Reconfigurable Optical System for Space Object Tracking

The growing quantity of space debris poses a serious hazard to functioning satellites. Mitigating space debris is critical to ensure the safe and sustainable use of space in Earth’s orbit. Near-Earth objects such as asteroids can pose a serious threat to infrastructure and life on the ground. As space debris and near-Earth object observation communities use similar techniques and processes to measure space objects, the need for synergy is growing. This paper presents the ability of small sensors to detect and track such objects using the implemented technology – CCD image stacking in equatorial coordinates. The experimental optical system is intended for both positional astrometric and laser ranging observations – its optical scheme is reconfigurable. Here we provide the technical characteristics of the system and a description of its functionality using comprehensive control and analysis software. We propose a method of image stacking, which has several advantages in searching space objects by different optical systems and their combinations. This method enables increasing the brightness of space objects, visualizing their motion relative to stars, and stacking images obtained by optical systems with different technical parameters.