Theory of Satellite Fragmentation in Orbit (Second Edition)

A new field of science called Satellite Fragmentation in Orbit was ushered in on 29 June 1961 when a Thor-Ablestar rocket exploded in orbit. However, it was not until 58 years and 268 additional satellite breakups later that the first book in this field entitled Theory of Satellite Fragmentation in Orbit appeared in print. The book begins with a survey of satellite breakups due to various causes such as explosion of residual fuel left in the upper stages, intentional destructions in anti-satellite (ASAT) tests, accidental collisions, etc. Fundamental physical processes underlying satellite fragmentations of various kinds are outlined. Exact solutions of velocity perturbations of the fragments in a satellite breakup were obtained and applied to analyze the nature of the fragmentation retrospectively. The formation of 'ricochet fragments' was shown to constitute a sufficient condition for collision in space.

Since then, several prominent satellite fragmentations in orbit had taken place, all of them due to collisions, which exhibited new phenomenology not witnessed before. For example, in March 2019, India's Microsat-R satellite was destroyed in an ASAT test by a kinetic kill vehicle (KKV) which exhibited signatures of four separate breakups, the first of which was due to impact by the KKV, and the subsequent breakups were due to the ignition of residual propellants. Also, Russia's unique version of direct-ascent ASAT test was carried out in November 2021, when its Cosmos 1408 satellite was struck from behind by a hypersonic Nudol missile. A butterfly pattern in the fragment cloud with three wings akin to p-orbitals of the hydrogen atom was recorded for the first time. This second edition now updates the orbiting satellite fragmentation phenomenology in one single volume for ready reference.