The number of satellites is rapidly growing, hence the demand for increasingly precise knowledge of the satellites’ orbital parameters is essential to avoid collisions, debris, and efficient use of the orbits. Recognizing, cataloging, and measuring with better confidence are actions crucial to preserve the health of crewed and uncrewed flying objects. Moreover, strategies to distinguish them may vary: TNO is developing suitable optical instrumentation for flying object reconnaissance along these two main paths. The satellite license plate (SLP) is a collaborative method based on a tag mounted on the satellite before launch. This plate consists of retroreflectors and wisely arranged bandpass filters. Therefore, it is passive and needs no power as opposed to an onboard radio beacon. Once a ground-based laser terminal illuminates the tag attached to the satellite, it sends back to Earth a signal encoding a unique identifier in the spectral domain. The current activities of TNO focus on proof-of-principle experiments in relevant environments (free-space tests over 2.5 km distances) and system design.
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