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space debris by carol higgins
May’s sunshine and rising temperatures inspire us to get started on our spring cleaning and yard work. But in the region above our planet where satellites orbit, various crew, and cargo vehicles travel to the International Space Station, and missions begin their trip to destinations in the solar system, things are not that easy when it comes to finding ways to clean up the neighborhood. This month we’ll take a look at the unwanted objects circling our planet – commonly known as orbital debris or “space junk”. The Soviet Union launched the first manmade object into orbit on October 4, 1957, a small satellite named Sputnik. Recently the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) reported that over ten thousand satellites have been launched since then, and over 3,300 active satellites were orbiting our planet as of December 2020. Today we rely on satellites for communications, navigation, weather and environmental reports, television shows and movies, banking and commercial services, planetary science, and national defense to name just a few benefits we take for granted. But there is a downside to the story, and the main culprit is dangerous debris that travels with those satellites. NASA defines space debris as “any human-made object in orbit about the Earth that no longer serves any useful purpose”. It includes upper stages of rockets, satel-
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lites, or spacecraft that reached the end of a mission or malfunctioned, fragments creOrbital Debris around Earth ated by the collision or explosion of satelNASA ODPO lites, and unintentional sheddings such as paint chips and insulation. satellite hit a functioning Iridium-33 satel International partners and the U.S. lite, creating 2,000 objects and destroying Space Surveillance Network continually the $15 million satellite. track debris because the consequences of The Hubble Space Telescope and the ISS an impact with a satellite, the InternationHanny’s Voorwerp. Imageimpacted. Credit: NASA,Astronauts ESA, W. Keel, Galaxy Team are also in theZooHubble al Space Station (ISS), and other valuable repair missions discovered numerous imassets could be devastating. Sometimes pacts on the outer metal surfaces, including collision avoidance maneuvers are used, one segment with over 50 hits. They also changing the altitude of a satellite or the noted an impact had completely penetratISS for example. Debris particles are ed an antenna dish. The ISS has also been tracked by size and divided into three risk damaged, including a circular chip in one categories: catastrophic, mission ending, of the Cupola windows that appeared in and significant impact or loss of mission. 2017, causing one of the four-layer panes NASA is tracking at least 26,000 to be replaced as a safety measure. baseball-size or larger objects (10 cm and Some debris will eventually burn up above) in the catastrophic category. Over in the atmosphere, but that can take many 500,000 marble size or larger (1 cm and decades. In the meantime, international above) objects are in the mission-endspace agencies are working together to iming category and can puncture fuel tanks, prove satellite reliability, propose refueling spacecraft, and other critical systems. Obof aging satellites and deorbit strategies, jects in the third group are the size of a and offer ideas to capture and remove degrain of salt (1 mm and larger) and there bris such as the European Space Agency’s are over 100 million of them. Since evClearSpace mission and Japan’s two-phase erything is traveling 17,500 mph, those mission to remove one of their upper stage tiny objects can crack windows, penetrate rockets. To learn more about NASA’s efspacesuits, and damage important infraforts to track and mitigate orbital debris, structure such as solar panels. visit the www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov Several events have created large dewebsite. bris fields. In 2007, China’s experiment to Wishing you clear skies and good destroy a non-functioning satellite generathealth! • ed over 3,000 pieces. In 2009, a Russian
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