National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Consequences of the Collision of. Consequences of the Collision of. Iridi
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Consequences of the Collision of Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251
Presentation P t ti to t the th 52ndd Session S i off the th Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space United Nations 3-12 June 2009
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Collision of Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 •
The first accidental hypervelocity collision of two intact satellites occurred on 10 February 2009 at an altitude of 790 km. – The collision occurred in a region of high spatial density density, i.e., high concentration of objects. Iridium 33
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Iridium 33 (1997 (1997-51C), 51C), an operational U.S. communications satellite, collided with Cosmos 2251 (1993-36A), an non-functional Russian communications satellite. The Iridium satellite ceased functioning at the time of the collision.
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The U.S. Space Surveillance Network has tracked more than 1400 new debris in the orbital planes of the two spacecraft. – Many more debris smaller than 10 cm have also been detected detected. Cosmos 2251 2
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Simulation of Debris Clouds
3
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Composite Debris Tracked by US SSN 1800
Cosmos 2251 Apogee
1600
Cosmos 2251 Perigee Iridium 33 Apogee
1400
I idi Iridium 33 Perigee 33 P i
Altitude (kkm)
1200 1000 800 600 400 Data as of 1 June 2009
200 0 90
95
100
105
Period (min) 4
110
115
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Tracked Debris from Iridium 33 Total number of debris: 430 (as of 1 June 2009) 1800
Apogee
1600
Perigee
1400 1200
Altitude (km)
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1000 800 600 400 200 0 90
95
100
105
Period (min) 5
110
115
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Tracked Debris from Cosmos 2251 Total number of debris: 1009 (as of 1 June 2009)) 1800
Apogee 1600
Perigee
1400 1200
Altitude (km)
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1000 800 600 400 200 0 90
95
100
105
Period (min) 6
110
115
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Spread of Debris Orbital Planes
7
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Differences in Debris Characteristics •
The debris from Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 exhibit markedly different area to mass distributions area-to-mass distributions, probably due to the greater use of composite materials in Iridium 33.
Area-to-mass ratio (m2 per kg) 8
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Projected Debris Orbital Lifetimes •
Based upon standard solar cycles.
9
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Summary
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The collision of Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 was the most severe accidental fragmentation on record.
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More than 1400 debris larger than 10 cm were produced.
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If solar activity returns to normal normal, half of the tracked debris will reenter within five years. – Only 35 cataloged debris had reentered by 1 June 2009
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Some debris from both satellites will remain in orbit through the end of the century. century
