Orbital Debris Max Williams video
What Is Orbital Debris? Space junk! Human’s have been launching things into space since 1957. ~ 21,000 objects larger than a softball are actively tracked by NASA and the DOD Hundreds of thousands of objects larger than a tennis ball Tens of millions of objects larger than 1 mm.
What Kinds of Debris are Floating Around In Earth’s Orbit? Flecks of paint from spacecraft Flecks of metal from spacecraft Fragmentation from every explosion, disintegration, collision, and erosion that has occurred during space missions Spent rocket stages Inactive and defunct satellites (some as large as a truck!) Note: Most debris from large satellites and rockets will fall to Earth, but much of it remains in space.
Astronauts are Clumsy Spatula Camera (2007) video $100,000 tool bag Glove (1965 Gemini 4, first space walk) 1,400 lb. tank of ammonia Camera (2007) video Pliers (2007) Astronaut urine Gene Roddenberry’s ashes
How Do We Know? Orbital Debris Engineering Models (ORDEM) from NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office NASA, DOD, and ESA RADAR networks actively track debris categorized by size
Attention Pilots: DANGER!
Impact On Space Travel Debris velocity: ~ 17,000 mph A 1 cm. piece of debris has the same kinetic energy as a huge metal safe flying at 60 mph. Average impact velocity: over 23,000 mph Depends on direction of space craft travel Example: International Space Station ISS regularly adjusts its position to avoid “Red Conjunction” incidents
Impact on Digital Communications Space debris can collide with communications satellites that control everyday functions on Earth
2009 Satellite Collision American Iridium 33 satellite collides with Russian Cosmos 2251 satellite Produced 2200 trackable fragments and countless smaller, untrackable ones.
Debris Field Projections NASA’s LEGEND model 3D model of debris field with prediction models Private sector model development (usually sponsored by U.S. government entities) Ex. The Aerospace Corporation’s ADEPT model
Information Sources NASA Debris field growth Astronauts losing things https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/ https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/modeling/engrmodeling.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html Debris field growth http://themobilecentury.com/?p=359 https://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasystems.html Astronauts losing things https://www.wired.com/2009/02/spacestuff/ http://www.airspacemag.com/space/lost-in-space-2217739/ Debris tracking http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2013/03/waste-of-space-2/ Impact on industries http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-on-earth/malaysia-flight-370/space-debris-meteorite-forecast-safer-aviation/ http://www.electronicproducts.com/Aerospace/Research/How_space_debris_can_affect_technology_here_on_Earth.aspx Projections https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/modeling/evolmodeling.html http://www.aerospace.org/crosslinkmag/fall-2015/predicting-the-future-space-debris-environment/
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