Clean Orbit Newsletter: Dec. 30, 2021
NASA-ROSCOSMOS alliance shaken by events on Earth, Elon Musk's Starlink satellites narrowly miss Chinese space station, Virgin Orbit goes public
Routine space operations create countless pieces of space junk that pose mission-critical risks to humanity’s future in space. At this crucial time for space exploration, utilization, and development, Clean Orbit is dedicated to mitigating the risks that could jeopardize safe access to space.
U.S.-Russia alliance in space shaken by events on planet Earth
“When Russia’s military blasted an old satellite to smithereens last month with an antisatellite missile, U.S. officials reacted angrily, warning that thousands of tiny pieces of new orbital debris could endanger astronauts on the International Space Station. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, seemed to share some of that frustration.”
“Ultimately… Rogozin said Roscosmos could not agree to an extension of Russia’s presence on the space station unless the U.S. removes sanctions on two Russian companies added to a U.S. blacklist last year because of their suspected military ties. The sanctions, he says, prevent Russia from building parts needed to allow the space station to survive through 2030.”
“A State Department spokesperson declined to discuss the potential measures, saying “we do not preview our response options.” But he pointed to remarks this month from Kathleen Hicks, deputy defense secretary: “We would like to see all nations agree to refrain from antisatellite weapons testing that creates debris.”
Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss tentative plans, said that could mean calling for an international moratorium on testing destructive antisatellite weapons — perhaps during the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva next year — rather than inserting antisatellite weapon-related language into NASA’s agreements with Russia.”
Elon Musk's satellites narrowly missed Chinese space station in overcrowded low-earth orbit
Fin 24 |
“A pair of dangerously close space encounters is adding to tensions between the US and China, while underscoring the potential peril to astronauts as satellite constellations and debris proliferate in orbit.”
“Two SpaceX satellites had near misses with China’s space station earlier this year - one of them within 4km - in the latest sign of dangerous overcrowding in low earth orbit.”
“The close encounters prompted the Chinese government to criticise SpaceX in a Dec. 6 memo to a United Nations committee that oversees operations in space. China’s complaint could prompt global action on managing congestion in space.”
“Originally, when I saw this Chinese UN document, I went, ‘That’s a bit rich of the Chinese, given the space debris they’ve generated,’” said [astrophysicist Jonathan] McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics, which is operated by Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. “But I think it’s a good sign.”
“The Chinese government alerted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Dec. 3, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday at a press briefing in Beijing. He contended that the US isn’t meeting its obligations under the Outer Space Treaty. The incidents endangered the station’s operators, he said.”
“The US State Department declined to comment on the SpaceX incidents specifically. “We have encouraged all countries with space programs to be responsible actors, to avoid acts that may put in danger astronauts, cosmonauts, others who may be orbiting the Earth,” Ned Price, a department spokesman, said at a briefing Tuesday.”
UW Space Dialogue with LeoLabs' Darren McKnight
UW Space Policy and Research Center |
The University of Washington Space Policy and Research Center (SPARC) will hold a webinar on January 6, 2022.
The speaker is Darren McKnight, Senior Technical Fellow for LeoLabs, who has an extensive career in tracking space objects and addressing the threat from space debris.
Darren leads LeoLabs efforts to realize the value proposition for the growing global network of ground-based radars for space situational awareness, space safety, and space sustainability. Dr. Darren McKnight is currently Senior Technical Fellow for LeoLabs. Working closely with partners and customers throughout the industry, he creates new data depictions, develops risk algorithms, and leads space incident investigations.
As a member of the International Academy of Astronautics’ Space Debris Committee, Darren has been active in position paper development, selection of symposia papers, and execution of the annual International Astronautical Congress. His current focus is on developing technical solutions and encouraging global behavior that leads to sustained space operations assurance through limiting the risk of debris collision hazard to space systems in Earth orbit.
He has coauthored five books ranging from space debris and spacecraft operations to soccer coaching and innovation. Darren has authored over 100 technical papers and presented them in 16 countries.
China Says This Strange Light Was a Record-Breaking Cosmic Explosion. Others Say It’s Space Garbage
“About a year ago, a team of astronomers working in Hawaii glimpsed something in the night sky. A four-minute-long flash of light.”
