Abstract Asia-Pacific ground-based Optical Space object Observation System (APOSOS) is an international cooperation project, which is initiated and supported by Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO). Currently, APOSOS consists of three Observation Nodes in Pakistan, Peru and Iran, and a Data and Operation Management Center in National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Each Observation Node is equipped with a dedicated 15 cm aperture refracting telescope, which is capable of real-time astrometric data reduction. APOSOS aims to develop a tracking network of space object to acquire accurate astrometric measurements of space objects owned by APSCO member states. In this paper, we present an overview of APOSOS’s design and development. The APOSOS’s detecting capability of tracking a space object is darker than 12 m in LEO or 16 m in GEO, the size of which is equivalent to a diameter of 10-cm class in LEO or meter class in GEO respectively. A parametric estimation model is setup to profile APOSOS’s capability in different tracking missions, which is verified by experimental observations. Preliminary results of tracking observations of SLR satellites showed that RMS of APOSOS astrometric measurements in RA/DEC is better than 5 ″ .
[2]
D. Vallado.
Fundamentals of Astrodynamics and Applications
,
1997
.
[3]
A. Potter.
Ground-based optical observations of orbital debris: A review
,
1995
.
[4]
Yu. I. Burtsev,et al.
International scientific optical network for space debris research
,
2008
.
[5]
P. Bely.
The Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes
,
2010
.
[6]
I. Buske,et al.
Ground-Based Optical Position Measurements of Space Debris in Low Earth Orbits
,
2013
.
[7]
Michael R Pearlman,et al.
THE INTERNATIONAL LASER RANGING SERVICE
,
2007
.
[8]
Kimberlee C. Gresham,et al.
A New Global Array of Optical Telescopes: The Falcon Telescope Network
,
2018,
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
[9]
Phillip D. Anz-Meador,et al.
Optical properties of orbital debris
,
1994
.