Concept for an orbital telescope observing the debris environment in GEO Original Research Article

This paper analyzes different concepts for the in situ detection of space debris by an optical telescope to be mounted on an orbiting platform as a secondary payload. It will be shown that even small telescopes can yield promising results within cost effective constellations. The impact of the mission profile of the primary payload on the results of the observation is presented. This analysis will be supported by parameter studies using the ESA-PROOF tool which enables a detailed simulation of arbitrary ground- and space-based telescopes. The requirements that the telescope poses to the mission in terms of mount, viewing direction and attitude stabilization are analyzed. The instrument configuration and parameters are then optimized for this particular mission. Finally, the results to be expected by this mission are presented.