Orbital debris characterization: ETS staring survey

As part ofAir Force Phillips Laboratory's Space Debris Program, MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test System has conducted three separate types of surveys to detect small uncataloged debris. In addition, follow-up metric and photometric observations have also been made. The goal of these observations is to characterize the low earth space debris environment down to sizes of 1 cm. The dual telescope staring survey, conducted in 1990, employed stereo (parallactic) viewing to enable estimates of the target altitudes to be determined. We will describe the stereo survey techniques, a pipeline image processor to reduce the video tapes, and our plans for data analyses. We will also present a brief overview of the program results to date, emphasizing extensive observations of two small optically detected debris.