# Aerostat-Based Observation of Space Objects in the Stratosphere  
[PERSON]  
1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (J.W.)  
2 Key Laboratory of Computational Optical Imaging Technology, Beijing 100094, China  
3 National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.S.)  
1  
[PERSON]  
334  
[PERSON]  
1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (J.W.)  
2 Key Laboratory of Computational Optical Imaging Technology, Beijing 100094, China  
3 National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.S.)  
1  
[PERSON]  
1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (J.W.)  
2 Key Laboratory of Computational Optical Imaging Technology, Beijing 100094, China  
3 National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.S.)  
1  
[PERSON]  
1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (J.W.)  
2 Key Laboratory of Computational Optical Imaging Technology, Beijing 100094, China  
3 National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.S.)  
1  
[PERSON]  
334  
[PERSON]  
1 Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (J.W.)  
2 Key Laboratory of Computational Optical Imaging Technology, Beijing 100094, China  
3 National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.S.)  
1  
Footnote 1: email: {jwang2020  
organizations. Its spatial range refers to the airspace from a 20 km to 100 km altitude, including the atmospheric stratosphere from 18 km to 55 km in altitude, the mesosphere from 55 km to 85 km, and the partial thermosphere from 85 km to 100 km [1; 2; 3]. It is difficult for either airplanes or satellites to stay in the near space for a long time. With current technology means, aerostats (stratosphere airships, high-altitude balloons) and solar-powered drones can fly or float at low speeds in the stratosphere. These air vehicles can be used to carry out astronomical observations in near space. This paper discusses the space observation application using the aerostat platform with an optical telescope.  
A high-altitude balloon is a near-space float platform [4] based on the principle of buoyancy and pressure control. The working height is the stratosphere above the dense atmosphere, where the electromagnetic radiation environment is close to space [5]; there are no weather phenomena such as clouds, fog, rain, and snow, which leads to better visibility and a darker sky background than ground-based astronomical observations. This platform has the characteristics of a long-time stay in near space, large load capacity, high flight altitude, and field deployment. Therefore, it can support the observation of space debris and NEA and form the ground-air-space-integrated monitoring network.  
To research the feasibility of space debris observations based on the stratosphere aerostat, a method similar to the site selection of ground-based astronomical observation was adopted, including the analysis of the observation of environmental conditions in near-space, aerostat-based observing methods, the equipment needed for space debris observation, and the simulation of observation capability.