DISCARD
Scheda del progetto
Università di Torino
Roberta Sirovich
Antonio Giulio Coretti
They are ~1 million in LEO orbit and can collide with orbiting satellites, damaging them and producing new debris. As most of these are uncatalogued, the main purpose of the system is to pursue space safety, acting as a technological and scientific demonstrator with future commercial applications.
Contacts:
Contact person
Prof. Mario Edoardo BERTAINA
marioedoardo.bertaina@unito.it
The aim of the project is to develop a space detector capable of identifying and tracking space debris between 1 and 10 cm in size in real time.
The system proposed here implements an innovative technique that allows a single small satellite to detect thousands of debris. Due to its small size, the detector could be installed on any type of satellite as a collision warning system. It is a completely different system from those that already exist, as it aims to provide real-time monitoring of space debris and, in the future, possibly even remove it. The idea has been patented with a 75% national industrial patent in UNITO's possession.
An accurate catalogue of existing space debris is crucial both for new missions, in order to ensure safe orbits for satellites, and for insurance companies, in order to assess risks. The first users of this technology will be the international scientific community for space exploration and aerospace companies. The end users will be citizens. Space debris management is part of the so-called 'Space Economy'. The University of Turin team will work side by side with the company AIKO S.r.l. with the aim of finalising the development of the system proposed here from a market perspective. Thanks to the collaboration with AIKO and existing contacts with the Piedmontese aerospace world, it will be possible in the future to participate in national tenders such as those of the ASI. Companies and the ASI are the commercial channels for this type of product.