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Damaged satellites, used rocket parts, and other debris — even astronaut gloves — contaminate the near-space environment.
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Nationalgeographic.co.id—Seven astronaut who were on the International Space Station awakened from their slumber. There was some unwelcome news on the morning of November 15, 2021. NASA was worried. The station slid straight into a dangerous area that suddenly filled up rubbish. A collision can damage a spacecraft. And it could threaten the safety of everyone inside. NASA warns astronauts to take cover.
The astronauts closed the hatch between sections of the ISS and boarded the escape ship. Then they waited. Fortunately, they transited the area without an accident. All safe.
Before long, the source of all the debris will be revealed. Earlier in the day, the Russian government had launched a rocket to detonate satellite. The satellite has been out of service since the 1980s. The launch is currently testing new missile technology.
While the missile was doing its job, the explosion created a “debris field.” The shattered satellite showered space with about 1,500 pieces of trash large enough to be seen and tracked with a telescope. It also produces hundreds of thousands of smaller pieces. Even a small piece could punch a hole in the outside of the ISS. And the threat from this one satellite can last for years, even decades.
Let’s learn about satellite
Rubbish space racing around the planet at a speed of up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) per second. The impact speed can reach 15 kilometers per second, or 10 times faster than a bullet. NASA scientists estimate that a piece of marble can hit another object with the force of a bowling ball traveling at 483 kilometers (300 miles) per hour.
The ISS passes through the same spot every 93 minutes as it circles the planet. On that mid-November day, everyone on board was terrified of the repercussions. But it’s not the first or the last time space junk threaten a mission. The explosion prompted NASA to cancel its November 30 space trip plans. The Chinese space station, with three astronauts on board, had to change course because of a Russian satellite. Just three days before the explosion, the ISS changed its orbit to avoid colliding with the space junk left behind by an older and damaged satellite. And on December 3, the ISS again changed course to avoid pieces from a different damaged satellite.
Space junk is a growing threat. Indeed, this debris “is now a major concern of people studying space traffic management,” says Pat Seitzer. He’s an astronomer at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. He used telescopes and computers to study orbital debris.
“We created this risk ourselves,” said Don Pollacco. Fortunately, he adds, “there are things we can do to stop it from being at risk.” An astronomer at the University of Warwick in the UK, Pollacco runs the new Center for Space Domain Awareness. Scientists there focus on the environment in outer space that is closest to Earth. The debris problem, he warns, threatens the future of space traffic.
“If it is not immediately addressed, sooner or later it will follow,” he said. “You can’t ignore it forever.”
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