Space debris and methods employed to encounter it

Space Debris

INTRODUCTION• Satellites are used for invaluable services, such as

o GPS

o Navigation systems

o DTH

o Telecommunications

o Weather forecasting

o climate monitoring

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Space Debris

SPACE DEBRIS Space debris is any human-origin object in space that no

longer serves a useful purpose

It may be

o Launcher

o Combustion residue

o Out of use satellites

o Fragmentation waste …

Launching of satellites is responsible for some of the debris

seen in those regions

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Space Debris

Debris in two main Regions

Lower Earth Orbit (LEO)

o The fastest growth of debris is in these orbits

o These appear to form a fuzzy shell around the

Earth

Geo-stationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

o Here satellites orbit the Earth in 24 hours

o These satellites form a circle around the

Earth rather than a shell

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Space Debris

Other regions Constellations of satellites used for

navigation, like the GSP satellites, lie midway

between LEO and GEO

Launching of these satellites is responsible

for some of the debris seen in that region

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Space Debris

History In 1957, Sputnik I, the first satellite, was

launched to orbit. With this, first pieces of Debris

are placed into space

In 1958, America’s 2nd satellite, Vanguard I

served only for 6 years

Collision of Iridium33 & Cosmos2251 on February

9th, 2009

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Space Debris

Debris is Dangerous... In LEO, space debris travels nearly at 8kmps

So, even small pieces of debris can cause

severe damage to a satellite on collision

An object of few inches in size could completely

destroy a satellite in a head-on collision

This could result in thousands of additional

pieces of deadly space debris

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Space Debris

Contd… Space debris can stay in orbit for a long time—

decades, near the Earth, and essentially forever

at very high altitudes

Over time, the amount of space debris has

increased dramatically

It has become dense enough in some parts of

space, which can damage or destroy satellites

on collision

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Space Debris

Fig: Delta 2 launcher tank near Bangkok

on 13 Jan 2005

Fig: Impact of a paint flake on the windshield of the space ship Endeavour

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Space Debris

The United States maintains list of tracked

active satellites and large debris in a

debris catalog

The following snapshots shows the debris

count giving the number of objects in the

catalog.

Today, only 5-6% of those objects are

active satellites—the rest are debris

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Debris count: <100

Debris count: 1,000

Debris count: 2,700

Debris count: 5,400

Debris count: 6,500

Debris count: 8,700

Debris count: 10,000

Debris count: >14,000

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Possible Solutions

Alternate OrbitTerminator Tether Other Expensive or Unrealistic Ideas

20Possible Solutions

Alternate Orbit It includes deorbiting of satellite from its

path

It would require too much fuel

Later the atmospheric drag would make it to fall back to earth


Terminator Tether

This includes bringingback dis-functionalsatellites when they have completed the tasks

Later it could be properlydisposed off or recycled

This is also called “electro-dynamic tether”


Other expensive or unrealistic ideaso Electro-Dynamic Debris Eliminator (for LEO)


Other expensive or unrealistic ideaso Using laser brooms to Vaporize or nudge

particles into rapidly decaying orbits


Contd…◦ Using Solar Sails in Satellites yet to be

launched to space


Instead, NASA currently focuses on preventing collisions by keeping track of the larger debris, and preventing more debris from littering space


ConclusionThe reduction of waste at the source in space is

possible if all launching states and satellite operators are aware of the seriousness and risks

To achieve this Laws on space must be cooperative, progressive and binding.

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Sources

•http://www.nasa.gov

•http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_junk.html

•http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/space_junk_000901.html

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris

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Thank You

Space debris and methods employed to encounter it

Technology

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