SPACE JUNK COULD CAUSE MAJOR ISSUES
Debris floating in the space surrounding Earth threatens damage to satellites, spacecraft
Concerns about the issue of space debris have been floating around for several years. Space debris, or space junk, is any free-floating object in space, excluding extremely large planets or stars. It can be anything, like old space equipment, damaged or broken fragments, incredibly small flecks of paint, or even the remnants of past explosions and collisions. Space debris can also be naturally occuring meteoroids, but natural space debris tends to be less concerning.
Estimates indicate that there could be more than 9,000 tons, or 18 million pounds, of debris in the space surrounding Earth. Various space agencies, for example the US Space Surveillance Network, are tracking over 21,000 individual pieces of debris that are capable of inflicting major damage to satellites. This debris can be the size of a baseball, bus, or fingernail.
Most of it is moving at an extremely high velocity, over 10,000 miles per hour. They are constantly being pulled by hundreds of different gravitational forces and experience little to no friction or air resistance. There’s even one case of space shrapnel returning to Earth and hitting someone.
Large debris is not the only concern- smaller debris can be just as damaging. It’s estimated that there are over 100 million pieces of debris the size of a grain of salt in orbit. Most of them won’t cause as much damage as larger debris, but they could still damage machinery. Especially going at an extremely high velocity, debris can easily get lodged in the mechanisms or break off important pieces of equipment.
Small pieces of metal could cut space suits, tear ship insulation, or get stuck in ship mechanisms. This smaller debris is practically impossible to track, so most satellites have difficulty avoiding it. The ISS (International Space Station) has been hit by several small pieces of debris, but luckily has avoided major issues.
One of the biggest fears of many astrophysicists and scientists is that space debris will collide with a satellite and knock out service for an indefinite time. Reliance on satellites has been increasing significantly as the value of the internet continues to skyrocket.
Since 1957, over 10,000 satellites have been sent into orbit, while around 4,000 have been taken out. Out of the 6,000 satellites still in orbit, almost half are no longer functioning. And in the next ten years, several thousand more satellites are expected to be launched. The United States government has put the most satellites into orbit of any nation (about 1,000). Satellites are crucial to the operation of the internet, phone calls, television signals, GPS, and far more. But these large machines can not only hit other satellites, they can interfere with spacecraft and the ISS.
Space debris is a major problem that could endanger lives and damage expensive machinery. Up until recently, missions to clean up Earth’s orbit have been small and unsuccessful. NASA and SpaceX previously signed an agreement to prioritize safety and avoid this debris, but currently have no plans for actually removing the debris from space. Up until now, the main goal was to prevent the accumulation of more junk. But unfortunately, this hasn't been enough: machinery is put into the atmosphere at such a rapid rate that debris has continued to collect.
One company has been working to fix this mounting problem since 2013: Astroscale. The Japanese company recently released a demonstration of a new product designed to capture debris, the ELSA-d, or End-of-Life Service Astroscale demonstration. It was launched on March 22 at 2:07 a.m., alongside a Soyuz rocket. In this demonstration mission, there are two main pieces of equipment designed to trap and store satellites: the Target and the Chaser.
The two pieces function as a unit- Target stays put while Chaser collects debris from the surrounding area. Target then contains the collected materials and sends Chaser out for more. Their full mission will last about 6 months.
Astroscale and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have already announced that they are working together to make another machine that will remove debris. They plan to launch everything under the name CRD2 in late 2022. The plan will focus on removing debris only, in contrast to ELSA-d, which can also be used for various commercial purposes.
These companies are the pioneers in the initiative to clean up outer space, but some are concerned about their commercial interests. Since Astroscale is a private company, it would have a vested interest in determining the price and availability of this debris-clearing machinery.
And while their partnership with JAXA promises a more unbiased plan, both entities will prioritize the needs of Japan. So far, JAXA is the only national space agency to make significant progress in removing this debris. The U.S. is focusing more on placing regulations and fines on excess space littering. But as the issue grows more pressing and technology becomes more available, more companies and countries may join the effort to clean up space.
This is Alicia's second year at Edgewood and first year on the Edge staff. She loves writing, debating, and bettering Brevard. She hopes to educate and entertain the members of her community.