Phd in AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ENGINEERING

Thesis title: Innovative space debris surveillance systems for circumterrestrial space sustainability and space traffic management

The exponential increase in the number of objects orbiting the Earth pose new challenges from the monitoring and mitigation point of view. The overcrowding of the orbits rise the likelihood of collisions between active satellites and non-cooperative objects called space debris, with potentially catastrophic consequences. In this complex scenario, the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program was established to identify and characterize space objects and their operational environment, ensuring safe, stable, and sustainable space activities. Within this program, the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) service plays a crucial role in tracking and monitoring space objects, providing precise data on their orbits as well as their physical and dynamic characteristics. One of the most widely used methods to mitigate the space debris issue, particularly in geostationary orbit, is SST through optical ground stations. Typically, optical SST operations rely on a telescope, a mount, and an optical sensor. However, an alternative approach involves the use of commercial Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras mounted on fixed tripods. This study focuses on the development of a novel optical system based on this configuration, specifically designed for SST activities in geostationary orbit: the SURGE system. The main objective is to evaluate its performance from both an astrometric and photometric perspective. Beyond the advantages offered by SURGE—such as a wide field of view, the ability to simultaneously observe multiple objects, and multi-wavelength (RGB) imaging—several challenges must be addressed. To meet the accuracy requirements of SST services, issues such as lens distortion, electronic noise, low quantum efficiency, and time synchronization errors have been analyzed and mitigated. As a result, SURGE proves to be a viable optical support system within the SSA/SST framework.