On the radio beacon technique for refinement the orbit of an asteroid

Приводятся аргументы в пользу неизбежной интенсификации полетов к астероидам. Это обусловлено ростом внимания к проблеме астероидно-кометной опасности, а также быстрым ростом интереса к освоению астероидных ресурсов. Массовость полетов ставит задачу оптимизации технологии уточнения параметров движения астероидов. Метод радиопередатчика (маяка), размещенного на околоастероидной орбите, позволяет уточнить положение астероида по сравнению с обычными средствами на 2-3 порядка. Отработка такой возможности была заложена в космическом проекте «Апофис», который ранее предлагался для включения в Федеральную космическую программу, а сейчас может быть частично реализован в рамках проекта «Бумеранг». Arguments are given in favor of the inevitable intensification of flights to the asteroids. This is due to the growing attention to the problem of asteroid/comet hazard, as well as the rapid growth of interest in exploration of asteroid resources. The massive flights require an optimal technology for refining the motion parameters of asteroid. The method of a radio transmitter (beacon) placed into a near-asteroid orbit makes it possible to refine the position of the asteroid by 2-3 orders of magnitude in comparison to conventional techniques. Working out this possibility was laid down in the “Apophis” space project, which was previously proposed for inclusion in the Federal space program, and now can be implemented in the “Boomerang” project.

Ground-based astrometry calibrated by Gaia DR1: new perspectives in asteroid orbit determination

Context. The Gaia Data Release 1 (GDR1) is a first, important step on the path of evolution of astrometric accuracy towards a much improved situation. Although asteroids are not present in GDR1, this intermediate release already impacts asteroid astrometry. Aims. Our goal is to investigate how the GDR1 can change the approach to a few typical problems, including the determination of orbits from short-arc astrometry, the exploitation of stellar occultations, and the impact risk assessment. Methods. We employ optimised asteroid orbit determination tools, and study the resulting orbit accuracy and post-fit residuals. For this goal, we use selected ground-based asteroid astrometry, and occultation events observed in the past. All measurements are calibrated by using GDR1 stars. Results. We show that, by adopting GDR1, very short measurement arcs can already provide interesting orbital solutions, capable of correctly identifying near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and providing a much more accurate risk rating. We also demonstrate that occultations, previously used to derive asteroid size and shapes, now reach a new level of accuracy at which they can be fruitfully used to obtain astrometry at the level of accuracy of Gaia star positions.