GEO Protected Region Situation Analys is from the ISON observations

The protected GEO region is defined by boundaries in inclination (-15° ... +15°) and orbit radius (± 200 km with respect to true GEO height). There are nearly 390 operational satellites with orbits inside of this zone. In addition, there are nearly 280 officially catalogued objects with orbits completely inside of the protected zone, and nearly 180 catalogued GEO satellites with orbits crossing the protected zone. Research made by the ISON network revealed more than 250 previously unknown objects in the GEO region with orbits crossing the protected zone. Thus, we already have the significant amount of accurate information about the real population of artificial objects in the most valuable part of the GEO space. Based on information obtained by the ISON network, we will describe the situation with distribution of GEO objects inside the protected zone. Groups of operational satellites, owned by different operators and working in close proximity, will be characterized with examples constructed on the basis of real measurement data. Uncontrolled objects (both large and small) crossing GEO protected region will be classified by long term evolution peculiarities. Special case objects with the high area-to-mass ratio will be discussed. The importance of the more comprehensive deterministic study of the GEO protected region will be shown in our paper.