“Depending on who you ask, that flash was either a powerful explosion from 13.4 billion years ago—a virtual snapshot of the universe as it existed just 400 million years after its formation—or a reflection from a hunk of space junk lazily looping around Earth. Scientific treasure—or garbage.”
“Observing a 13.4 billion-year-old gamma-ray burst, or GRB, would be a profound stroke of luck with equally profound implications for the study of, well, everything. “GRBs and their associated emission can be used to probe the star-formation and reionization history in the era of cosmic dawn,” Jiang and his team wrote in their initial paper, which appeared in the science journal Nature Astronomy in December 2020.”
“But other astronomers weren’t convinced Jiang and his team had seen anything remotely interesting. The odds of glimpsing a gamma-ray burst 13.4 billion light years away are infinitesimally slim, a team led by Michał Michałowski, an astronomer at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland, explained in Nature Astronomy in October.”
“It was way, way more likely that Jiang and his team caught a reflection from the castoff Breeze-M upper stage of a 6-year-old Russian Proton rocket. “We searched Space-Track, the largest publicly available database of Earth satellites and space debris for an object close to the position of GN-z11-flash at the time of observations,” Michałowski’s team wrote. “We found the Breeze-M space debris.”
EROSS space robotics project reaches for the stars
CORDIS (European Commission) |
“In 2013, the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation began the tradition of awarding selected successful European research projects coordinated by French institutions. Called Étoiles de l’Europe, or Stars of Europe, the award is given to encourage EU-funded collaborative scientific research efforts.
Nine years later, the EU-funded EROSS project has been declared one of the winners of this prestigious award in the innovation category.”
“Coordinated by Thales Alenia Space, the EROSS project demonstrated key technological solutions for on-orbit satellite servicing missions. Carrying out missions such as satellite inspection, robotic manipulation, satellite service life extension, in-orbit refuelling and space debris deorbiting requires highly versatile space vehicles. EROSS was responsible for developing these vehicles’ key building blocks while also increasing their functionalities and performance.”
“These new space vehicles will signal a paradigm shift in space as we know it: it will enable advanced robotic operations in space, with a transition from a static to a dynamic space environment where space systems can evolve in space. On-Orbit Servicing, a field in which Thales Alenia Space is one of the pioneers, will provide a new approach to accessing space. With humanity planning to establish permanent bases on the Moon, for instance, these technologies will deliver real benefits for many different missions, including transport, orbital rendezvous, and the assembly of different components in space.”
Virgin Orbit Satellite Launch Company Set to Go Public
“Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, a satellite launch and services company, will officially become a publicly traded company following its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) NextGen Acquisition Corp. II (NASDAQ: NGCA).
The merger, which was approved by NextGen’s shareholders in a proxy vote Tuesday, allows Virgin Orbit to be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange as ‘VORB.’”
“Since its inception in 2017, Virgin Orbit has launched 19 satellites and has customers across the civil, commercial, international, and national security sectors. Some customers include NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, and Polish company SatRevolution.”
“Virgin Orbit uses a customized Boeing 747 aircraft as a mobile launch site, a flying mission control, and a fully reusable first-stage vehicle. Each mission begins at approximately 35,000 feet above sea level, and given the incumbent speed of the jet, its LauncherOne designed rocket that carries smallsat payloads, is deployed from the 747, dubbed Cosmic Girl. On January 17 this year, it completed its first successful flight, delivering a payload of 10 CubeSats to low Earth orbit.”
“Additionally, the company has entered into multiple agreements with other companies and international spaceports to conduct a variety of missions that will see it tackle space debris mitigation, exploration, environmental monitoring, and national security.”
The Clean Orbit Team thanks our GEO Patrons: Zoena Howland and Vivian Newton for supporting our mission to keep humanity’s use of the space environment safe and sustainable. If you’d like to join our mission, consider joining our community on Patreon!
Clean Orbit advocates for proactive, sustainable solutions to the growing threat of space debris in low earth orbit. Follow our newsletter for the latest developments in Space Traffic Management (STM), Active Debris Removal (ADR), and orbital close calls.