Deeper Dive: Space Debris
I was kind of stumped for areas of space to look into I was a bit stumped for where to start and I didn’t wanna dive further into the research from last time as it was very basic and hard to look into.
Anon, (n.d.). 154 Cool Astronomy Research Topics | Best Space Topics. [online] Available at: https://paperwritten.com/blog/astronomy-research-topics/
I looked online for different topics that are interesting to research about space and this page I tagged above I looked into this page and since I wanna do more detailed research into these topics I have decided to only pick three of the questions to do further research into these topics ones that I feel may provide me with good research and game ideas.
What are Space Debris and its causes?
Jagranjosh.com. (2018). What are Space Debris and its causes? [online] Available at: https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/what-is-space-debris-and-its-causes-1542890690-1
Space Debris referred to the debris found in the solar system such as asteroids, comets, and meteoroids (small rocky or metallic bodies in outer space)
abandoned pieces of old satellites and used rocket stages are no longer functional (non-operational).
The term debris implies the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up.
Around 70 years of space exploration started from unmanned to the manned vehicle into space for scientific data. Today, most of the older man-made materials such as abandoned pieces of old satellites and used rocket stages are no longer functional (non-operational).
These abandoned pieces of man-made space material still orbiting in the low Earth orbit. On some occasions, they collide with other dead pieces of man-made space material which produces some more debris.
What causes Space Debris?
Space debris consists of not only broken pieces of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids but also abandoned pieces of old satellites and used rocket stages including the remainder of rocket fuel, paint flakes, frozen liquid coolant, etc.
According to the report of the United States Space Surveillance Network, there are more than 13,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 cm (4 inches), about 200,000 pieces between 1 and 10 cm (0.4 and 4 inches), and also predicted there could be millions of pieces smaller than 1 cm.
The Threat Of Collision
This debris travels at a high speed which is up to 8 km per second which might be a threat to both manned and unmanned spaceflight. Most of the debris can be found in geostationary orbit above the equator.
The threat of the collision came into existence when an operational satellite and a piece of space debris took place when a fragment from the upper stage of a European Ariane rocket collided with Cerise (French microsatellite) on July 24, 1996.
The real threat came to light when Iridium 33 (a communications satellite owned by the American company Motorola), collided with Cosmos 2251 which destroyed the operational satellite.
Taylor, M.W. (2007). Trashing the Solar System One Planet at a Time: Earth’s Orbital Debris Problem. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, [online] 20, p.1. Available at: https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/gintenlr20&div=4&id=&page=
Space Debris and its impact on the Solar System.
20 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 1 (2007-2008)
Trashing the Solar System One Planet at a Time: Earth's Orbital Debris Problem – Found on google scholar
In just the first two months of 2007, the number of space objects orbiting the earth increased by an estimated 32%.
Since at least the late 1980s scientists and legal communicators have been calling for states and the international community to take action against the creation of space junk.
Grieg, F. (2019). Space junk: how much debris is orbiting Earth. [online] inews.co.uk. Available at: https://inews.co.uk/news/science/space-junk-map-debris-earth-where-how-clean-up-337880
How much space junk is there in Earth’s orbit?
Earth is surrounded by around 8,000 tons of space junk. (Picture: Getty). According to Professor Aglietti, there are roughly 8,000 tones of space junk hurtling around our planet.
What happened in 2007?
MIT Technology Review. (n.d.). China’s Antisatellite Missile Test: Why? [online] Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/2007/03/08/226350/chinas-antisatellite-missile-test-why
Chinese anti-satellite missile test (11th January 2007)
On January 11, 2007, an aging Chinese Feng Yun 1C polar weather satellite orbiting 865 kilometers above Earth was struck by a kinetic kill vehicle carried on a ballistic missile launched from China’s Xichang Space Centre.
It was a successful anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test that showed that the Chinese could, in the future, knock down U.S. satellites.
the Chinese ASAT test is the largest debris-generating event in Earth orbit ever recorded.
The impact of Chinese missile
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chinese_anti-satellite_missile_test
NORAD has cataloged 917 pieces of debris. Yet that figure represents only what’s trackable; NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office estimates that more than 35,000 pieces of debris larger than one centimeter were also created.
Several nations responded negatively to the test and highlighted the serious consequences of engaging in the militarization of space. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao stated, "There's no need to feel threatened about this" and argued that "China will not participate in any kind of arms race in outer space.“
Anti-satellite missile tests, especially ones involving kinetic kill vehicles as in this case, contribute to the formation of orbital space debris which can remain in orbit for many years and could interfere with future space activity.
Kessler syndrome
Science ABC. (2019). What Happens To The Space Junk That Flies Around The Earth? [online] Available at: https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/universe/what-is-kessler-syndrome-definition-example-effects-solution.html#what-is-the-kessler-syndrome.
Kessler syndrome is a situation wherein the density of objects in the Low Earth Orbit grows so high that collisions between two objects could cause a massive cascade, wherein those collisions generate more space debris, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of further collisions.
NASA scientist Donald J Kessler first discussed the problems caused by ‘space junk’ in a paper titled Collision Frequency of Artificial Satellites: The Creation of a Debris Belt, which was published back in 1978. He described a self-sustaining cascading collision of space debris in the Low Earth orbit.
The National Space Centre. (n.d.). The Kessler Syndrome. [online] Available at: https://spacecentre.co.uk/blog-post/the-kessler-syndrome/#:~:text=Kessler%20proposed%20a%20theoretical%20scenario%20where%20the%20number
Kessler proposed a theoretical scenario where the number of objects in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) would become so vast that it would cause a chain of events that could eventually stop us from leaving Earth.!!!!!!!!!!
