Orbital Debris Detection System Using Current Pulse Transformer

A detector for detecting optically undetectable sub-cm orbital debris. A ring detector comprising a current pulse transformer (CPT) in which a conducting wire coil is wrapped around a loop of high permeability material having a magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) core. Debris objects in low earth orbit beco...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Sen, Abhijit, Amatucci, William E, Ganguli, Gurudas I, Crabtree, Christopher
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
Published 21.03.2024
Subjects
BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS
ELECTRICITY
GEOPHYSICS
GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS
INDUCTANCES
MAGNETS
MEASURING
PHYSICS
SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
TESTING
TRANSFORMERS
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Summary:A detector for detecting optically undetectable sub-cm orbital debris. A ring detector comprising a current pulse transformer (CPT) in which a conducting wire coil is wrapped around a loop of high permeability material having a magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) core. Debris objects in low earth orbit become charged as they pass through local plasma. As each charged debris object passes through the coil-wrapped loop, its current generates an induced voltage pulse, which can be used to detect the presence of the debris object. By fielding such a detector on a satellite, a long duration survey of the debris distribution in the LEO region can be made as the satellite's altitude is systematically varied.
Bibliography:Application Number: US202318178036