Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
-General Reference:
#Space Debris and Human Spacecraft, 2013
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html
– Humanity’s space infrastructure – a few hundred kilometers above the surface.
#U.S. Taking Initial Steps to Grapple with Space Debris Problem, 2011
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orbital-debris-space-fence/
– Right now we know of around 2600 defunct satellites,
Comment: These numbers can vary strongly, since different institution use different parameters to count them. Also the number of satellites becoming defunct steadily rises, which makes it hard to give an accurate number
#How Many Man-Made Satellites Are Currently Orbiting Earth?, 2014
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/idealab/satellites-earth-orbit
#BBC Satellite Facts 2017
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38979438
Latest numbers:
#UCS Satellite Database, 2018
https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database#.XBEctS1oTRY
10,000 objects bigger than a monitor, 20,000 as large as an apple, 500,000 pieces the size of a marble and at least one hundred million parts so small they can’t be tracked.
#Space Debris and Human Spacecraft, 2017
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html
– This debris is moving at speeds of up to 30,000 kilometers per hour.
#What Is Orbital Debris?, 2010
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-orbital-debris-58.html
– Being hit by debris the size of a pea is like being shot by a plasma gun.
#M Caplan personal communication
– We also put a trillion dollar global infrastructure network, right in the danger zone.
#Orbital Debris Remediation, 2018
https://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/remediation/
#Space junk could destroy satellites, hurt economies, 2017
https://phys.org/news/2017-05-space-junk-satellites-economies.html
– It performs critical duties essential for the modern world.
#Debris in Brief: Space Debris from Anti-Satellite Weapons (2007)
– 1100 working satellites.
Comment: These numbers can vary strongly, since different institution use different parameters to count them. Also the number of satellites becoming defunct steadily rises, which makes it hard to give an accurate number.
#UCS Satellite Database, 2018
https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database#.XBEctS1oTRY
#BBC Satellite Facts 2017
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38979438
– The amount of junk in orbit is expected to grow tenfold in the next decade.
Comment: Since the exact number of debris is unknown, these collision rates are estimates. So they can vary strongly from study to study.
#Kessler, D. J. “Critical number of spacecraft in low Earth orbit”, 2001
http://adsbit.harvard.edu//full/2001ESASP.473..265K/0000270.000.html
#Singh et al “Multiple Hypothesis Tracking”
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a591392.pdf
#Orbital Debris Problem to Triple by 2030
https://www.space.com/11607-space-junk-rising-orbital-debris-levels-2030.html
– Orbital speeds are so fast solid pieces spray right through each other.
#M Caplan personal communication
– This could trigger a collision cascade.
#The Kessler Effect and how to stop it, 2012
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/The_Kessler_Effect_and_how_to_stop_it
#DJ Kessler “Collision frequency of artificial satellites: The creation of a debris belt”, 1978
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/JA083iA06p02637
– Destruction accelerates exponentially, eventually destroying everything in orbit.
#Adaptive Optics For Laser Space Debris Removal, 2012
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258719228_Adaptive_Optics_For_Laser_Space_Debris_Removal
– The space industry has become better at avoiding space junk.
#EVOLVE 4.0 orbital debris mitigation studies, 2001
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117701004252
– Occasional weapon tests do not help.
#Debris in Brief: Space Debris from Anti-Satellite Weapons (2007)
– Some of the most seriously considered involve ‘capture and return’ missions.
#Adaptive Optics For Laser Space Debris Removal, 2012
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258719228_Adaptive_Optics_For_Laser_Space_Debris_Removal
– Meeting a piece of junk with a small satellite loaded with a net.
#Satellite captures space junk for the first time, 2018
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/30/business/space-debris-capture/index.html
#1st Satellite Built to Harpoon Space Junk for Disposal Begins Test Flight, 2018
https://www.space.com/40960-removedebris-space-junk-cleanup-test-flight.html
– Targets too large for a net might instead be caught with a harpoon.
#1st Satellite Built to Harpoon Space Junk for Disposal Begins Test Flight, 2018
https://www.space.com/40960-removedebris-space-junk-cleanup-test-flight.html
– Some might use giant electromagnets.
#Let’s Clean up the Space Junk with Magnetic Space Tugs, 2017
https://www.universetoday.com/136142/lets-clean-space-junk-magnetic-space-tugs/
– As for the tiniest of bits of junk, lasers might be the key.
#Orbital Debris Remediation, 2018
https://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/remediation/
#Adaptive Optics For Laser Space Debris Removal, 2012
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258719228_Adaptive_Optics_For_Laser_Space_Debris_Removal