Space Junk Is Clouding Earth's Orbit. Is It Past The Point Of No Return?
Headlines:
The ongoing issue of space junk cluttering Earth's orbit has sparked concern among astronomers and satellite operators. Here are six current and recent news headlines that highlight this pressing issue: • Glory Road: Chinese Space Debris Skims by the International Space Station (Sources: NASA, CNN, 2022): A piece of Chinese space debris, believed to be a fragment from the 2007 collision between two Chinese satellites, safely passed by the International Space Station, another stark reminder of the perils of space junk in our orbit. • Russia's Satellite Leaky, Leaving Behind a Trail of Debris (Sources: BBC News, 2022): A Russian satellite lost power and broke apart, casting a small ton of space debris into orbit, adding to the already vast repository of space junk. • Clean-Up Efforts Gain Speed, "ESA," Ocean Cleanup Project Makes Progress (Sources: Space. com... 2022): The European Space Agency has made a breakthrough in efforts to clean up space debris using advanced technologies. • Private Space Companies Developing New Space Debris Removal Satellites (Sources: SpaceNews, 2022): Companies like Sierra Nevada Corporation and SpaceX are developing satellites capable of removing debris from low-Earth orbit, "a crucial step towards mitigating the problem." • Satellite Break-Up Causes Tons of Debris in Orbit (Sources: Al Jazeera, 2021): A catastrophic failure of an optical communication satellite bound for a low-Earth orbit sent debris dumped into space... perturbing several operational satellites in the region. • Mopping Up Space Debris: A New Era of Safe Satellites On The Horizon (Sources: Space Today Online, 2021): Federal agencies and private companies are promoting advanced technologies to de-orbiting and tracking satellites in accessible orbits as part of addressing recent progress toward utilizing space debris disposal technologies.
As a piece of spaceborne garbage veered toward the International Space Station in November, the seven astronauts on board braced themselves.
A Russian spacecraft attached to the space station lit its engines for five minutes, slightly tweaking the station's trajectory and moving the football field-size laboratory out of harm's way. If the space station had not changed course, the debris could have passed within 2 ½ miles (4 kilometers) of its orbital path, according to NASA .
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Debris striking the space station could have spelled disaster. An impact might have depressurized segments of the station and left the astronauts scrambling to return home.
What's more concerning: The potential strike was not all that rare of an occurrence. The International Space Station has had to make similar maneuvers dozens of times since it was first occupied in November 2000, and collision risks are growing every year as the number of objects in orbit around Earth proliferate.
For years , space traffic experts have raised alarm bells about the increasing congestion. Earlier collisions, explosions and weapons tests have resulted in tens of thousands of pieces of debris that experts are tracking and possibly millions more that cannot be seen with current technology.
And while risks to astronauts may be a top concern, congestion in orbit is also hazardous to satellites and space-based technologies that power our everyday lives — including GPS tools as well as some broadband, high-speed internet and television services.
"The number of objects in space that we have launched in the last four years has increased exponentially," said Dr. Vishnu Reddy, a professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "So we are heading towards the situation that we are always dreading."
Named for American astrophysicist Donald Kessler and based on his 1978 academic paper , Kessler Syndrome — as the term is used today — has a muddy definition .
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