National Aeronautics and Space Administration Orbital Debris Quarterly News Volume 18, Issue 3 July 2014 Flurry of Small Breakups in First Half of 2014 Inside... Seven small suspected and confirmed breakups the first Danish satellite, and SUNSAT, a South have occurred in low Earth orbit since late African satellite, into orbit. The rocket body was in Dr. J.-C. Liou is March. The first was Cosmos 1867 (International a 96.5° inclined 635 x 840 km orbit. New NASA Chief Designator 1987-060A, U.S. Strategic Command In the first decades of the space age, a Scientist for [USSTRATCOM] Space Surveillance Network [SSN] number of Delta second stages exploded due to Orbital Debris 2 catalog number 18187), a Plazma-A-class spacecraft the inadvertent mixing of residual propellant left in launched by the former Soviet Union to test a new, their fuel tanks. However, since 1982, Delta 2 upper advanced nuclear power supply. Cosmos 1867 is stages have been fully passivated, making a small KickSat Reenters 3 a sister to Cosmos 1818, which created a similar MMOD strike a more likely cause of this breakup. debris cloud in July 2008 (see ODQN, January 2009, On 10 May, Cosmos 2428 (International p. 1 and Figure 1). As with Cosmos 1818, the cause Designator 2007-029A, SSN# 31792) experienced Successful of the breakup is unknown, although six objects a small breakup. Approximately 15 – 17 objects Hypervelocity Impacts identified as “coolant” were added to the SSN catalog were detected and 4 made it into the SSN catalog. of DebrisLV and of orbiting objects. It is suspected that the debris Although the parent body was in an 845 x 860 km, are leaked sodium potassium coolant released either 71° orbit, the pieces displayed very high decay rates. DebriSat 3 through a hypervelocity impact of a small particle or As a result, many have reentered the Earth’s some other breach in a coolant tube through thermal atmosphere including two of the four cataloged Meeting Reports 6 cycling. Cosmos 1867 was in a 775 x 800 km orbit at objects. Cosmos 2428 was the last of the a 65° inclination at the time of the breakup. Tselina-2-class electronic intelligence satellite and was A Delta 2 second-stage rocket body launched in late June 2007. Space Missions (International Designator 1999-008D, SSN# 25637) Note that each of the three parent objects and Satellite experienced a possible breakup on 30 April that related to these breakups orbited at altitudes that resulted in six additional objects entering the SSN include the most densely populated region from Box Score 8 catalog. The Delta 2 launched from Vandenberg 750 to 850 km. Although it is difficult to assign a Air Force Base in February 1999 and carried the cause to each breakup conclusively, the number and Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite attributes of the resulting debris are consistent with (ARGOS) and two secondary payloads; ØRSTED, continued on page 2 A publication of the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office Figure 1. Simplified illustration of Cosmos 1818 and Cosmos 1867. The dimensional units are millimeters. Orbital Debris Quarterly News Breakups in 2014 continued from page 1 impacts of small hypervelocity particles, either The next minor breakup was debris 23 years after launch. SSN# 3432 (1968-081E) meteoroid or orbital debris. from Cosmos 862 (International Designator fragmented in a near geosynchronous orbit Three additional breakups occurred during 1976-105F, SSN# 9889). This piece of debris in 1992. Satellite 3432 was one of only two early- to mid-May. Two of these were SOZ ullage was in a decaying elliptical orbit of 110 x confirmed breakups in the geosynchronous motors from separate Proton Block DM fourth 14,990 km with an inclination of 62°. Two region prior to this event. ♦ stages. Ullage motors, used to settle propellants additional objects were detected, but not prior to an engine restart, are routinely ejected cataloged. The breakup was likely caused by after the Block DM stage ignites for the final aerodynamic failure and the debris were short- time. The two breakups were the 40th and lived. The Cosmos 862 parent object reentered 41st known fragmentations of this type of the Earth’s atmosphere on 29 May 2014. object since 1984. SSN# 23402 (International Finally, on 4 June at approximately Designator 1994-076G) fragmented on 8 May. 02:38 UT, a provisional breakup of a Titan It was in a 420 x 18,990 km elliptical orbit at a 3C Transtage rocket body (SSN# 3692, 65° inclination. The SSN has detected about International Designator 1969-013B) occurred 15 pieces. more than 45 years after its launch (rocket The other SOZ ullage motor was body is shown in Figure 2). The breakup has SSN# 33385 (International Designator reportedly produced about five fragments. The 2008-046H) from a Proton Block DM fourth parent body was in a near geosynchronous orbit stage. It was in an 865 x 18,720 km elliptical of 35,970 x 37,130 km and 8.7° inclination. orbit at a 65° inclination. Five to seven objects This is the fourth breakup of this class of were detected and two have been added to the rocket body. Two of the breakups occurred SSN catalog. Both Proton rockets were used within a day of their launch, SSN# 1822 Figure 2. Titan 3C Transtage rocket body. (Titan III to launch three Russian global positioning (1965-082DM) and SSN# 1863 (1965-108A). Commercial Launch Services Customer Handbook, Martin navigation system (GLONASS) satellites. However, the third occurred more than Marietta Commercial Titan, Inc., December 1987, p. 1-8). Dr. Jer Chyi (J.