Automated detection of orbital debris in digital video data from a telescope

As part of a program to measure, monitor, and predict the orbital debris environment the Orbital Debris Program Office of the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) collects video data through a 3-m zenith-staring liquid mirror telescope located in New Mexico. This paper presents methods and results from a PC-based digital video processing system that automates the detection and measurement of orbital debris and meteors in these videotapes. Results using the automated system were compared to those from two trained observers in reviewing 40h of video. These results demonstrate that the computer-automated system outperforms the combined results from two trained observers, achieving a 17 percent improvement in the detection rate of orbital debris per tape and a three-fold improvement in the detection rate of meteors.