The buildup of junk which is damaging to the atmosphere isn’t solely an issue right here on Earth: it’s additionally an issue in area. Yearly an increasing number of discarded rocket levels, damaged satellites, and different bits of particles are put into orbit round our planet, and never all of them are responsibly de-orbited. The result’s that there’s a complete lot of junk floating round within the area the place satellites, telescopes, and even the Worldwide Area Station orbit.
This particles can pose an actual risk to area missions, as demonstrated just lately when a European Area Company (ESA) analysis satellite tv for pc needed to carry out an emergency maneuver to keep away from a collision with a stray piece of junk. Whereas there may be a lot particles round that the necessity to carry out such maneuvers is sadly comparatively widespread, this occasion was totally different as a result of ESA had solely hours of warning that an influence was imminent.
Usually, massive items of particles are tracked in order that area businesses or different satellite tv for pc operators know when a bit is coming close to to an orbit that’s at present in use. This implies they’ll plan out avoidance maneuvers prematurely. However when a bit of particles was noticed on 30 June headed towards one in every of ESA’s Swarm satellites which analysis the Earth’s magnetic area, the influence was predicted to happen inside a couple of hours.
“ESA’s Area Particles Workplace analyses information from the U.S. Area Surveillance Community and raises the warning of a possible collision to ESA’s Flight Management and Flight Dynamics groups, normally greater than 24 hours earlier than the piece of particles comes closest to the satellite tv for pc,” ESA writes. “On this case, we solely bought eight hours’ discover.”
ESA needed to pull out all the stops to get the satellite tv for pc away from the particles’s path, as performing such maneuvers requires a considerable amount of planning. The operators have to make sure that the satellite tv for pc’s new orbit received’t put it too near another satellites or particles, they usually additionally must have a plan for the best way to return the satellite tv for pc again to its unique orbit as soon as the hazard has handed.
When the particles threatened the Swarm satellite tv for pc, it was already getting ready to carry out a deliberate maneuver to lift its orbit to keep away from the rising density of the higher ambiance the place it’s situated, brought on by elevated photo voltaic exercise. The ESA operators had to determine a technique to each dodge the area junk and be certain that the Swarm satellite tv for pc may safely enter its greater orbit. They managed to calculate the avoidance maneuver in simply 4 hours, then raised the orbit inside 24 hours.
The Swarm satellite tv for pc is now protected, together with its two constellation companions, and might get again to its analysis work. However this incident demonstrates simply how a lot of a risk area particles could be, and it’s an issue that may solely worsen till decisive motion is taken by all area businesses and personal area firms working collectively to deal with it.
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