The characteristics and consequences of the break-up of the Fengyun-1C spacecraft

The intentional break-up of the Fengyun-1C spacecraft on 11 January 2007 via a hypervelocity collision with a ballistic object created the most severe artificial debris cloud in Earth orbit since the beginning of space exploration. More than 2000 debris of the order of 10 cm or greater in size have been identified by the US Space Surveillance Network. The majority of these debris reside in long-lived orbits. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has conducted a thorough examination of the nature of the Fengyun-1C debris cloud, using Space Surveillance Network (SSN) data for larger debris and special Haystack radar observations for smaller debris. These data have been compared with the NASA standard satellite break-up model for collisions, and the results are presented in this paper. The orbital longevity of the debris have also been evaluated for both small and large debris. The consequent long-term spatial density effects on the low Earth orbit regime and the potential effect of the debris cloud on the growth of the near-Earth satellite population have been addressed.