Ascertainment degradation of satellite surface optical characteristics by photometric data

Abstract

The aim of the work is to check the possibility of detecting degradation of the surface of a geostationary satellite according to B, V, R photometry during a long stay of the satellite in space. The change in reflective characteristics in three filters of four geostationary satellites with different platforms over a time interval of 3-9 years is studied. These are geostationary satellites with Eurostar E3000, SSL-1300, Spacebus-4000B2 and Express-2000 buses. It is revealed that the nature of the change in the reflectivity of different geostationary satellites is not the same. Spacecraft materials used for the surfaces of geostationary satellites built in the second decade of the 21st century are more resistant to the rigors of space than those used for satellites built in the late 20th century. The presented results show that the photometric method works and can be used to detect surface degradation of spacecraft.