Clean Orbit Newsletter: Dec. 8, 2021
Biden Administration hosts first National Space Council meeting with debris at top of agenda, Senators advocate for space junk monitoring, IRGC releases policy options to address collision risk
Biden administration hosts first National Space Council meeting with space junk top of mind
WLRN |
“The National Space Council is holding its first meeting Wednesday as lawmakers urge the group to discuss space junk, a growing concern for the U.S. after a Russian anti-satellite missile test created thousands of pieces of debris that threaten the International Space Station.
The National Space Council helps steer the White House’s space policy and is chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris. It was started in 1989 during the George H.W. Bush administration to streamline civil, commercial, national security and international space flight policy matters. It was disbanded in 1993 and found a second life during the Trump administration.”
“This is going to be a continued issue because it takes months to years for debris in low Earth orbit to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up safely,” says space policy analyst Laura Forczyk.”
“Space is really integrated into our modern infrastructure. In fact, some people call it critical infrastructure,” says Forczyk. Tools like GPS and broadband communication rely on space-based satellites. “It makes sense to discuss these in a broader way, just as the National Space Council had been doing under the Trump administration.”
Space Trash (Audio)
MORIBA: “So the number of objects in of itself isn't the problem. It's lack of coordination, planning, lack of a jointly holistic manage resource, which is near our space.”
SEAN: “So what should we do instead?”
MORIBA: “So I think a couple of things: one, we need to really try to monitor and assess and quantify what's up there. Who does it belong to? What is it doing? We need to use that to enable better prediction where things are going to be over the next days, hours, weeks kind of thing. And then can we develop evidence that can be used to help people be safer, but also be used to hold people accountable for their behaviors in space? So we need to be able to do that and honestly, just asking people to do it, you know, pretty, please, with sugar on top. That ain't going to cut it. So it's very clear to me that what we need to do is somehow find a way to recruit empathy across humanity and persuade every person to embrace stewardship as if our lives depended on it.”
Three startups win prize money from U.S. Space Force accelerator
“The accelerator known as Hyperspace Challenge, run by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Space Force’s SpaceWERX program, announced Dec. 2 that Varda Space Industries, SCOUT and Neutron Star Systems received $25,000 (first place), $15,000 (second place), and $10,000 (third place), respectively.”
“SCOUT, a two-year old startup, developed a space-based optical sensor and payload system for collision avoidance and in-space object detection.”
“The two-year old startup based in Alexandria, Virginia, hopes that the $50,000 Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award will lead to bigger contracts for a space-monitoring service it is developing in partnership with Kayhan Space, another startup focused on space traffic management and collision avoidance software.
Sergio Gallucci, Scout co-founder and chief technology officer, said the SBIR award is the first step in the company’s efforts to gain the attention of government officials looking for solutions to the growing debris problem.
“Orbital debris and collision threats require improved data and new data modalities,” Gallucci said. One way to get better data is to have sensors in space watching objects up close, he added. “There are inherent limits to what ground based sensors can do in an affordable manner.”
A key challenge is “educating the market on a new product and a new capability,” said Scout’s co-founder and CEO Eric Ingram.”
Senators say US must strengthen space debris monitoring
“A group of US senators on Tuesday asked the Biden administration to do more to monitor and respond to space debris following Russia’s anti-satellite test.
Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, ranking Republican Roger Wicker and two other senators asked Vice President Kamala Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about debris issues. The Russian test, which created over 1,500 new objects, has drawn U.S. condemnation.”
"This test provides a stark reminder that the United States must strengthen its capabilities to monitor and respond to space debris," the senators wrote, adding the test "raises concerns about maintaining the long-term sustainability of the space environment."
“The letters, which were also signed by the chair of the subcommittee overseeing space issues, John Hickenlooper, and the top Republican Cynthia Lummis urged Harris to address protecting the space environment during Wednesday’s meeting of the National Space Council. Harris chairs the council.”