-C.) Liou is New NASA Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris Dr. Jer Chyi (J.-C.) Liou was selected as ODPO in 1997, later serving as the Lockheed improve satellite breakup models and space the NASA Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris Martin project manager for the orbital debris situational awareness. in early June, succeeding Mr. Nicholas Johnson contractor team, and then as the Jacobs/ Dr. Liou has authored approximately who retired in March 2014 (ODQN, April 2014, ESCG/ERC section manager for the orbital 100 technical publications, including pp. 2). While the Chief Scientist is officially debris and hypervelocity impact contractor more than 40 papers in peer-reviewed part of the Orbital Debris Program Office teams prior to joining the NASA ODPO. journals (Science, Astrophysical Journal, (ODPO), he is chartered with representing Dr. Liou led the development of the Astronomical Journal, ICARUS, Advances in the integrated orbital debris interests of the NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model, Space Research, Acta Astronautica, etc.). He Agency, the ODPO, and the hypervelocity ORDEM2000, and NASA’s LEO to GEO was the Technical Editor for the NASA Orbital impact team (HVIT), serving interactions Environment Debris evolutionary model Debris Quarterly News between 2003 and 2014 with outside agencies and organizations for (LEGEND). He has led several key NASA and served as the Chief Technologist for the policy development and NASA’s strategic and international studies to investigate the JSC ARES Directorate between 2009 and 2014. plans related to understanding the orbital instability of the orbital debris population Dr. Liou received several major Lockheed debris environment, debris mitigation, risk in LEO and to quantify the effectiveness of Martin and Jacobs/ESCG/ERC awards assessments, and spacecraft protection. environment remediation options. In addition, in 2002-2006, the NASA astronaut’s Silver Dr. Liou has been a member of the NASA Dr. Liou directed the ODPO development Snoopy Award in 2003, the JSC Director’s ODPO at the NASA Johnson Space Center of new technologies for micrometeoroid and Commendation Award in 2011, and the NASA (JSC) in Houston, Texas, since 2008. In 1994, orbital debris in-situ impact detection, including Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal Dr. Liou came to NASA JSC as a National the DRAGONS system, and served as the in 2012. Research Council post-doctoral research Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator of Dr. Liou earned a B.S. in Physics from the fellow working with the late Herbert Zook on Science Mission Directorate-funded sensor National Central University in Taiwan, and an interplanetary dust, asteroids, and the Kuiper development projects. He is currently the lead M.S. (1991) and Ph.D. (1993) in Astronomy Belt dust disk. He began his orbital debris career for DebriSat, a project employing laboratory- from the University of Florida. ♦ as a GB Tech contractor supporting the NASA based hypervelocity impact experiments to 2 www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov KickSat Reenters On 19 April, KickSat (International consisted of a 3.5-cm-square circuit board, as the Sprites for 16 days after being deployed Designator 2014-022F, SSN# 39685) was shown in Figure 2. The Sprite was developed from Dragon. An anomaly, potentially due to deployed during the SpaceX Dragon CRS 3 by a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering radiation exposure, caused the timer to reset cargo resupply mission to the International at Cornell University and a KickStarter website and the satellite failed to deploy the Sprites Space Station (ISS). The 3U (30×10×10 cm) campaign was used to fund the project. prior to its reentry in the early hours of 14 May. CubeSat was to deploy 104 Sprites into low Safety requirements levied by the ISS ♦ Earth orbit (visualized in Figure 1). Each Sprite required that KickSat delay the release of Figure 1. Artist conception of Sprite deployment from the KickSat satellite. Figure 2. Image of the Sprite ChipSat. (Image courtesy KickSat.com as shown (Image courtesy KickSat.com as shown at www.spaceflight101.com - Patrick Blau). at www.spaceflight101.com - Patrick Blau). PROJECT REVIEW Successful Hypervelocity Impacts of DebrisLV and DebriSat J.-C.