JSC 62530 (13TH EDITION), HISTORY OF ON-ORBIT SATELLITE FRAGMENTATIONS (MAY 2005)

JSC 62530 (13TH EDITION), HISTORY OF ON-ORBIT SATELLITE FRAGMENTATIONS (MAY 2005)., The first edition of the History of On-Orbit Satellite Fragmentations was published by Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) in August 1984, under the sponsorship of the NASA Johnson Space Center and with the cooperation of USAF Space Command and the US Army Ballistic Missile Command. The objective was to bring together information about the 75 satellites which had at that time experienced noticeable breakups. This update encompasses all known satellite fragmentations. This update is published by the NASA Johnson Space Center, Orbital Debris Program Office with support from Lockheed Martin Space Operations and Viking Science & Technology, Inc. Since the twelfth edition there have been 13 identified on-orbit breakups and five anomalous events. This activity has resulted in an approximately 7% increase in the historical cataloged debris count (since May 2001) which includes on-orbit and decayed objects, though less than 1% increase in the on-orbit debris count is observed. The lack of a significant increase is due both to higher Solar activity (and its concomitant increase in atmospheric drag for a given LEO orbit) and the implementation of debris mitigation measures on the part of launching agencies and organizations.