Orbital Photonics
The detection and removal of space debris contributes to the preservation of space as a usable infrastructure. In the future, efficient and cost-effective solutions based on observation networks will be required for the optical detection, orbit determination and characterisation of orbital objects, and the institute is contributing to their development with innovative solutions. The technology developed will complement existing sensors, especially radar sensors, or be merged with them in the future. Overall, the Institute is involved in technological developments for the safe operation of current satellites and the safe realisation of future space missions. The Institute develops concepts and technologies for the reduction of space debris.
The number and density of objects in Earth orbit is steadily increasing, driven by both the general increase in space debris and the commercialisation of Earth orbit by mega-constellations. Even small parts with dimensions ranging from a few centimetres to a few decimetres generally pose a threat to the safe operation of satellites. There are currently around 1 million mission-critical objects with a size of more than one centimetre in orbit. The orbits of these objects are only incompletely known or are currently known with insufficient accuracy.
Laser optical detection methods offer the possibility of extended monitoring of the orbital object population. Passive-optical detection methods with a large field of view of the sensor system allow the remeasurement of the trajectories of orbital objects, which can then be transferred to laser-based tracking sensors for precise measurement of the orbit.
In Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) on co-operative orbital objects, satellites equipped with retroreflectors are measured with high precision using laser time-of-flight methods. A particularly compact and cost-effective SLR ground station (miniSLR) is currently being developed at the Institute of Technical Physics and is undergoing technology transfer. The optimised retroreflectors, which are directly adapted to the specifications of the SLR ground station as in-orbit components, are highly synergetic.
For the localisation of non-cooperative objects without retroreflectors, laser transmitters with higher power or receiving telescopes with larger apertures are required. Against this background, the Institute of Technical Physics is operating a new observatory for locating space debris at the Innovation Campus in Empfingen with specifications that are unique within the EU. The aim here is to locate scrap objects with dimensions in the decimetre range.