Orbital Debris Engineering Model Data Sources and Data Collection Systems

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), is hereby issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to invite comments and capability statements from Industry and Academia related to the availability of data sources and systems for collecting data on the populations of orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). Comments and capability statements from Industry and Academia should be documented utilizing the instructions found below in the "Specific Comments Sought" section. Information in this RFI regarding potential future requirements is being provided as notional information to interested parties to invite their comments or suggestions. The Government intends to consider all timely responses to this RFI before finalizing its procurement strategy. The responses to this RFI will not be posted, and questions submitted in response to this RFI will not be answered. This RFI is not a solicitation and no proposals are being solicited at this time. Do not submit any proprietary data in response to the RFI. Information with proprietary markings will not be read or considered. An RFI does not obligate the Government to issue a request for proposal in the future. Any future solicitation based on the requirements described in this RFI will be published in FedBizOps. OVERVIEW The Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) is a measurements-based model of the orbital debris populations in low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). As such, it uses a number of different data sources including radar, optical, and in situ (using an instrument aboard a spacecraft to measure debris that strike the spacecraft or are in the immediate vicinity) as statistical samples of the orbital debris environment. These data sources are used in conjunction with historical launch data, cataloged objects tracked by the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), and models that describe the evolution of the orbital debris environment to statistically fit the environment model and project environment growth into the future. To make use of a data source in building populations for ORDEM, the data needs to provide information over and above that information available from the SSN catalog; for instance, debris too small to be tracked by the SSN. Constraints on the data and typical characteristics of interest for ORDEM data sources are described in the "Specific Comments Sought" section. SPECIFIC COMMENTS SOUGHT NASA is interested in the capability of Industry and Academia to provide available data or data collection capability for the ORDEM environment model. In providing comments or capability statements on the data sources or collection systems described in this section, please address as many of the identified aspects of a particular data source as possible - any additional information that the responder considers important may be included as well. The Government specifically requests comments and capability statements relative to the following data source types and systems for orbital debris data collection: 1. LEO, MEO, and GEO Orbital Debris Measurement Data Sources and Systems a. Systems or data sources that provide direct or remote sensing measurements of orbital debris < 1cm in LEO (below 2000 km altitude) b. Systems or data sources that provide direct or remote sensing measurements of orbital debris < 10 cm in MEO c. Systems or data sources that provide direct or remote sensing measurements of orbital debris < 30 cm in GEO d. Note that data on populations at any altitude for sizes below about 3 mm are of high priority e. Past performance and relevant experience related to LEO, MEO, and/or GEO data sources or orbital debris measurements f. Note that intact objects, such as satellites and rocket bodies, are already tracked and information is already available on them from the SSN. Data on objects that are not tracked, and do not have detailed characterizations available by other means are of prime interest. g. While high-quality tracking orbits (e.g., Two-Line Element Set quality) are good, such detailed information is not necessarily needed for this purpose. Instead, information on an object's size and approximate Kepler orbit (with uncertainties on the parameters) is adequate for statistical models. If lower-quality orbit data are measured (e.g., not eccentricity), an understanding of the measurement uncertainties is needed. 2. Radar-based Orbital Debris Data Sources and Collection Systems a. Existing or future sources of radar data of the orbital debris environment: the system for making these measurements can operate in a fixed beam or fan beam for statistical sampling purposes -tracking of orbital debris in order to maintain a catalog is not necessary for our purposes, as long as approximate Kepler orbits can be determined. b. Information on calibration of the radar data to ensure accuracy of the range, range-rate, radar cross section, polarization, etc., of the radar-based orbital debris measurements c. Polarization of the transmitter and receiver - systems and data sources that provide information on the scattering from left and right-handed circularly polarized signals are of principal interest d. Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the transmitter e. Average power, peak power, pulse duration, and pulse repetition frequency of the radar f. Sensitivity of the receiver used to collect data g. Beamwidth of the transmit and receive antenna - if available h. Waveform types available for data collection, or used for data collection if it is a data source - ability to customize waveforms is of interest i. Type of radar transmit and receive geometry employed - monostatic or bistatic j. Practical range and altitude limits of the radar k. Available orbital element information from the data, or methods for determining orbital elements from the measurements - examples may also include special features of the data collection system that enable estimation of orbital elements when operating the system in a fixed-beam mode, e.g., through use of a Monopulse receiver or multiple receive antenna elements in an antenna array l. Pointing information for the data source or collection system - include any known pointing limits m. Latitude and longitude for the data collection system n. Frequency band of the system - it is not necessary to list the precise center frequency, and the general band designator, e.g., S-band, C-band, X-band, Ka-band, etc., may be provided instead. o. Past performance and relevant experience related to radar data sources and orbital debris measurements with radar. p. Observation time windows and total observation time - including times when the radar was operating but no detections were observed. q. The amount of data that can be expected over a reasonable time period (e.g., one year). 3. Telescope-based Orbital Debris Data Sources and Collection Systems a. Existing or future sources of telescope data of the orbital debris environment: the system for making these measurements can operate in a fixed or tracking mode for statistical sampling purposes - tracking of orbital debris in order to maintain a catalog is not necessary for our purposes, as long as approximate Kepler orbits can be determined. b. Astrometric observations - astrometric calibration of the telescope data to ensure astrometric accuracy of the measured debris position i. Right ascension (RA), declination (Dec), and epoch of the measured debris position ii. Uncertainties in the RA/Dec iii. Where available, RA/Dec rates and accelerations iv. UT Date and UT Time of observation and length of exposure time c. Photometry - photometric calibration of the telescope data to ensure photometric accuracy of the debris position and the magnitude of the telescope-based orbital debris measurements i. Measured values of the flux/magnitude ii. Uncertainties in the flux/magnitude iii. Filter used for the observations, e.g, UVBRI, SDSS: g'r'i'z', open iv. Time observation was taken and length of exposure time v. Signal-to-noise ratio of the observation d. In addition to passive telescope observations, active illumination by lasers, such as LIDAR, is also of interest i. Range ii. Illumination - wavelength, brightness, sensitivity, etc. e. Telescope/instrumentation: i. Sensitivity and type of detector used to collect data ii. Wavelength range of the detector iii. Telescope aperture, field-of-view iv. Field-of-regard v. Slew-rate of telescope, if applicable vi. Pointing of the telescope for each observation taken f. Available orbital element information from the data, or methods for determining orbital elements from the measurements g. Latitude and longitude for the data collection system h. Past performance and relevant experience related to telescope data sources and orbital debris measurements with telescopes. i. Observation time windows and total observation time - including times when telescope was operating, but no detections were observed. j. The amount of data that can be expected over a reasonable time period (e.g., one year). 4. In-situ-based Orbital Debris Data Sources a. Existing or future sources of in situ data of the orbital debris environment: the system for making these measurements should consist of detectors aboard an orbiting spacecraft that can detect debris in the near region of the spacecraft or can detect debris impacts on the sensors themselves. b. Note that, while debris objects less than approximately 300 ?m in size are of some interest, the primary regime of interest is in the 300 ?m to 3 mm size range, which means that the effective surface area of any detector would need to be many square meters in sensor area. c. The measurement technique should be able to measure directly or infer such parameters as the size, mass, and mass density of the debris and its associated speed and direction in the spacecraft frame. This can be a function of other possible measurable parameters such as momentum and energy. d. Information on calibration of the instrument is needed to ensure accuracy of the measured parameters. This may require extensive hypervelocity impact tests to calibrate the damage equations for an impact detector e. The effective collecting area of the sensor and its time-dependent orientation with respect to the orbit is needed for flux calculations. f. While real-time information is not required, information on the precise epoch when each individual detection occurred and where in the orbit the detector was is a very useful parameter for identifying the orbits of the debris clouds and their parent objects g. Sensitivity of the detector used to collect data - i.e., what is the minimum debris size detectable h. The orbit and orbit history of the parent spacecraft i. Observation time windows and total observation time - including times when the instrument was operating, but no detections were observed. j. The amount of data that can be expected over a reasonable time period (e.g., one year). 5. Organization Type and Size (As applicable for Academia) a. Name and address of firm; b. Size of business; c. Average annual revenue for past 3 years and number of employees; d. Ownership; e.g. large, Small Business (SB), SDB, 8(a), WOSB, VOSB, SD-VOSB, HUBZone, HBCU/MI; e. Number of years in business; COMMENTS RELATED TO THE RFI All comments and responses related to this RFI shall be submitted via e-mail directly to the Contracting Officer, Sophia Mo at sophia.mo@nasa.gov no later than 4:00 p.m. CST on March 6, 2019 to be considered timely.