Collisions of Satellites in Space may become a Norm
Collisions of satellites in space may become a norm, as the speed at which space traffic is moving is making this fear even stronger. Space missions and satellite launches are accelerating, making space debris in orbit around Earth a serious issue. According to the data, there are about 12 thousand tons of objects in the orbit of the earth.
Global Space News
Last month, the moon missions of Russia and India were at the center of global space news. Russia’s moon mission has failed, while India has put the Paraguayan lander in sleeping mode after a successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 and two weeks of research. It is hoped that after two weeks, when the sun rises over this part of the moon, the lander will be awake and able to investigate for another two weeks. With a gap of a few days, India has also successfully launched its solar mission “Aditya”. With these missions, India has emerged as a major space power and India’s policy towards private space companies is being appreciated worldwide, which has played an important role in the success of the two recent missions.
European Space Agency
But experts monitoring the global space race are also deeply concerned. According to the data released by the European Space Agency, more than one million objects are currently orbiting the Earth. The number of millimeter-sized pieces is 130 million, which is called space debris or space debris in scientific terms.
Earth’s orbit
According to other authoritative data, there are about 12,000 tons of objects in the Earth’s orbit, which is much more mass than the total weight of the Eiffel Tower. The amount of space debris has grown so much that the International Space Center and other manned space missions periodically change their orbits to avoid a possible collision.
First collision in space
The first collision between two satellites in space occurred in 2009 when the US Iridium satellite accidentally collided with Russia’s Kosmos satellite, resulting in the destruction of both satellites. After the accident, NASA detected two clouds of space debris in space, including 500 pieces of debris of small and large sizes. Similarly, in early 2013, a Russian satellite collided with fragments of a Chinese satellite and was destroyed. China destroyed its defunct satellite six years ago with a rocket in space.
Kessler cascade syndrome
The concept of a dire situation created by growing space debris in space is not new. It was first proposed in a 1978 research paper entitled “Collision Frequency of Artificial Satellites and Space Debris”. The authors of the study were Donald Kessler and Borton Corpolis.
Earth’s Atmosphere
According to research, the collision of satellites sent into space is like a chain reaction. It is not like the collision of two planes in the Earth’s atmosphere, the fragments of which fall to the ground due to gravity. Rather, all small and large-sized pieces of space crafts, rockets, or satellites are constantly orbiting in space. These fragments collide with each other and break up into smaller pieces or burn up in the heat of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Kessler Cascade Syndrome
According to the research, with the rapid progress in the space race in the future, there will a time when the orbit around the Earth will completely cover with space debris and collisions of satellites will a normal thing. This condition was name “Kessler Cascade Syndrome”.
Increase in space traffic
John L. Chrysidis works with several federal agencies monitoring space debris. Chrysidis points out that most space debris is from satellites and rockets, which use to launch space missions. While most of the debris is spread by the destruction of defunct satellites by rockets fire from Earth.
Weather Satellites by Firing a Rocket
According to him, in 2007, when China destroyed one of its weather satellites by firing a rocket, space debris increased by 25%. With the rapid increase in satellites and space missions by SpaceX and other private companies in the current era, monitoring these space debris has become increasingly important, Crossides adds.
T-bone intersection
According to Chrysidis, this debris is constantly orbiting the Earth at a speed of about 17,000 miles per hour. In simple terms, he says, if two cars are traveling in the same direction at 17,000 miles per hour, there is no problem. But if these two collide at the same speed at a “t-bone intersection” from the opposite direction, it will surely be the worst accident.
Avoid the Kessler Cascade
The formation of a dark layer of space debris around Earth’s orbit has beautifully film in “Gravity” and “Planets Manga” before. These films show that safe space travel was not possible due to space debris. John L. Chrysidis says that space missions around the world have accelerated in recent years. After UAE, China, and Australia have also announced to send a mission to the moon. Given this growing number, it is not difficult to say that Kessler Cascade Syndrome may soon experience if urgent efforts are not made to deal with space debris.
Global Warming
According to experts, it is similar to the situation on earth. Cause by global warming. Which will not be possible for humans to reverse the changes. However preventive measures and orbital cleaning can definitely reduce the severity of the situation.
Clear Space
Aviod the Collisions of Satellites. The European Space Agency is planning to launch a satellite call “ClearSpace” by 2026. With the help of a Swiss startup to clean up Earth’s orbit. The purpose of this mission is to capture large hazardous debris and eject it from orbit around the Earth. Smaller-size pieces will still cause problems though.
Space Missions and Satellites Around the World
On the other hand, many experts believe that as space missions. And satellites around the world have accelerate, there is a strong hope. That by the time of the launch in 2026, there will so much junk in space. That this collisions of Satellites very normal. According to many experts, the cleanup of Earth’s orbit should start immediately. And in this regard, China and Russia came to the fore. Who have spread the most garbage into space.