Space debris detection over intersatellite communication signals

Antti Anttonen*, Markku Kiviranta, Marko Höyhtyä

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)
220 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this paper, we apply a space-borne radar and communications (SBRC) concept for detecting space debris over signals that are designed solely for communication purposes. By using a hidden capability of intersatellite communications signals to act as a radar signal as well, we propose a new approach for debris detection that can be used to address the challenges of long-distance and ground-based detection without introducing a separate space-borne radar infrastructure. The performance of the proposed SBRC approach is evaluated from the two timely perspectives in emerging satellite communications, i.e. high-density constellations and 5G satellites. Several new findings are discovered and demonstrated via sophisticated simulations. These include the effect of system-level cooperation gain in small debris detection and link-level estimation of high-velocity debris motion.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)156-166
JournalActa Astronautica
Volume187
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2021
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

The work was funded by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland through the internal Space For Earth and Extractor projects and in part by Business Finland through the 6G_Sat project.

Keywords

  • Fifth generation (5G)
  • High-density constellations
  • Space-borne radar and communications (SBRC)
  • Space debris

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Space debris detection over intersatellite communication signals'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this