Active Control Loop of the BOROWIEC SLR Space Debris Tracking System

Abstract

The task of tracking cooperative satellites equipped with laser retroreflectors, by means of Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), is an issue well described in the literature. The follow-up movement of the ground-based transceiver telescope behind an orbital object is based on the positional ephemeris data. The problem of controlling the follow-up motion of the telescope’s mount mostly in the Az/El configuration in this case boils down to the interpolation of the positional ephemeris data of the orbital object, which is the information input vector for the motion control system of the orthogonal and non-coupled axes of the propulsion system. In the case of tracking and determining the position of uncooperative objects (not equipped with retroreflectors), for which we can include rocket bodies and fragmentary elements, the task of keeping track of them becomes complex. The positional uncertainty of the ephemeris of uncooperative objects obtained mainly by means of survey radar acquisition requires the use of innovative solutions and complex control systems that enable the effective implementation of the tracking process. This paper presents innovative methods for the active control loop used in the SLR technique, consisting of dynamic motion corrections based on the passive optical acquisition with object recognition and analysis of the photon trace scattered from an orbital object.