Satellite Collision More Serious Than First Appeared

This is going to be a problem for a long time.  Like, 10,000 years.

MOSCOW - The crash of two satellites has generated an estimated tens of thousands of pieces of space junk that could circle Earth and threaten other satellites for the next 10,000 years, space experts said Friday.  . . . .

Russian Mission Control chief Vladimir Solovyov said Tuesday's smashup of a derelict Russian military satellite and a working U.S. Iridium commercial satellite occurred in the busiest part of near-Earth space - some 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth.

"800 kilometers is a very popular orbit which is used by Earth-tracking and communications satellites," Solovyov told reporters Friday. "The clouds of debris pose a serious danger to them."

Solovyov said debris from the collision could stay in orbit for up to 10,000 years and even tiny fragments threaten spacecraft because both travel at such a high orbiting speed.

James Oberg, an experienced aerospace engineer who worked on NASA's space shuttle program and is now a space consultant, described the crash over northern Siberia as "catastrophic event." NASA said it was the first-ever high-speed impact between two intact spacecraft - with the Iridium craft weighing 1,235 pounds (560 kilograms) and the Russian craft nearly a ton.  . . . .

Most fragments are concentrated near the collision course, but Maj.-Gen. Alexander Yakushin, chief of staff of the Russian military's Space Forces, said some debris was thrown into other orbits, ranging from 300 to 800 miles (500-1,300 kilometers) above Earth.

David Wright at the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security said the collision had possibly generated tens of thousands of particles larger than 1 centimeter (half an inch), any of which could significantly damage or even destroy a satellite.

In the big picture, man's entry into space is one of the most significant events of all of our lifetimes.  This space debris may put a serious crimp into our plans, certainly adding to the dangers to space vehicles, satellite and astronauts.

Clearly we need some sort of solution, but that will have to be left to scientists.  My non-scientific brain refuses to give me any mental images of a possible solution other than a giant magnet.

Comments

[Steve Poling]

I'd like to see someone do an Engineering study of the feasibility of orbiting big slabs of aerogel, perhaps manufactured in situ, who just exist as targets for space junk to hit and be absorbed, or just slow the junk down enough to drop it into a lower orbit.

[KeithH]

Time to design a Space Roomba!