July 12, 2024

This Week in Space 119: Junkyard in Space

1 hour 3 minutes

If you saw the movie "Gravity," you have a sense of the dangers of orbital debris—and the risk is very real. More than 25,000 objects over four inches in diameter are tracked by the US Space Force, and millions of others are smaller or untracked—everything from derelict satellites to dead rocket stages to bits of shrapnel and even just chunks of frozen rocket fuel is there. And even something the size and mass of a paint chip, traveling at orbital speeds, can take out a window of a spacecraft. We're joined by Dr. John Crassidis from the University of Buffalo, an expert in orbital debris and its dangers. Look out below; this is going to be a hot one!

Headlines:

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch failure investigation underway after engine explosion during upper stage relight

James Webb Space Telescope celebrates 2nd anniversary with new "Cosmic Penguin" image

Boeing Starliner return date still uncertain as NASA and Boeing review data

Mailbag:

Zaheer Mohammed congratulates the National Space Society's Ad Astra magazine on winning the Marcom Awards in 2023

Main Topic: Orbital Debris Discussion with Dr. John Crassidis

Orbital debris defined as anything in space that is no longer useful, ranging from paint flakes to rocket bodies

Debris moves at extremely high speeds (17,500 mph), making collisions highly destructive

Kessler Syndrome: cascading collisions could render low Earth orbit unusable within 50 years if debris growth is not slowed

Approximately 47,000 tracked objects softball-size or larger, with millions more smaller pieces

Challenges in tracking debris due to limited coverage, object tumbling, and modeling uncertainties

Ownership and responsibility for debris removal complicated by lack of international agreements

Current remediation techniques not feasible due to cost and technological limitations

Urgent need for debris mitigation through international cooperation and improved satellite design

Future threats extend beyond low Earth orbit, with debris already accumulating around the Moon

Importance of investing in research to develop effective debris removal technologies

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dr. John Crassidis

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