25 years of operational surveys for small-sized space debris in higher altitudes

Monday 13 Oct 2025, 10:00 → 17:00 Europe/Amsterdam

Space Eye Uecht

Tim Flohrer (ESA/ESOC)

ESA has been running optical surveys for space debris via the Optical Ground Station (OGS) at Tenerife from the mid 1990ies. The surveys  became operational in 1999.

These ESA surveys have been regarded as highly successful, and the many successes and first discoveries (small debris in GEO, small debris in GTO, monitoring of related clouds, discovery of HAMR, and their characterisation via spectra, photometry, and long-term monitoring, etc.) deserve a symposium as the leader of these activities, Prof. Thomas Schildknecht, is retiring from the University of Bern. 

This symposiums aims to revisit the scientific results, and to connect the findings to the emerging future needs, such as the “Zero Debris Approach” that a community of like-minded actors have defined recently.

Celebrating the successes should also leave room for discussing the main challenges and how they have been solved, what we learned from the surveys, and maybe also sharing so far untold stories. 

The symposium is planned to take place at the „Space Eye“, the largest publicly accessible telescope in Switzerland and planetarium, which is located just outside of Bern. On-site and virtual participation in the planned symposium will be possible, subject to a confirmed registration for logistical reasons.

10:00 → 10:10 Opening remarks

Speaker: Dr Tim Flohrer (ESA/ESOC)

10:10 → 10:30 Words of welcome - Holger Krag (ESA), NN

10:40 → 11:00 Why does ESA search for space debris in high altitudes? Space debris observation needs for a Zero Debris future

Speakers: Dr Jan Siminski (ESA), Tim Flohrer (ESA/ESOC)

11:00 → 11:20 TBC (The history of the ESA surveys)

Speaker: Prof. Thomas Schildknecht

11:30 → 11:50 Astrometry to Artificial Earth Satellites -- Contributions by Thomas Schildknecht

Speaker: Prof. Gerhard Beutler

11:50 → 12:10 GEO/Molniya surveys and beyond with AGO70 and Astros’ network

Speaker: Prof. Jiří Šilha (Comenius University)

12:10 → 12:30 Cislunar SSA and Object Characterization

Speaker: Prof. Carolin Frueh (Purdue)

12:30 → 13:30 Refreshments and Tour Space Eye

13:30 → 13:40 First Space Debris Observations OGS in Tenerife

Speaker: Prof. Urs Hugentobler

13:40 → 14:00 The Michigan Program of Optical Observations of Small Size GEO Debris (recorded talk)

Speaker: Prof. Pat Seitzer (University of Michigan)

14:00 → 14:20 (TBC) The use of ESA's survey data in space debris environment modeling

14:20 → 14:40 The International Exchange Platform SMARTnet: From the First Idea to Worldwide Operations

Speaker: Dr Hauke Fiedler (DLR GSOC)

14:50 → 15:10 From Specks to Shapes: Characterizing Satellite Attitude and Reflectance

Speaker: Prof. Fabrizio Piergentili (La Sapienza)

15:10 → 15:30 Wide field of view optical sensors for LEO objects detection and data processing technologies

Speakers: Nils Bartels (DLR ITP), Ranga Rosok (DLR ITP)

15:30 → 15:50 The ExpertCentre supporting the development and qualification of observation means

Speakers: Dr Alessandro Vananti, Tim Flohrer (ESA/ESOC)

16:00 → 17:00 Apero