As space exploration has been active for the past few decades, space debris has been a rising problem. The fact that space exploration will substantially increase in the future definitely raises more concerns about this issue. This article will summarize this issue and explain why it causes problems.
Author: Tommy Jang
Editor: Nayoung Kim
Trying to conceptualize the amount of waste one produces in a day would be difficult– producing waste is too frequent that it would be very difficult to recall every single event where waste is produced. In space, trash is much more large-scale than toilet paper and straws– we’re talking rocket engines, fuel tanks, defunct satellites, and pieces of almost anything sent to space. As more attention has been drawn into the problems regarding the waste in space, concerns regarding the possible threats posed by the debris and possible solutions to those concerns have risen to the surface.
The formal term for the junk in space is “space debris.” Any artificial material that is no longer in use and is orbiting Earth is considered space debris. There are approximately 34,000 pieces of debris (larger than 10 centimeters) in Earth orbit (O'Callaghan, n.d.). Of that number, 13,100 are satellites. About 8,410 are still in space and about 5,800 are still in function, leaving about 2,610 satellites as space debris. (“Space debris by the numbers,” 2022). At this point of the article, these numbers might not mean a lot– however, these statistics will affect how the following information in the article is to be understood. Depending on the altitude, everything humans have launched will eventually return back to Earth. Fortunately, the ones that return quickly are small pieces that will burn up in the atmosphere– large satellites will stay in orbit for a very long time. But is that actually fortunate?
Not really. Objects orbiting our planet can reach speeds up to around 15,700 miles per hour, a destructive speed indeed. For now, space debris does not directly threaten manned missions– technology to track big satellites exist. However, there is a high risk of collisions between space debris. This might not seem threatening because it’s a collision between satellites, but collisions are much more threatening in outer space. Take a car crash, for example. On planet Earth, if a major car crash happens, the cars involved in the crash are severely affected, but the debris from the car crash does not pose a huge threat. Outside the planet, there is nothing to stop the debris from flying. Of course, the gravity from Earth can stop the debris from diverging in random directions, but there is nothing to stop the speed. Then, ironically, smaller pieces from collisions could directly threaten manned missions.
The real concern comes from the fact that space exploration mostly consists of long-term goals. As technology develops, space exploration will also develop, which means that we will launch more frequently and create more space debris. That’s when even large objects could pose threats and, of course, even more small pieces from the frequent collisions could increase threats. Furthermore, this threat can disturb space exploration. Although debris would not affect space travel, any mission around Earth’s orbit would be affected. Some scientists say that in a few decades, it might become impossible to work around Earth’s orbit due to the abundance of debris (Mukherjee, 2021).
Solutions aiming to redirect space debris or capture them are being developed– however, since space exploration mostly involves long-term endeavors, it is crucial that we minimize space debris, especially before the technology to eliminate existing debris is developed. Big steps have been taken to minimize debris– space companies and organizations have developed reusable boosters, reusable capsules, self-boosted satellites, and more.
While space debris is less of an immediate concern than a long-term concern, since humans will continue to fly out of Earth and explore what’s beyond, it is crucial that certain steps are taken and that we are aware of the possible risks. The space exploration community should continue to develop ways to maintain the safety and stability of space exploration and travel.
Reference:
O'Callaghan, J. (n.d.) What is space junk and why is it a problem? National History Museum. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-space-junk-and-why-is-it-a-problem.html
Space debris by the numbers. (2022, May 10). The European Space Agency. https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Space_Debris/Space_debris_by_the_numbers
Gregersen, E. (2022, January 31). space debris. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-debris
Sutter, P. (2021, July 31). Who's going to fix the space junk problem? Space.com. https://www.space.com/space-junk-growing-problem-complicated-solution
Mukherjee, S. (2021, November 24). Should we be worried about space debris? Scientists explain. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/space-debris-satellite-international-space-station
Polyakov, M. (2021, May 5). We’re polluting our future home – before we even live there. Here’s why we need to clean up our space junk. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/why-we-need-to-clean-up-space-junk-debris-low-earth-orbit-pollution-satellite-rocket-noosphere-firefly/
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