National Aeronautics and Space Administration Orbital Debris Quarterly News Volume 20, Issues 1 & 2 April 2016 Recent NOAA-16 Satellite Breakup Inside... In late November 2015, the decommissioned synchronous orbit, where it operated until replaced Debris History of NOAA- U.S. weather satellite NOAA-16 (International and transferred to backup status in 2005. An Series Spacecraft 2 Designator 2000-055A, U.S. Strategic Command anomaly abruptly ended communication with the [USSTRATCOM] Space Surveillance Network satellite on 6 June 2014, and it was decommissioned Fragmentation of Fregat [SSN] catalog number 26536) experienced a on 9 June 2014. Upper Stage Debris 2 breakup event, resulting in a substantial debris The breakup occurred at approximately Briz-M Core Stage cloud. The 1475 kg dry mass satellite was launched 0950 GMT on 25 November 2015. At the time, the Fragments Near 21 September 2000, as part of the Polar Operational spacecraft was in an 841 x 857 km orbit. The Joint GEO Orbit 3 Environmental Satellite (POES) series of U.S. Space Operations Center (JSpOC) has now catalogued weather satellites. It was placed into a 98.9° sun- 136 objects, making it a rather large breakup. The Briz-M Core Stage Fragments in figure below Elliptical Orbit 4 is a composite Gabbard plot, Russian SOZ Unit which shows a Breaks Up in March 4 classic pattern. As with previous The 2016 UN COPUOS STSC Meeting 5 NOAA breakups, much of the ORDEM 3.0 V&V debris will remain Document Available 5 in orbit for many decades in what Top Ten Satellite Breakups is already a very Reevaluated 5 crowded altitude. There is no ORDEM 3.0 indication that V&V Findings 7 the breakup was anything other Conference Report 10 than an explosion, Space Missions & possibly due to a Sat Box Score 12-13 battery failure. ♦ Dispersion of debris from the NOAA-16 breakup of 136 tracked debris (including the parent body). The Gabbard plot shows the classic “X” pattern indicative of an explosive breakup from a circular orbit. Note: All requests for information on the recent Astro H (Hitomi) A publication of event are being directed to JAXA, the Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency. the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office Orbital Debris Quarterly News A Debris History of the NOAA-Series Spacecraft The U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric the three generations of NOAA spacecraft have provided regular Administration (NOAA) eponymous spacecraft have provided weather data since the launch of NOAA 1 in 1970. NOAA’s third global weather data as the low Earth orbit (LEO) component of generation spacecraft, NOAA 1-5, were succeeded in service by the the integrated weather data service. As a follow-on to the first two more sophisticated fourth and fifth generations built around the generations of Television InfraRed Observation Satellites (TIROS), TIROS-N and Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) busses. Whereas the third generation vehicles resided in sun-synchronous orbits NOAA International Launch ISS Solid around 1500 km altitude, later vehicles were launched into SSN # Common Name Spacecraft Bus Type Designator Date Rocket Motor Generation lower-inclination orbits around 833 and 870 km altitude. 1970 - 106 4793 NOAA 1 (ITOS-A) DEC 70 3 TIROS-M x The table provides the flight log for these spacecraft. 1972 - 082 6235 NOAA 2 (ITOS-D) OCT 72 3 TIROS-M x The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) 1973 - 086 6920 NOAA 3 (ITOS F) NOV 73 3 TIROS-M x recognizes several types of debris-generating events. 1974 - 089 7529 NOAA 4 (ITOS G) NOV 74 3 TIROS-M x These include standard breakups and anomalous events. 1976 - 077 9057 NOAA 5 (ITOS H) JUL 76 3 TIROS-M x 1979 - 057 11416 NOAA 6 (NOAA A) JUN 79 4 TIROS-N STAR-37S Breakups are the usually destructive disassociation of an 1980 - 043 11819 NOAA B MAY 80 4 TIROS-N STAR-37S orbital object, typically characterized by large separation 1981 - 059 12553 NOAA 7 (NOAA C) JUN 81 4 TIROS-N STAR-37S velocities for the resulting fragments. Anomalous events 1983 - 022 13923 NOAA 8 (NOAA E) MAR 83 4 ATN STAR-37S 1984 - 123 15427 NOAA 9 (NOAA F) DEC 84 4 ATN STAR-37S are the unplanned separation of one or more objects from 1986 - 073 16969 NOAA 10 (NOAA G) SEP 86 4 ATN STAR-37S an essentially intact body, usually at a low velocity; these 1988 - 089 19531 NOAA 11 (NOAA H) SEP 88 4 ATN STAR-37S events may reflect the effects of the space environment on 1991 - 032 21263 NOAA 12 (NOAA D) MAY 91 4 TIROS-N STAR-37S the parent object. 