Policy options to address collision risk from space debris (Report)
SpaceRef |
“This policy brief provides a range of policy options to improve the assessment, evaluation and management of collision risk, as well as its communication. It draws on discussions held at a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder expert workshop organised by the EPFL International Risk Governance Center (IRGC) in May 2021 and on follow-up exchanges with space debris experts. As low Earth orbit (LEO) is the region of space with the largest collision risk, it is the focus of this policy brief. However, some of the policy options proposed can be readily applied to other orbital regions.
There is insufficient evidence available necessary for a comprehensive scientific assessment of the risk. There is also an incomplete evaluation of the possible response strategies, which impedes the prioritisation of policy options to avoid, reduce or mitigate the risk. IRGC's opinion is that a complete evidence-based evaluation of the risk, response options and associated cost is still missing. Reasons for this include uncertainties about the future behaviour of space actors (such as the number and orbits of satellites launched), the implementation of non-binding guidelines (such as the rate of successful post-mission disposal), and the costs/benefits of mitigation and remediation approaches (such as the cost of active debris removal). However, IRGC's opinion is that incomplete assessment should not delay action. The development and deployment of technology to manage the risk and the implementation of best practices should be encouraged and rewarded, including through economic incentives.”
Space Café Canada by Dr. Jessica West Recap: Anti-satellite weapon testing and the crisis of space debris
“We are witnessing a major change in the orbital environment that is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Since 2019 the satellite population in low Earth orbit has increased from roughly 3,000 satellites to over 6,000 satellites, with thousands more on the way. Single satellite operators are now talking about launching networks of satellites numbering in the 100,000 range. The latest paper by Aaron and Michael published in Nature Scientific Reports examines the tremendous costs these satellite systems are poised to have on the environment, both in space, and here on Earth.
We are fundamentally changing the orbital environment. And we don’t know how to manage this environment now, let alone in the face of such a drastic change. But the effects will be felt on Earth as well. What we put into space, especially in low Earth orbit, comes back down and burns up in the atmosphere. These satellites are mostly composed of aluminum. This is going to change the chemistry of the upper atmosphere.”
-Dr. Michael Byers, UBC Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law
Tracking space debris among projects by event-based inventors
Imaging and Machine Vision Europe |
“As our world becomes more reliant on satellites, the potential for collisions between space objects is increasing. As a result, there is a critical need for accurate detection and tracking of satellites. Here at Western Sydney University, the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems have developed a novel way to track space objects. Please join us for a walk through of the Astrosite, a world first neuromorphic inspired mobile telescope observatory, and engage with leading researchers in the field of space situational awareness using event based sensors.”
“Astrosite is a neuromorphic-inspired mobile telescope observatory, developed by the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) at Western Sydney University. The telescope is using event-based sensing as a more efficient and low-power alternative for space situational awareness to help address the issue of space debris. Their system enables continuous day and night operations at microsecond time resolution while generating 10-times to 1,000-times less data.”
New ‘drag’ device promises to deorbit satellites before they become space junk
“Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Professor Riccardo Bevilacqua, Ph.D., said NASA approached him with a challenge.
“The whole idea is can you guarantee to us that (a satellite) will come down at 25 years and you can control where?” Bevilacqua said.
Dr. Bevilacqua, who teaches aerospace engineering at ERAU, put together a team of Ph.D. students and even some undergraduates.
Over the course of four years, they invented the DD3 -- the Drag De-Orbit Device -- and the algorithms to steer it.
The 10x10x5 cm device looks similar to a tape measure. It attaches to the bottom of a micro-satellite and when it’s ready to deorbit the satellite, the metal boom deploys and the the algorithms calculate how to move the boom to slow down, or drag, the satellite and drop it back through the atmosphere in an unpopulated spot where it can safely burn up.”
“Bevilacqua hopes and expects the DD3 to enter into commercial use. He, the students and ERAU jointly own the invention. It should sell to a satellite builder for less than $10,000, according to Bevilacqua.”
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.
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.