Deadly Debris

Deadly Debris

Back in February 2009, I posted to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond blog some
items dealing with space debris.
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/2009/02/up-up-and-away-ping-ping-thunk-thud-and.html

Chad sent me a link to Mike Combs short story, "Deadly Debris" which it
looks like DARPA should now read. A very riviting story.
http://writings.mike-combs.com/deaddebr.htm

In September DARPA released a Request for Information (RFI) regarding
orbital debris removal capabilities. Tiny URL for
http://tinyurl.com/yl6j33v

Launchspace http://www.launchspace.com/editorials.html had an editorial
September 28, 2009 entitled Space Debris Gets Some Respect, which mentions
it.
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For the last few decades the international space community has freely used
near-Earth space for many important applications without regard for the
impact of artificial satellites on the space environment. Although
space-faring nations have spewed trash from 200 km to beyond 36,000 km, the
space below about 1,600 km has been severely abused. Recent events have
finally persuaded the U.S. Government to start thinking about cleaning up
this environmental "super fund site." No, it is not the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that has been given the task of figuring out how to
remove space debris. It is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA), a part of the Department of Defense (DOD).

On September 17th, DARPA released a Request for Information (RFI) regarding
orbital debris removal capabilities. This request is addressed to all
potential domestic and foreign sources and it asks for innovative solutions
that might lead to the eventual removal of orbital debris.
snip
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If folks would like to participate in on-line discussions of topics like
Deadly Debris in space, Google has a way to do this with Google Wave.

It is by invitation only for now and MemphisDJ sent me an invitation so I
have been reading up on Google Wave, watching videos, and looking at some
conversations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Wave
http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html

I thought I would post this to a New Wave and if you have a Google Wave
account you can let me know what you think.
Title is: Deadly Debris
https://wave.google.com/wave/#restored:wave:googlewave.com!w%252B091sB_F2A.1

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
GoogleWave larry.kellogg@googlewave.com
Google Wave Invite info:
http://mashable.com/2009/09/29/google-wave-invites-2/
http://www.googlewaveinvite.com/
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/
http://www.googlewaveinvite.com/category/google-wave-news/
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http://writings.mike-combs.com/deaddebr.htm
Deadly Debris
By Mike Combs
mikecombs@aol.com
Copyright © 1995

In a low Earth orbit, a glove slowly tumbled in the brilliant sunshine. The
glove's career as a tiny artificial satellite of the Earth began on the day
an astronaut of the early American space program had neglected to keep up
with it. While the spacewalker was distracted with other matters, the glove
had decided to venture out of the space capsule. By the time he took note of
this, it had drifted beyond his reach.

The orbiting item of apparel had even deserved mention in books and magazine
articles as an example of the kind of objects Space Command could track with
its space-scanning radars. The glove dutifully returned every radar signal
bounced up to it. As it rounded the blue-and-white globe below, it was privy
to the kind of view which had never failed to deeply move the humans who had
made it. The glove alternately warmed in the unimpeded rays of the sun and
chilled in the shadow of the Earth as it progressed through innumerable
ninety-minute days.

On this day, however, its circular journeys were coming to an end. The
glove's path was intersecting with that of a defunct Russian weather
satellite. It hit the bulky space platform almost dead-on with a velocity
which would have made a rifle bullet seem a dawdler. The metal and plastic
structure erupted with myriad pieces of debris. Mere minutes later, that
swarm of fragments began slamming into the abandoned lower stage of a rocket
launched over a decade ago. The giant cylinder pitched about crazily before
being riddled and then disintegrated by the densest part of the swarm. It
added its particles to the rapidly-moving cloud of space junk, and now the
swarm was more dangerous still. Satellites, both functional and long
disused, fell to the rapid attack and in turn became part of the Kamikaze
assault themselves. Like a splitting nucleus which split other nuclei which
split still more in an out-of-control nuclear chain reaction, the belt of
speeding debris grew and spread along its orbit, devastating everything in
its path.
* * *
snip
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https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a55fd6e5721284ee7df2068d2b300b5f&tab=core&_cview=0
Tiny URL for above http://tinyurl.com/yl6j33v

Solicitation Number:
DARPA-SN-09-68
Notice Type:
Special Notice
Synopsis:
Added: Sep 17, 2009 4:58 pm
DARPA Orbital Debris Removal (ODR)

Request for Information
for
Tactical Technology Office (TTO)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

DESCRIPTION

This is a Request for Information (RFI) by the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office (TTO) regarding
implementation of an orbital debris removal capability. The Government does
not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay
for the information solicited. The Government may consider issuing a formal
solicitation at a later date.

Information is sought from all potential sources, domestic and foreign, on
innovative technological solutions that will enable the Government to
provide orbital debris removal capabilities and to identify interest and
qualification for participation in any future program.

snip
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http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv13i1.pdf
Orbital Debris Quarterly News
Volume 13, Issue 1
January 2009

New Debris Seen from Decommissioned
Satellite with Nuclear Power Source

snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Space station crew has close call with space junk

Space station crew has close call with space junk

Bob, in Texas, sent me a heads up about a recent close call from space junk for the ISS. Thanks Bob.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96SMFQ02&show_article=1

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
snip
MCC-Houston CAPCOM Kathy Bolt spoke with Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke about the possible conjunction of an estimated 13-centimeter-diameter piece of space debris with the station. Listen to an edited clip of the highlights of the conversation including the first notification that went to the crew and the all-clear notification.

