Optical observations of space debris

The Johnson Space Center is processing optical data on orbital debris from five sources. The greatest amount of data so far obtianed is from the GEODSS system for which an analysis is presented of 80.9 hours of zenith observations. A total of 622 satellites were found of which 255 have been identified with objects in the USAF Space Command catalog (SCC). When objects in the SCC but which are not seen by GEODSS are accounted for, an SCC completeness factor of 0.46 over all diameters in the 500 to 1100 km height range is found. For objects with diameters between 8 and 30 cm this factor is 0.26. Comparison of GEODSS-derived diameters with RCS-derived diameters yields a revised mean albedo of approximately 0.08.