Photon-Counting Lidar Ranging Stations for Centimetre-Class Orbit Refinement of Tracked Debris

This paper presents a computed design study of a civilian orbital-safety system based on active optical time-of-flight ranging with single-photon counting. It is a computed study of a civilian orbital-safety system, with no targeting application and no weapon application. Status: SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED. Under the stated assumptions the sizing gives a transmitted photons per pulse of 1.34e+18, a received photon expectation per pulse of 0.131, and a single shot range precision mm of 4.5. Further computed quantities include hundred shot precision mm of 0.45; pulses needed for 10 detections of 76.3; range km of 800. The design is sized end to end from the stated assumptions in the deposited computation, so every headline number can be reproduced, challenged and revised. Where the approach performs poorly, that result is reported at the same size as the favourable results: the limitations section names the conditions under which this design should not be chosen. The contribution is a complete, auditable sizing for one operating principle, intended to be compared like-for-like with sizings built on other principles for the same task.