News>'Space junk' growing issue for AF space operations
Photos
An artist's depiction of the Space Based Space Surveillance satellite. The Joint Space Operations Center uses data collected from SBSS to track orbiting objects in geostationary and low earth orbit, providng space situational awareness to U.S. miliitary and commercial space users. Members of the 1st and 7th Space Operations Squadron command and control the satellite
An artist's depiction of the Space Based Space Surveillance satellite. The Joint Space Operations Center uses data collected from SBSS to track orbiting objects in geostationary and low earth orbit, providng space situational awareness to U.S. miliitary and commercial space users. Members of the 1st and 7th Space Operations Squadron command and control the satellite
by Scott Prater
Schriever Air Force Base Public Affairs
11/28/2012 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- Members of the 1st and 7th Space Operations Squadron took notice when an upper stage Russian rocket disintegrated in low earth orbit Oct. 16. The break up introduced an estimated 500 pieces of debris into an area where the U.S. operates a multitude of satellites, further congesting an already crowded orbit around Earth.
The event sheds light on an ever-growing issue for the space and satellite industry, one that seemed far fetched only a few years ago.
"The idea that big space would someday become crowded was more theory than fact," said Lt. Col. Mike Manor, 1 SOPS commander. "Now, the reality is that space is growing seemingly smaller as more objects are now orbiting Earth. Few people realize there are men and women dedicated to assuring safe passage for our assets in space."
The Space Based Space Surveillance satellite and its sister, the Advanced Technology Risk Reduction satellite, were designed to provide space situational awareness of the geostationary belt, but increasingly are being tasked to support space situational awareness in other orbits as well.
A collision with something as small as a bolt, a rivet, even bits of shrapnel, traveling at a high rate of speed can render a satellite inoperable, if not totally destroy it, thus it's becoming ever more important to accurately track such debris.
Along with radar and optical sensors on the ground, SBSS and ATRR are providing that tracking data to the Joint Space Operations Center, the organization that keeps a real-time catalog of orbiting objects.
Maj. Patrick Slaughter, 1 SOPS assistant director of operations, says demand for this tracking data will do nothing but grow in the years ahead as space gets more congested and contested.
"For the longest time, we as a nation, held on to the idea that space is a big place, but most people don't understand what's happening up there," he said. "Break ups like this add to the congestion, but we also have events like the Chinese Fengyun incident, that brought attention to the idea of contested space."
In 2007, the Chinese government demonstrated the effectiveness of an anti-satellite system by destroying one of its own weather satellites, the Fengyun-1C weather satellite, via a ground-launched missile. Besides creating a large debris field, the event showed that China possesses the capability to "kill" a satellite in LEO. Manor pointed out that it's not a big leap to assume they could do this to a U.S. satellite.
"The number of debris avoidance maneuvers required by the International Space Station has significantly increased since that incident," Slaughter said. "Then we had the Iridium-Cosmos collision in 2009, where a U.S. and Russian satellite collided over Siberia. We have to maneuver our LEO satellites around that debris field as well."
Manor said these combined events, among others, have not only helped drive international policy negotiations, but signaled that the world has recognized a need for better awareness of what's happening in space.
"We can use the evolution of air travel as a model," he said. "When the Wright brothers first took flight the skies were open. Gradually, more aircraft shared the skies and eventually we reached a point where we needed air traffic controllers and regulation to keep air travel safe. Now, we've taken the rudimentary steps for space traffic control."
When the JSPOC detects a satellite is on course to collide with something, they provide a warning to that system's operators. No doubt similar conversations happen hundreds if not thousands of times a day between air traffic controllers and pilots.
Placing this all in perspective, why does it matter what operations crews at 1 and 7 SOPS do?
"Along with the ground tracking stations and the JSPOC, our team is keeping watch over space and will remain vigilant in keeping the domain as safe as possible," Manor said. "These collective efforts not only help minimize the potential for disastrous events, but also keep the space domain in a condition for continued utilization by all nations."
Comments
12/5/2012 10:53:57 AM ET The cost of sending debris to Sol would be higher than just about any other idea on this page...aside from maybe space truck. It really worries me that so few people have absolutely no understanding of the funding necessary to just send a satallite into space much less keep it there.
me, here
12/3/2012 1:19:05 PM ET Space junk typically moves at very high velocities upwards of 17000 miles per hour. Any object you put in space to try to attract or absorb space junk would likely be destroyed and become space junk itself. It may be possible though to alter or decay the orbit of space junk through the use of lasers.
Maj Klatt, NV
12/3/2012 3:36:44 AM ET Figure out a way to get the space junk down and then auction pieces off. Imagine how much money some people would pay for scrap metal thats been in space
Cable Dawg, UK
11/30/2012 3:44:44 PM ET The issue with either magnets or nets is that it would just as readily affect the space assets we don't want manipulated as it would the space junk and any magnet powerful enough to alter the momentum of an object travelling thousands of miles an hour in orbit would also very likely negatively impact any signals or purpose of functional space assets.
Long, MA
11/30/2012 11:09:56 AM ET Magnets seem like a good idea for clearing all this debris but it will only work on ferrous debris. What if we engineer a giant mesh space net Run it through orbit to collect all the garbage then send it into the sun. Let solar fire eat all the junk.
Sra Torrance, Lackland AFB
11/30/2012 10:38:05 AM ET Why not just get with all the other space inclined contriescompanies and design some disposable rockets. Collect all the debris load it in the rockets and set em on a path for the sun Just more fuel for the fire right
Jay, Offutt
11/30/2012 10:26:32 AM ET One thing i was thinking about while reading the article is a possible magnet/magnets stratgically placed. They would be used to either repel if possible or clear up existing debris....just a thought.
SrA Anderson, Tinker AFB
11/30/2012 2:50:03 AM ET Maybe one of our great leaders can propose a Space Tax......another tax should fix this right up........
Fair, Share
11/29/2012 3:19:45 PM ET We'll build a giant space magnet.
PMFB, Md
11/29/2012 1:30:04 PM ET WAAAALLLLLLEEEEEEE.....
JP, USA
11/29/2012 11:26:51 AM ET Come on Guys you can put a guy on the moon and support the international space station. So why not put a space truck up there several times a year to collect space junk and bring it back home. I'm sure someone can figure out how to make it profitable probably a private company where the precious metals can be reused. We have this big Green movement lets make it work in Space. If you start now in a few years there will be routine trips to gather space junk by the first company to design a space truck. Maybe a company like SOS Metals could do this.
SNCO Ret 89, SW Ohio
11/28/2012 6:09:58 PM ET Guess someone should organize a space FOD walk.
SrA Dye, VAFB
11/28/2012 5:18:18 PM ET Space debris is a very serious issue. With the exception of debris in LEO that may be de-orbited through friction caused by the periodic expansion of our Earth's atmosphere there is no naturally occurring phenomena that can clean up our local orbital environment. We may very well be denied access to space in the future due to man-made orbital debris.
