Menacing Debris
Debris, Debris, Debris!
Trash is all around us. Be it in water, air, or land. In this list, the newly added one is space.
But?
Yes, litter is there in space too.
What could be the junk in space?
We refer to the junk as Orbital Debris/Space Debris. Space Junk includes non-functional satellites, failed satellites, discarded rocket parts, small microchip objects, paint dots fallen of from rockets, etc. There are mission-related debris and fragmentation debris. It can also come from the explosions performed to destroy the satellites. Some trash in space comes from meteoroids, asteroids, and comets that exist around.
The exact count of debris is unknown. We can track only the large-sized trash that is present in space. There are estimates from various organizations. The US Department of Defense tracks over 20,000 artificial satellites, of which approximately 90 percent of these satellites are non-operational. NASA estimates the debris population between one and ten centimeters is about 500,000 objects. The latest models from the European Space Agency estimates that junk is closer to 900,00 things in space. But, the actual count is much more than the estimates.
We use satellites for various purposes, such as telecommunications, weather forecasting, GPS, etc., yet how come this becomes a threat in space?
The debris exists in various orbital levels of space, predominantly in low Earth Orbit and Geostationary Orbit, and the debris movement is difficult to predict. Since the debris floats, it often can cross paths, contact the satellites, space stations, or crewed spacecraft, risking collisions and causing damages. The non-functional satellites can tend to explode when the unspent fuel is present. The collision/explosion can lead to multiple pieces depending on the type or destroy the functional satellites, making Kessler Syndrome valid. (Donald Kessler, the former NASA scientist, proposed a theory in 1978, known as Kessler Syndrome. It is a phenomenon in which the amount of debris in orbit around Earth impacts the operational satellite, creating more and more amounts, causing enormous problems.)
Disturbing the satellite, which helps in weather prediction or any other purpose, affects lives. The debris is an issue for the astronauts who perform experiments in space. Also, the junk creates light pollution by reflecting sunlight to Earth, interfering with astronomers’ ability to study. Most space debris burns upon re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere and poses extremely minimal risk to humans. Still, parts cause severe damage if they land in inhabited regions.
According to many experts, space debris can increase as the years pass as we schedule more satellites to launch, threatening the space sector. The threat affects not only the space but every other sector depending on space and might affect the entire ecosystem.
We know the trouble and the effects of the issue. What can we do to overcome/prevent the problem?
There are standards and mitigations developed to reduce the debris, which we should review from designing the spacecraft to the entire space travel of the craft. Aerospace companies are designing spacecraft to minimize and pick junk. For instance, Japan is developing wooden satellites to reduce trash.
The US adopted Orbital Debris Mitigation Standards to reduce space debris. Missions such as Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are planning to clear the garbage. There are missions to schedule a leverage spacecraft to pick junk.
Organizations follow various other approaches apart from the mentioned ones to mitigate debris growth, yet there is a lack of outcome in reducing the junk. Further, the issue concerns the sustainable use of space.
