June 20, 2017
I grew up watching Star Trek and continue to be a huge fan of all things outer space. And, of course I love working in sustainable materials management. So, the two together make for exciting news!
Waste in space has been discussed for a number of years now. Back in 2010, Wired featured a lengthy article on the subject - The Looming Space Junk Crisis: It’s Time to Take Out the Trash. Space debris includes a multitude of objects: there are the smaller items, including nuts and bolts, tools, etc. on up to some 4,000 defunct satellites; and then there are rocket stages, which are as large as school buses. As with so many human-caused problems, space debris continues to grow.
Wired reports that it was one Donald Kessler who first brought the space junk issue to NASA’s attention in the late 1970s. As Kessler describes, “Spent satellites and other space trash would accumulate until crashes became inevitable. Colliding objects would shatter into countless equally dangerous fragments, setting off a chain reaction of additional crashes.”
Due to Kessler’s influence, NASA established the Orbital Debris Program Office to study the problem. The work at the Center centers on “developing an improved understanding of the orbital debris environment and measures that can be taken to control debris growth.” Check out the Center’s computer generated “Debris in Motion” video. The Center operates severalOrbital Debris Radars and Orbital Debris Optical Telescopes to study the issue.
According to Wired’s 2016 article “The 12 Greatest Challenges for Space Exploration,” the US Space Surveillance Network is watching some 17,000 objects at least the size of a softball and upwards of 500,000 objects under 10 centimeters, racing around the planet at speeds of more than 17,500 mph. Each of these objects—even the smallest—can cause severe damage to any of the more than 1,300 satellites which orbit Earth, space telescopes, and of course space ships. Not to mention hurtling junks of debris falling down to the planet (which has happened by the way).
Just last year, a tiny piece of debris pierced a hole in the solar panel of Copernicus Sentinel-1A, an observation satellite operated by the European Space Agency. As private companies such as SpaceX continue to join the space race, new satellites and other orbiting objects will undoubtedly grow, including “mega-satellite constellations” planned by private companies.
And remember Gravity, a film which depicts the Russian’s missile strike on a defunct satellite. In the film, the action causes a chain reaction resulting in a mass of space debris which slams into NASA Space Shuttle Explorer. (BTW, great film in 3D.)
Currently, dead orbiting satellites are pretty much left on their own when they fail, becoming orbiting space junk. No one wants to spend money on retrieving them. There are decommissioning programs—if countries choose to use them—which cause the satellites to leave orbit and burn up when they reenter the atmosphere. There are also international guidelines designed to prevent additional space debris from accumulating in orbit. Unfortunately at the moment these guidelines are not legally binding.
Even if we start to limit new space junk, there’s still all the existing stuff to deal with. Ideas floating for potential clean-up solutions include: garbage-cleaning spacecraft equipped with harpoons, nets, robotic arms, and even lasers to cook the tiny bits of debris. Reportedly, there is a mission planned by the European Space Agency “Clean Space” Initiative to take down “a very large piece of debris.”
Given how much our planet relies on satellites—weather reports, live broadcasts and other forms of communication, navigation systems for air and vehicle travel, and more—one would think international cooperation on space junk would be imperative. Who knows, maybe space can help usher in a new era of worldwide cooperation?
By Athena Lee Bradley
Comments (0)
Add a Comment