  Observations of the Kuiper Belt indicate that a larger than expected
percentage of KBO's (approximately 8 out of 500) are in binary pairs. The
formation and survival of such objects presents a conundrum [1]. Two competing
theories have been postulated to try to solve this problem. One entails the
physical collision of bodies [2] while the other utilizes dynamical friction or
a third body to dissipate excess momentum and energy from the system [3].
Although in general known binaries tend to differ significantly in mass, such
as seen in the Earth-Moon or asteroid binary systems [4], Kuiper binaries
discovered to date tend to instead be of similar size [5, 6]. This paper
investigates the stability, development and lifetimes for Kuiper Belt binaries
by tracking their orbital dynamics and subsequent evolution. Section two
details the numerical model while Section three discusses the initial
conditions. Finally, in Section four the results are discussed with Section
five containing the conclusions.
