COMPUTATIONAL COMPARISON OF DEBRIS CLOUD MODELS

On-orbit breakup events give rise to concentrations of debris that, fo r some time after the event, have spatial densities considerably highe r than the background flux. Thus, a detailed knowledge of the extent t o which the cloud will grow over a given time period and an accurate a ssessment of the risk of collision for a spacecraft passing through it are important considerations when determining the debris collision ri sk to orbiting spacecraft, This study examines and compares two sets o f software models developed to address this problem and shows how such models can find use in real-life operational situations. Debris cloud modeling software developed at the University of Southampton is compa red with The Aerospace Corporation's models on a case study of the Cle mentine/Titan II second-stage fragmentation, The comparison shows that although good overall agreement between the modeling software is obse rved, significant discrepancies still exist in the modeling of fragmen tation events, and true validation of the models with real data is sti ll to be achieved.