Dynamics of Meteor Outbursts and Satellite Mitigation Strategies

Book excerpt: The potential threat posed by Leonid meteroids to orbiting spacecraft over the next several years calls for new dynamic mitigation strategies to assist the satellite community in reducing the danger to its vehicles. This book offers deliberate dynamic mitigation strategies to complement the traditional shielding strategies, providing mission operators additional ways to decrease the danger. Five different attitude control and orbit maneuvering options are examined in detail. The information is presented in algorithmic form to allow technically competent, but meteoroid inexperienced, operators to easily understand the phenomena, assess the danger, and implement procedures. Although general in scope, the book emphasizes the Leonid meteor events of the 1998-2002 timeframe.