There’s a lot more junk floating around Earth than there used to be - by Tom Jones & David Crowther 5/17/24
"...Those stats may pickup in the coming years though, as the ESA tracks the ever-growing number of man-made objects that clutter the space around Earth. At the end of last year, a staggering 36,500 space debris objects over 10 cm in length were orbiting the Earth — perhaps little shock to anyone familiar with the Kessler Syndrome, a concerning theory that the more space junk there is, the more collisions there will be, causing a self-perpetuating chain reaction that could result in Earth’s orbit becoming essentially unusable..."
Perhaps the greatest threat is for a Kessler Syndrome event, wherein these terrible little satellites, lose control and start smashing into each other, creating a cascade of destruction that closes off space for generations.
@amgine@mastodonmigration From ~500km, you're look at around 10 years for orbital decay to drag them down, and during that time if they knock out something else, that will start it's own decent journey, so things quickly get exponential.
Longer term the real concern that really hasn't been addressed is the atmospheric pollution caused both by launch engines themselves (which are absolutely filthy and wildly resource intensive) and by the burning up of debris both in launch and disposal. There are large quantities of metals, plastics and propellents being burned in a completely uncontrolled manner in the upper atmosphere, at quantities which are already having a measurable impact on the atmosphere itself. The more junk Elmo yeets to orbit, the worse this is getting, and there is zero long-term plan for managing any of this - indeed, the plan such as it exists at all is explicitly to use our atmosphere as completely unfiltered, uncontrolled incinerator.
The fun doesn't stop there as the ISS operates around 400km, below the Elon Zone, so all the shit he creates will impact on the ISS, as well as the numerous other essential missions that need lower orbits.
Remember when Elon Musk said that orbital internet wasn't going to interfere with astronomical study? Yeah, so do I. Seems like that was yet another of Musk's 'mischaracterizations' he's become so famous for, like the one's he vomited out regarding AutoPilot and his Twitter 'acquisition'. #elonmusk#astronomy#spacejunkhttps://bit.ly/49jWubq
Capitalist schmutz in orbit screws over astronomers // February 13, 2024 at 08:54AM // https://bit.ly/3uVERz3
Earlier this year, I was invited to speak at ABC’s Ockham’s Razor LIVE. The guidance was to speak on a topic you’re passionate about, but ideally focus on problems that people can do something about. So I spoke about aspects of #SpaceJunk I don’t often get to: the contributions of (and further potential for) citizen science 🛰️
"Falling metal space junk is changing Earth's upper atmosphere in ways we don't fully understand."
A new study, "designed to detect aerosols covered with meteor dust left behind by space rocks that burned up upon entry", found instead "high levels of metallic elements contaminating the floating molecules, none of which could be explained by meteors or other natural processes."
Between 2010 and 2022, the number of satellites in orbit more than doubled. In the decade prior, the increase (from a smaller starting point) was just 17%. Ultimately, what goes up, must come down, and these satellites will all eventually crash and burn in the atmosphere - and indeed most countries legally mandate that their satellite operators to ensure this in a timely manner, rather than leave them in slowly decaying orbits for decades, causing a collision hazard.
However, when incinerating batteries, electronics and other metal rich objects in the open atmosphere, it appears we've finally stumbled across the fact that this produces aerosolised metal pollution. This supposedly unforeseen problem is also one that is set to worsen massively as we launch more and more expendable "swarm" satellites, thanks to galaxy brain geniuses like #ElonMusk and his #SpaceX billionaires toy.
Maintaining the current orbital free-for-all, where we delude ourselves into believing, once again, that we can sling as much junk out into the world as we want, with no consequences will never end well. There is undoubted use and value in being able to place objects into orbit, but we need to ask what is essential to us, given the resources consumed and negative impacts of our obsession, and what is just billionaires chasing fantasies and delusions of grandeur and immortality.
🛰️ FCC issues first-ever fine for leaving junk in space
➥ @verge
「 According to the FCC, defunct satellites like Dish’s can also interfere with “the nation’s terrestrial and space-based communication systems by increasing the risk of damage to satellite communications systems.” 」
Is a $150000 fine going to deter companies from polluting the GSO orbit with space junk?
That's the amount of the #FCC penalty imposed to Dish Network for failing to re-orbit a satellite as required.
Maybe the amount is too small compared to the $17M profit Dish made in 2022, but nonetheless it's the first ever issued by the FCC. If more come, then there may be reason for hope for a better space environment, some day.