Tumbling GEO debris variability period inferring via cross-residue technique

The core of inferring the debris' tumbling rate via point brightness is to acquire the periodical information of the debris' light curves. Cross-residue method was introduced to infer tumbling rate from the light curves while experimental analysis was made to justify its performance. First, theoretical analysis of cross-residue technique was provided with comparison to other rate inferring methods. Then, experimental measurements of a high-fidelity GEO debris model's light curves under 4 tumble attitudes were conducted as well as cross-residue analysis. Finally, the concept of Cross-residue Reciprocal Peak Significance Rate was put forward to analyze the light curve's cross-residue results, and spectral significance rates were calculated to figure out the best detection waveband. Experimental data shows that tumbling period is accurate and the best detection band is 380-490 nm. The current findings present a foundation for designing of future space-based and ground-based debris surveillance system.