed recently by the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. The objective was to find a plausible explanation for the highly eccentric GEO objects discovered by the European Space Agency’s 1-m telescope and NASA's 0.6/0.9-m telescope survey. Two orbit integrators were used in the numerical simulations. Objects with A/Ms ranging from 0.1 to 35 m/kg were included. Results from the simulations indicated that solar radiation pressure could cause a high A/M debris to go through a significant yearly variation in eccentricity. The amplitude of the variation increased with increasing A/M. A group of debris with A/Ms on the order of 10 to 20 m/kg could produce observable characteristics consistent with the discovered population. We also analyzed the global behavior of thousands of high A/M debris and identified some unique patterns associated with their distribution in space. A good search strategy could be developed to maximize the detection efficiency for future GEO surveys. Finally, we considered thermal blanket pieces the most likely sources of the high A/M debris population in GEO.