Photometrical observations and shape modeling of space debris in medium Earth orbits

Abstract

The circular medium Earth orbits with a period of about half a day in the inclination range from 50° to 70° are used by various global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as GLONASS, GPS, Beidou, Galileo. GNSS operating orbits are one of the important areas in near-Earth space. The information about the space debris (SD) existing in this region and its characteristics is important for risk assessments and mitigation. We report the results of photometrical observations of SD objects in the vicinity of GNSS orbits obtained with the 1.6-meter AZT-33IK telescope of ISTP SB RAS Sayan Solar Observatory in 2018–2023. We show how SD objects existing in this region are distributed relative to GNSS objects. We derive time and phase dependences of the apparent brightness of all measured SD objects. Folded light curves are constructed, rotation periods and their dynamics are determined. The results of modeling the light curve inherent for several SD objects from the GNSS orbital are presented. We suggest a possible space object shape and parameters of proper rotation, which correspond to the observed light curve.