+ Listen to the audio clip of the conversation (2.1 Mb MP3)
http://www.nasa.gov/mp3/318202main_tca_highlights_clip3.mp3
snip
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Here are two more links you might check out. - LRK -
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2009-03-12-space-station_N.htm

http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/03/station-crew-shelters-from-approaching.shtml

I suppose that with more satellite launches and more collisions of old satellites the chances of near misses will only increase.
Some have mentioned that we should be looking more closely to what is up there and folks are doing that.
- LRK -
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Orbital Debris Quarterly News - October 2008 - [1042 KB PDF]
http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv12i4.pdf
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Here we have seen another example of debris in Earth orbit causing problems.
I wonder what will happen when we start sending folks to the Moon?
Will we have debris in solar orbit drop in unexpectedly?
- LRK -
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Newly Discovered Object Could be a Leftover Apollo Rocket Stage
September 11, 2002
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news134.html
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Where will all of our booster stages end up then?
In the ocean, in lunar orbit, in solar orbit to come back later?
Fly along with us and follow us to the Lunar surface?

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/03/station-crew-shelters-from-approaching.shtml
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Station Crew Shelters From Approaching Debris

Blogger update, 1:05 p.m.: The small piece of space debris that threatened the International Space Station crew has passed without incident, NASA has confirmed.

The three-person crew is exiting the Soyuz spacecraft, opening U.S. hatches and returning to normal duties. They were given the "all clear" at 12:45 p.m. EDT.
snip

The debris is expected to pass about 4.5 kilometers from the station, and the shletering is a precautionary measure. The crew would be ready to abandon ship if the debris for some reason struck the station and caused a decompression.

The piece was spotted approaching the area of the station late Wednesday. The crew sealed the U.S. segment of the outpost. The decision to shelter was made because it was deemed too late to execute a collision-avoidance maneuver.
snip
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http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news134.html
Newly Discovered Object Could be a Leftover Apollo Rocket Stage
September 11, 2002
Paul Chodas
Near-Earth Object Program Office

An analysis of the orbital motion of the newly discovered object J002E3 indicates that it could be a leftover Saturn V third stage from one of the Apollo missions, most likely the Apollo 12 mission, launched on November 14, 1969.

The new object was discovered on September 3 by Bill Yeung, who noted that it was moving quite rapidly. Initial orbit computations by the Minor Planet Center indicated that the object was only about twice as far away as the Moon, and was actually in orbit about our planet. This fact, combined with the rather faint intrinsic magnitude, immediately led astronomers to suspect that the object is actually a spacecraft or rocket body, not an asteroid. But the object could not be associated with any recent launch.

snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Up, up, and away -- ping, ping, thunk, thud -- and I thought rush hour traffic was bad.

Recently we had an airline plane downed by bird strikes to both engines and a successful landing in the Hudson River.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/15/new.york.plane.crash/

For a rocket launching a satellite to space, things in your flight path can make for a bad day as well.
We think about going to the Moon with astronauts again and setting up shop on the Moon.
When that happens the number of launches to space will increase and the concern for where the latest space debris is will be on their minds.

Gunjan reports that India is still on track to put humans in orbit with their first manned spaceship around 2015.
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090211-india-manned-spaceship.html

China has orbited their astronauts with their third space mission in September 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4333158.stm
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE48O9VL20080926

Pings on a satellite can be expensive and be a cause for more space debris.
Pings on a spaceship with humans aboard is even more concern.

We have had a few satellites break up and just recently two satellites collided.
This is not good and will add to the risk of launching to space.
Who keeps track of where our man made junk orbits?
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-spacejunk0809feb08,0,7720847.story

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16584-satellite-collision-creates-copious-space-junk.html
Satellite collision creates copious space junk

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123438921888374497.html
FEBRUARY 12, 2009
Andy Pasztor in the WSJ online says:
"The accident could have implications for U.S. space budgets and policy, partly because it comes amid a Pentagon campaign to increase spending on systems to protect U.S. high-tech space hardware by keeping better track of the thousands of pieces of debris and other satellites circling the Earth."

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16584-satellite-collision-creates-copious-space-junk.html
Satellite collision creates copious space junk

Two space satellites smashed into each other on Tuesday in an unprecedented orbital accident. Government agencies are still assessing the aftermath, but early radar measurements have detected hundreds of pieces of debris that could pose a risk to other spacecraft.

As first reported by CBS News, a defunct Russian Cosmos satellite and a communication satellite owned by the US firm Iridium collided some 790 kilometres above northern Siberia on Tuesday.

"This is the first time that two intact spacecraft have accidentally run into each other," says Nicholas Johnson, chief scientist of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office in Houston, Texas.

snip
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/orl-boom1209feb12,0,5890449.story
Satellites collide for first time ever in orbit
The Associated Press
February 12, 2009

CAPE CANAVERAL - Two communications satellites have collided in the first-known crash of two intact spacecraft in orbit, NASA said Wednesday.

The collision occurred Tuesday nearly 500 miles over Siberia. The crash produced a pair of massive debris clouds, and the situation's magnitude won't be known for weeks at least, NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said.

But any risk to the international space station, which orbits below the collision course, is thought to be low. There also should be no danger to the upcoming shuttle flight, targeted for liftoff no earlier than Feb. 22, "but they're continuing to analyze any possible risk," Humphries said.

The collision involved an Iridium commercial satellite, which was launched in 1997, and a Russian satellite launched in 1993 and thought to be nonfunctioning.

snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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