1993 - 050 22739 NOAA 13 (NOAA I) AUG 93 4 ATN STAR-37S NOAA 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14 have experienced 1994 - 089 23455 NOAA 14 (NOAA J) DEC 94 4 ATN STAR-37S 1998 - 030 25338 NOAA 15 (NOAA K) MAY 98 5 ATN STAR-37XFP anomalous events over their operational and post-mission 2000 - 055 26536 NOAA 16 (NOAA L) SEP 00 5 ATN STAR-37XFP lifetimes. NOAA 8 also experienced a breakup event 2002 - 032 27453 NOAA 17 (NOAA M) JUN 02 5 ATN STAR-37XFP on 30 December 1985, believed to have been caused by 2005 - 018 28654 NOAA 18 (NOAA N) MAY 05 5 ATN x a battery explosion. None of these events, however, 2009 - 005 33591 NOAA 19 (NOAA N') FEB 09 5 ATN x TIROS: Television IR Observation Satellite ITOS: Improved TIROS Operational System were as dramatic as the November 2015 explosion of ATN: Advanced TIROS-N NOAA 16. ♦ ISS: Integrated Stage System Fragmentation of Fregat Upper Stage Debris A debris object associated with the launch (International Designator 2011-037B, U.S. reside in an elliptical deep space orbit similar to of Russia’s Spektr-R radio astronomy satellite Strategic Command [USSTRATCOM] Space the payload and is apparently uncataloged. The fragmented on 3-4 August 2015. The object Surveillance Network [SSN] catalog number fragmented object is most likely the separable 37756) is described fuel/oxidizer tank discarded by the Fregat upper in the SSN catalog stage between its early and later burns. Low‐thrust engines as SL-23 DEB, one The Lavochkin Fregat-SB is based on the of five debris objects Fregat upper stage but adds a toroidal hypergolic cataloged with this fuel/oxidizer tank, the sbrasyvaemye blok bakov launch. Four of the (SBB) and is variously referred to as the Main tank block debris objects, piece jettisoned tanks unit (JTU) or block (JTB), as tags C, E, F, and G, shown in Fig. 1. The tank accommodates two are likely the launch fuel and two oxidizer tanks, isolated by spherical Jettisoned vehicle second stage’s bulkheads; unfortunately, at this writing, it is tank block solid rocket motor not clear if these are common bulkheads, as separation caps, and employed in the design of the similar Briz-M are typically observed upper stage’s auxiliary propellant tank. The JTU Ignition support with launches of the uses high pressure helium bottles to pressurize system SL-23/Zenit-3SLBF the tanks and devices to sever attachment and variant launch vehicle. cabling to the Fregat upper stage body, perhaps Main engine Circumstances of this indicative of failure modes. mission’s launch profile Figure 2 provides another view of the Figure 1. A perspective view of the Fregat-SB upper stage. The suffix “SB” indicates the Fregat sbrasyvaemye baki or “jettisonable tanks” variant. Source: imply that the upper Ref. 1. stage, a Fregat-SB, may continued on page 3 2 www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov Fragmentation continued from page 2 The JTU structure basis of the Phobos-Grunt propulsion module/ is welded aluminum alloy cruise stage. AMg6 [2] while bulkheads are constructed of AD1 and AMg6 References alloys. Overall dimensions of 1. Land Launch User’s Guide/Rev. B, the toroid are 0.821-m height Space International Services, (1 October 2014). (tank diameter) and an overall 2. Anon. “Propulsion System for diameter of 3.440 m. Dry mass Delivering “Phobos-Grunt” Spacecraft on is quoted as 340-375 kg [3, 4, Phobos Surface”, p. 186. Accessed from ftp:// 5]. The fuel is unsymmetrical naif.jpl.nasa.gov February 2016. dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) 3. Zenit-3SLBV ILV/Zenit-M SRC while the oxidizer is nitrogen User’s Guide, Center for Ground Space tetroxide (N 2O 4). These Infrastructure Operations (TsENKI), (June hypergolic components can 2011). explode on contact, indicating a 4. Asyuchkin, V.A. and S.V. Ishin. possible failure mode. “Multipurpose Upper Stage “Fregat-SB” with Figure 2. The separated JTU. This unit, used by the Phobos-Grunt The event, of unknown Enhanced Power Capacity”, Solar System spacecraft, is assumed identical to the standard JTU. The actual JTU cause, produced a total of Research 46, no. 7, pp. 519-22 (December was likely covered with insulation blankets. Source: Ref. 2. 24 debris. As of 3 April 2016 2012). Russian-language manuscript originally none had entered the SSN published in Vestnik, no. 1, pp. 9-12, (2011). separated tank, revealing the He pressure catalog. Three Fregat-SB upper stages have been 5. Ilin, A. “Fobos-Grunt”, Novosti spheres and stage equipment and systems more launched, and a fourth, modified, provided the Kosmonavtiki, vol. , no. 1, p. 35, (January clearly. 22 2012). ♦ Briz-M Core Stage Fragments Near Geosynchronous Orbit The Briz-M upper stage associated with the launch of Russia’s Cosmos 2513 Additional fuel tank (AFT) Central fuel tank satellite fragmented on 16 January 2016 Upper stage (US) at approximately 03:50 GMT. The object Fairing lower adapter (International Designator 2015-075B, U.S.