Design and development of DRAGONS in-situ orbital debris detection and characterization payload

Abstract

Orbital debris poses a constant threat to satellites. Some larger debris can be tracked and avoided, but smaller objects cannot be tracked. In addition, there exists a data gap in orbital debris dispersion models for particles less than 5 mm in diameter. The Debris Resistive/Acoustic Grid Orbital Navy Sensor (DRAGONS) fills this critical gap in debris monitoring capability. DRAGONS is a sensor system developed by the U.S. Naval Academy and NASA. Consisting of multiple sensor layers, the sensor is capable of providing size, velocity, angle of incidence, and density information of the impacting micrometeoroid and orbital debris. DRAGONS will provide real-time monitoring of orbital debris of small sizes, and will be deployed on the outside of the International Space Station in 2016 for in-situ characterization of debris flux, resulting in improved risk assessment and situation awareness. DRAGONS has been developed and tested for functionality. However, some concerns were raised in regards to its sensitivity to the possible damage that may occur due to environmental loading. The paper provides an overview of the design of the sensor grid, and discusses test results for thermal and vibration loading, as well as potential secondary damage from the force of particle impact.