News

Since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, space debris has been accumulating in Earth’s orbit. This debris includes various objects such as space stations, communication satellites, and even small CubeSats. Each launch adds more debris in the form of rocket parts and paint chips. Currently, there are over a million objects larger than a centimeter and at least 130 million millimeter-sized objects orbiting Earth, posing a significant problem.

The abundance of debris has led to cluttered orbits, necessitating regular orbit adjustments for the International Space Station and other crewed missions. There have already been instances of satellite impacts caused by debris, creating even more debris in the process. If we continue launching objects without addressing the issue, collisions will become more common, resulting in what is known as the Kessler cascade. This vicious cycle of collisions and debris creation would make survival in orbit impossible.

In works of fiction like the manga Planetes and the movie Gravity, Kessler cascades have been depicted as sudden events. However, in reality, this process would occur gradually, much like global warming. It is crucial for us to take action before reaching a point of no return, although the exact threshold is uncertain. Fortunately, there are initiatives underway to address this problem, such as the collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and ClearSpace, a Swiss startup.

ClearSpace aims to tackle the issue by forcibly removing the largest and most hazardous debris from orbit. While smaller debris will remain a concern, eliminating the larger objects would be a significant step forward. The ESA plans to launch a ClearSpace satellite in 2026 for a pilot mission. The objective is to capture the Vega Secondary Payload Adapter (Vespa), a component left in orbit since a 2013 launch. Vespa weighs approximately 100kg and is about 2 meters long.

However, recent observations by the United States 18th Space Defense Squadron have revealed the presence of additional objects near the adapter that were previously unknown. These new debris fragments likely resulted from the impact of smaller, untracked debris. Although this complicates the mission, the ClearSpace team believes the new objects do not pose a critical challenge, and the pilot mission will proceed as scheduled.

Nevertheless, these observations underscore the importance of initiatives like ClearSpace. Collisions in space are becoming increasingly common, necessitating urgent solutions. To learn more about the ClearSpace mission and their efforts to combat space debris, visit their website.

The post The Growing Problem of Space Debris appeared first on ISP Today.